by Talia Ogliore (Washington University in St. Louis/Phys.Org) Camelina, also known as false flax or Gold-of-Pleasure, is an ancient oilseed crop with emerging applications in the production of sustainable, low-input biofuels.
Multidisciplinary research from Washington University in St. Louis is revealing the origins and uses of camelina and may help guide decisions critical to achieving its potential as a biofuel feedstock for a greener aviation industry in the future.
Biologist Jordan Brock conducted several field expeditions to collect wild camelina during his time as a graduate student at Washington University, including one trip to Ukraine as a National Geographic Explorer.
“Especially valuable to me was seeing how rural people in Ukraine were continuing to grow camelina, a crop which had been lost throughout almost the entirety of Europe,” Brock said.
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In this study, the researchers determined that camelina was likely domesticated from the Caucasus region near what is now known as Armenia, about 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.
Breeding programs to improve this crop for biofuels applications should take into account the high levels of genetic diversity present in its wild progenitor, Camelina microcarpa, in Western Asia and the Caucasus region, the researchers said.
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Most Western European countries stopped cultivating camelina in the 1930s and 1940s, while crop scientists and farmers in Russia, Sweden and Denmark have continued to cultivate and conduct field trials with camelina.
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New-found interest in camelina has spurred a huge increase in molecular-based research on camelina and how to improve it.
The short season required for camelina cultivation, coupled with its low input requirements, means that it could be a valuable crop in areas with few alternatives. Camelina can be grown in marginal soils, which means that farmers may be able to take advantage of neglected or otherwise non-arable land to cultivate it.
These qualities could be enhanced through breeding or genetic modification. But a lack of diversity in modern cultivars of the crop makes this prospect more challenging.
“Unfortunately, the low genetic diversity present in modern cultivars is presenting challenges to breeders who are looking for genetic variation and agricultural traits (increased yield, higher disease resistance, drought tolerance, etc.), which they may use for breeding better camelina cultivars,” Brock said.
“Understanding the domestication history of camelina is an important and timely discovery because this effort has identified where novel wild diversity is present, especially in Georgia and Armenia,” Brock said. “This could prove to be a solution to the challenges of low genetic diversity in the crop.”
The payoff could be large, both for farmers interested in traditional food uses and for those who want to expand the use of camelina as a biofuels feedstock.
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“Camelina-derived jet fuel has already been tested by the U.S. Air Force and in commercial airliners and shows greatly reduced emissions.
“Camelina oil blends have proven viable,” he said. “The next hurdle is ramping up field production and enhancing crop yield.”
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“Observing how Ukrainian farmers process camelina seeds into oil—usually to be used on salads or for dipping bread—and a protein-rich seed meal for animal feed, was a critical point for me,” Brock said. “To see that there were still some traditional uses of camelina being employed in Europe made me realize the importance of understanding this crop and how it was used, but also where it came from in the first place.” READ MORE
Where you grow what you grow: Camelina’s varied response to location (American Society of Agronomy/Phys.org)