Gene manipulators at seed and biotechnology companies are racing to produce designer crops that could replace expensive and dirty fossil fuels.

By 2008, Syngenta, one of the major players in the field, plans to sell its genetically modified (GM) corn that contains an enzyme that turns each kernel into a mini self-processing ethanol factory. Meanwhile, DuPont and Bunge combined forces to produce a new line of GM soybeans for biodiesel fuel.

Mendel Biotechnology is tinkering with miscanthus, a perennial grass native to China that produces 20 tons an acre each year with “No planting, no fertilizing, no irrigation.”

Plant genetics company Ceres is focusing on turning switch grass, a species native to Prairie States, into a living oil deposit. “You could turn Oklahoma into an OPEC member by converting all its farmland to switch grass,” said the company.

Genetically engineered food crops more resistant to insects or chemical pesticides are highly controversial. Some environmentalists remain cautious and worry about altered plants cross-pollinating in the wild and spreading their artificially-acquired qualities. Cross-pollination will also enable the traits to enter into human and animal food supplies.

But advocates of designer fuel crops say the risks are small compared with the threat of dependence on foreign oil and global warming. And that may be enough to win the PR war. “After all,” said Nature Biotechnology, “it’s difficult to oppose a technology that’s helping to save the planet.”