Australian researchers are a step closer to turning plants into 'biofactories' producing oils to replace petrochemicals used in manufacturing plastics and other products.

Scientists working within the joint CSIRO/Grains Research and Development Corporation Crop Biofactories Initiative (CBI) have achieved a major advance by accumulating 30 per cent of an unusual fatty acid (UFA) in its model plant, Arabidopsis.

UFAs are usually sourced from petrochemicals and used to produce plastics, paints and cosmetics.

The successful completion of the first stage of the CBI was announced by the CSIRO team on April 28, 2008 during the Fifth Annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing (WCIBB), held in Chicago, Illinois.

“Using crops as biofactories has many advantages, beyond the replacement of dwindling petrochemical resources,” said the leader of the crop development team, CSIRO’s Head of Plant Industry Division, Dr Allan Green.

“Global challenges such as population growth, climate change and the switch from non-renewable resources are opening up many more opportunities for bio-based products.”

New Sustainable Crops for Farmers

The demand for biofactory crops to replace rapidly dwindling petrochemical resources in the production of fuels and base chemicals for manufacturing processes will assist farmers to remain productive under changing agricultural conditions expected as a result global climate change.

CBI is developing new technologies for making a range of UFAs in oilseeds, to provide Australia with a head start in the emerging ‘bioeconomy’.

Dr Green said that the production of biofactory plants could be matched to demand and would provide farmers with new, high-value crops bred to suit their growing conditions.

“The technology is low greenhouse gas generating, sustainable and can reinvigorate agribusiness,” he said.

“We are confident we have the right genes, an understanding of the biosynthesis pathways and the right breeding skills to produce an oilseed plant with commercially viable UFA levels in the near future.”

Safflower Chosen As The First Biofactory

The CSIRO team announced the choice of safflower as the first biofactory plant at WCIBB.

“Safflower is an ideal plant for industrial production for Australia,” Dr Green said.

“It is hardy and easy to grow, widely adapted to Australian production regions and easily isolated from food production systems.”

Low in Greenhouse Gas and Sustainable

CSIRO has been working for some years on producing novel compounds for use in industrial processes from genetically modified plants.

The CBI is a 12-year project which aims to add value to the Australian agricultural and chemical industries by developing technologies to produce novel industrial compounds from genetically modified oilseed crops.

The project focuses on three key areas: Industrial Oils, Complex Monomers and Protein Biopolymers, and were able to showcase at WCIBB their innovations in the convergence of biotechnology, chemistry and agriculture.

Dr Green said in all cases the technology is low greenhouse gas generating, sustainable and would reinvigorate agribusiness.

More information on transforming plant matter to fuel can be found in Crude Fuel from Garden Waste.