Since the completion of the human genome project, genome research in the area of plants has increased exponentially. One area of great developmental interest is in the area of biofuels. Biofuels are portable energy sources that are compatible with the existing infrastructure of petroleum based transportation. Because of the focus on becoming a greener planet and the phase out of fossil fuel dependence; researchers are moving quickly to develop plants that can serve these purposes.

Food crops have seen some progress due to genetic engineering in recent years but energy crops have not been as successful. For energy crops to be most beneficial they need to have high growth rates, grow in varied and difficult climates, and break down easily into their basic sugars. Scientists are also studying how plant enzymes and insects like termites to speed up the breakdown of biofuel producing plants. This is important because until now breaking these plants down has proven to be costly and time consuming.

Presently, ethanol seems to be the biofuel of choice, but researchers are looking to the future and for a fuel that does not have the same drawbacks as ethanol such as: the requirement for large quantities of water and low energy output per gallon compared to petroleum products. They are currently working on a product called butanol that is a better alternative but still needs work.

It is a complicated biotech challenge to engineer the vanguard marriage of microorganism and plant genes that will optimize the production of biofuels in the coming age. Progress is being made at a great rate and much of the credit goes to what was thought by most to be health medicine research to start, human genome research has led to plant genome research that will eventually and most assuredly lead to a cleaner produced and burning fuel product for the world. Despite the original goals of genome research it is now a growing and important part of biofuel futures.