science

Nicotiana benthamiana

Nicotiana benthamiana is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nicotiana benthamiana rather than just read about it. In short: Nicotiana benthamiana, colloquially known as benth or benthi, is a species of Nicotiana indigenous to Australia. It is a close relative of tobacco.

Key takeaways

Nicotiana benthamiana belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nicotiana benthamiana to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nicotiana benthamiana from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nicotiana benthamiana, colloquially known as benth or benthi, is a species of Nicotiana indigenous to Australia. It is a close relative of tobacco. 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), honoring the original author in the specific epithet.

History The plant was used by people of Australia as a stimulant, containing nicotine and other alkaloids, 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 on a voyage of HMS Beagle 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 1.5 metres (59.1 in) or sprawling out no taller than 200 millimetres (7.9 in). The flowers are white.

Research uses Nicotiana benthamiana has been used as a model organism in plant research. For example, the leaves are rather frail and can be injured in experiments to study ethylene synthesis. Ethylene is a plant hormone which is secreted, among other situations, after injuries. Using gas chromatography, 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. It is also an excellent target plant for agroinfiltration. Nicotiana benthamiana has a number of wild strains across Australia, and the laboratory strain is an extremophile originating from a population that has retained a loss-of-function mutation in Rdr1 (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 1), rendering it hypersusceptible to viruses.

Biotechnology Nicotiana benthamiana is also a common plant used for "pharming" of monoclonal antibodies and other recombinant proteins; for example, the drug ZMapp was produced using these plants.

Genetically modified organism

Cocaine In 2022, a genetically engineered N. benthamiana was developed that was able to produce 4% of the amount of cocaine found in a coca plant.

Psychedelic tryptamines Nicotiana benthamiana was engineered to produce five psychedelic tryptamines, including psilocin, psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), bufotenin, and 5-MeO-DMT, in 2026. In addition, it was modified to produce certain halogenated tryptamines as well.

COVID-19 vaccine development The Quebec City-based biotechnology company, Medicago Inc., used N. benthamiana as a "factory" to produce virus-like particles over short incubation periods (days) and in high volume, enabling rapid manufacturing capability for a potential COVID-19 vaccine. In February 2022, Health Canada authorised 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

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nicotiana benthamiana

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nicotiana benthamiana claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nicotiana benthamiana before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nicotiana benthamiana ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nicotiana benthamiana

In research: Nicotiana benthamiana appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nicotiana benthamiana in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nicotiana benthamiana is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cocaine, Nicotiana, Plant models, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nicotiana benthamiana outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nicotiana benthamiana in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nicotiana benthamiana means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nicotiana benthamiana out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nicotiana benthamiana in simple terms?

Nicotiana benthamiana, colloquially known as benth or benthi, is a species of Nicotiana indigenous to Australia. It is a close relative of tobacco.

Why does Nicotiana benthamiana matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nicotiana benthamiana?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nicotiana benthamiana.