SG Biofuels Inc., a closely held U.S. bioenergy crop company, received $17 million in venture capital that will fund research and international jatropha planting programs.

Thomas, McNerney & Partners led the Series B financing round, and Finistere Ventures LLC also participated, SG Biofuels said today in a statement. Existing backers Life Technologies Corp. (LIFE) and Koch Industries Inc.’s Flint Hills Resources LLC unit also reinvested.

Jatropha (JATROIL), a non-edible shrub native to Central America, is a perennial crop that can be grown on marginal land though it still requires fertilizer and water to thrive. The seeds can be crushed to make oil that’s processed into biodiesel, jet fuel and specialty chemicals.

SG Biofuels has the largest library of jatropha genes in the world and uses that information to accelerate natural breeding to improve yields and cut growing costs, according to chief executive officer Kirk Haney. None of the seeds it produces are genetically modified.

“We’re focused on developing the seeds so that they produce a lot of oil,” Haney said in an interview in San Francisco. The company also is developing seeds for plants that are resistant to insects and survive with less water.

“To sequence a genome 10 or 20 years ago it was millions of dollars,” Haney said. “Today you can do it inexpensively. For a few thousand dollars we can resequence a strain of a plant, and that gives us a lot of information and data to work with.”