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Emitting a mysterious green glow, they look like foliage from a retro computer game, but they’re actually light-emitting plants produced in a lab.
The researchers say that the glowing vegetation could not only add an unusual dimension to home decor, but also open up a new way for scientists to explore the inner workings of plants.
“In the future, this technology can be used to visualize activities of different hormones within plants during the life of the plant in different tissues, in an absolutely non-invasive way. It can also be used to monitor plant responses to various stresses and changes in the environment, such as drought or herbivore injuries, “said Dr. Karen Sarkisyan, CEO of Planta, the startup that led the work, and researcher at Imperial College, London.
“We really hope to bring this to the market in a few years, once we make them a little brighter, once we make ornamental plants with this new technology, and once, of course, they pass all existing safety standards.” , said. additional.
Numerous animals, microbes, and fungi, from fireflies to honey fungi, can shine, a phenomenon known as bioluminescence. This occurs when enzymes act on chemicals known as luciferins within the body, resulting in the release of energy in the form of light. However, bioluminescence does not arise naturally between plants.
The latest research is not the first time that scientists have created resplendent vegetation, a development that has led to suggestions for everything from plant-based lampposts to self-lit Christmas trees. Among previous approaches, researchers have delivered both luciferins and the enzymes necessary for bioluminescence in plants through nanoparticles, while other teams have incorporated bacterial genes for bioluminescence in plants.
However, these approaches have had drawbacks: the administration of a luciferin in small particles is more expensive and not self-sufficient, while the incorporation of bacterial bioluminescence genes involves a cumbersome process that results in a weak glow. Also, Sarkisyan said, the latter approach appears to be toxic to plants.
The new research takes a different direction, taking advantage of the recently discovered process by which fungi emit light. The team says it is important since the process involves a luciferin produced from a chemical that is naturally present in plants: caffeic acid.
Writing in the journal Nature Biotechnology, Sarkisyan and a team of colleagues based in Russia and Austria report how they inserted four genes from a bioluminescent fungus called Neonothopanus nambi in the DNA of tobacco plants. These genes are linked to enzymes that convert caffeic acid, through a series of steps, into a luciferin that emits energy as light, before converting the resulting substance to caffeic acid.
The result is plants that shine with a greenish hue visible to the naked eye. “They glow in both darkness and daylight,” said Sarkisyan, adding that the light appeared to be 10 times brighter than that produced by the use of bacterial genes.
The team found that the luminescence site changed as the plants grew, and the luminescence generally decreased as the leaves aged and increased where the leaves were damaged. The flowers produced the highest luminescence, according to the team report.
Sarkisyan said that in the future the team could insert the fungal genes into DNA close to the plant’s genes that were activated by certain hormones. “You should be able to see the light coming only from the tissues where the hormone is currently active,” he said.
Gary Foster, professor of molecular plant pathology at the University of Bristol, who was not involved in the research, said that bright plants would be used primarily by scientists rather than for applications such as plant-based street lights, but that nevertheless , were welcome.
“Until now, many luminescent marker genes required special light sources and / or cameras to visualize the location of the expression. The system reported here will facilitate that process, ”he said.
Professor John Carr of Cambridge University also appreciated the work, but said there was more to do. “The challenge now is figuring out how to make this engineered bioluminescence respond to specific environmental, developmental, chemical, or pathogen stimuli,” he said. “This is essential if the technique can literally shed new light on fundamental biological processes.”
