''Nicotiana benthamiana'', colloquially known as benth or benthi, is a species of ''

Nicotiana ''Nicotiana'' () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the Family (biology), family Solanaceae, that is Native plant, indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various ''Nicotiana'' species, common ...

'' indigenous to Australia. It is a close relative of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. A synonym for this species is ''Nicotiana suaveolens'' var. ''cordifolia'', a description given by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studi ...

in ''

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 be ...

'' in 1868. This was transferred to ''Nicotiana benthamiana'' by

Karel Domin Karel Domin (4 May 1882, Kutná Hora, Kingdom of Bohemia – 10 June 1953, Prague) was a Czech botanist and politician. After gymnasium school studies in Příbram, he studied botany at the Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = C ...

in ''Bibliotheca Botanica'' (1929), honoring the original author in the

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

History

The plant was used by people of Australia as a stimulant, containing

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

and other

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s, before the introduction of commercial tobacco ('' N. tabacum'' and '' N. rustica''). Indigenous names for it include ''tjuntiwari'' and ''muntju''. It was first collected on the north coast of Australia by

Benjamin Bynoe Benjamin Bynoe (1803–1865) was surgeon on the voyages of HMS Beagle, HMS ''Beagle'' who made collections of plants and animals at the western and northern coasts of Australia. Born in Barbados in 1803, Benjamin Bynoe was accepted by the Royal C ...

on a voyage of in 1837.

Description

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 or sprawling out no taller than . The flowers are white.

Research uses

''N. benthamiana'' has been used as a

model organism A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...

in plant research. For example, the leaves are rather frail and can be injured in experiments to study

ethylene Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon-carbon double bonds). Ethylene i ...

synthesis. Ethylene is a plant hormone which is secreted, among other situations, after injuries. Using

gas chromatography Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substance, ...

, the quantity of ethylene emitted can be measured. Due to the large number of plant pathogens able to infect it, ''N. benthamiana'' is widely used in the field of plant

virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...

. It is also an excellent target plant for

agroinfiltration Agroinfiltration is a method used in plant biology and especially lately in plant biotechnology to induce transient expression of genes in a plant, or isolated leaves from a plant, or even in cultures of plant cells, in order to produce a desired ...

. ''N. benthamiana'' has a number of wild strains across Australia, and the laboratory strain is an

extremophile An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...

originating from a population that has retained a

loss-of-function mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mitos ...

in ''Rdr1'' (

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) or RNA replicase is an enzyme that catalyzes the replication of RNA from an RNA template. Specifically, it catalyzes synthesis of the RNA strand complementary to a given RNA template. This is in contrast to t ...

1), rendering it hypersusceptible to viruses.

Biotechnology

''N. benthamiana'' is also a common plant used for "pharming" of

monoclonal antibodies A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell Lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies ca ...

and other

recombinant protein Recombinant DNA (rDNA) molecules are DNA molecules formed by laboratory methods of genetic recombination (such as molecular cloning) that bring together genetic material from multiple sources, creating sequences that would not otherwise be fou ...

s; for example, the drug

ZMapp ZMapp is an experimental biopharmaceutical drug comprising three chimeric monoclonal antibodies under development as a treatment for Ebola virus disease. Two of the three components were originally developed at the Public Health Agency of Canada ...

was produced using these plants.

GMO

Cocaine

In 2022, a

GMO A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...

produced ''N. benthamiana'' were discovered that were able to produce 25% of the amount of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

found in a coca plant.

COVID-19 vaccine development

The

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

-based biotechnology company,

Medicago Inc. Medicago Inc. was a Canadian biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of virus-like particles using plants as bioreactors to produce proteins, candidate vaccines, and medications. By using live plant l ...

, uses ''N. benthamiana'' as a "factory" to produce

virus-like particle Virus-like particles (VLPs) are molecules that closely resemble viruses, but are non-infectious because they contain no viral genetic material. They can be naturally occurring or synthesized through the individual expression of viral structural pro ...

s over short incubation periods (days) and in high volume, enabling rapid manufacturing capability for a potential

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

. In February 2022,

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...

authorized use of the COVID-19 vaccine called ''CoVLP'' (brand name ''Covifenz'') developed from ''N. benthamiana'' for preventing infection in adults 18 to 64 years old.

References

benthamiana Plant models Tobacco Tobacco in Australia {{Solanales-stub