Nicotiana benthamiana
Encyclopedia
Nicotiana benthamiana is a close relative of tobacco
and species of Nicotiana
indigenous to Australia
.
The herbaceous plant is found amongst rocks on hills and cliffs throughout the northern regions of Australia. Variable in height and habit, the species may be erect and up to 1.5 metres or sprawling out no taller than 200 millimetres. The flowers are white.
The plant was used by peoples of Australia as a stimulant - it contains nicotine
and other alkaloids - before the introduction of commercial tobacco (N.tabacum
and N.rustica
). The indigenous names for it include Tjuntiwari and Muntju.
A synonym for this species is Nicotiana suaveolens var. cordifolia, a description given by George Bentham
in Flora Australiensis
in 1868. This was transferred to Nicotiana benthamiana by Karel Domin
in Bibliotheca Botanica (1929), retaining the authors name in the specific epithet.
N. benthamiana is considered by a growing scientific community as a model organism
for performing plant research. For example, the leaves are rather frail and can be injured in experiments in order to study ethylene
synthesis. Ethylene is a plant hormone which is secreted, among other situations, after injuries. Using gas chromatography, the quantity of ethylene they emitted can also easily be measured. N. benthamiana is also an excellent target plant for agroinfiltration
.
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
and species of Nicotiana
Nicotiana
Nicotiana is a genus of herbs and shrubs of the nightshade family indigenous to North and South America, Australia, south west Africa and the South Pacific. Various Nicotiana species, commonly referred to as tobacco plants, are cultivated and grown to produce tobacco. Of all Nicotiana species,...
indigenous to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
The herbaceous plant is found amongst rocks on hills and cliffs throughout the northern regions of Australia. Variable in height and habit, the species may be erect and up to 1.5 metres or sprawling out no taller than 200 millimetres. The flowers are white.
The plant was used by peoples of Australia as a stimulant - it contains nicotine
Nicotine
Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants that constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves...
and other alkaloids - before the introduction of commercial tobacco (N.tabacum
Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana tabacum, or cultivated tobacco, is a perennial herbaceous plant. It is found only in cultivation, where it is the most commonly grown of all plants in the Nicotiana genus, and its leaves are commercially grown in many countries to be processed into tobacco. It grows to heights between 1...
and N.rustica
Nicotiana rustica
Nicotiana rustica, known in South America as Mapacho and in Vietnam as Thuoc Lao , is a plant in the Solanaceae family. It is a very potent variety of tobacco. The high concentration of nicotine in its leaves makes it useful for creating organic pesticides.Rustica is also used for entheogenic...
). The indigenous names for it include Tjuntiwari and Muntju.
A synonym for this species is Nicotiana suaveolens var. cordifolia, a description given by George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
in Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...
in 1868. This was transferred to Nicotiana benthamiana by Karel Domin
Karel Domin
Karel Domin was a Czech botanist and politician.After gymnasium school studies in Příbram, he studied botany at the Charles University in Prague, and graduated in 1906. In 1916 he was named as professor of botany. Domin specialised in phytogeography, geobotany and plant taxonomy...
in Bibliotheca Botanica (1929), retaining the authors name in the specific epithet.
N. benthamiana is considered by a growing scientific community as a model organism
Model organism
A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are in vivo models and are widely used to...
for performing plant research. For example, the leaves are rather frail and can be injured in experiments in order to study ethylene
Ethylene
Ethylene is a gaseous organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest alkene . Because it contains a carbon-carbon double bond, ethylene is classified as an unsaturated hydrocarbon. Ethylene is widely used in industry and is also a plant hormone...
synthesis. Ethylene is a plant hormone which is secreted, among other situations, after injuries. Using gas chromatography, the quantity of ethylene they emitted can also easily be measured. N. benthamiana is also an excellent target plant for agroinfiltration
Agroinfiltration
Agroinfiltration is a method in plant biology to induce transient expression of genes in a plant or to produce a desired protein. In the method a suspension of Agrobacterium is injected into a plant leaf, where it transfers the desired gene to plant cells...
.