Have you ever seen little fireflies flying on a night? I’m sure you all did. Even as a child, I’ve wondered how they glow at night. What I could know is, they are glowing because of a gene. Genes are the blueprint for life which are segments of DNA that contain the information necessary for building and maintaining organisms. They carry specific characteristics or traits, such as eye color, blood type, hair color, and susceptibility to certain diseases.
Now let me take you to a fairy world a bit!
Imagine walking through a garden with glowing flowers at sunset. Thinking about this memorize the movie Avatar. The natural phenomenon in which the living
organisms emit light is Bioluminescence. This is typically seen in fireflies, certain fungi, and some marine creatures. But did you know you can make this magical garden thanks to groundbreaking advances in biochemistry? By borrowing and inserting genes responsible for bioluminescence into petunias DNA from bioluminescent organisms glowing petunia flowers have now become a reality.
Keith Wood has been working on bioluminescent technologies since the 1980s. He is the chief executive and the co-founder of Light Bio. In 1986 he and his research group introduced a game changer by inserting the luciferase gene from fireflies (Photinus pyralis) into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). About forty years later, he could introduce glowing petunia. He and his research group have successfully introduced these genes into the petunia’s genome with sophisticated genetic techniques to ensure the genes are stably integrated and expressed in the plants.
There are two key components behind this magic. They are luciferase and luciferin. Luciferase is an enzyme and luciferin is a light-emitting molecule. With the presence of oxygen, luciferin is oxidized by luciferase to oxyluciferin.
Petunia, a bright white flower plant slowly starts lighting up with a greenish-white glow at night. The newest buds seem to have the brightest color, and they punctuate the glowing flowers. As these buds resemble fireflies sitting on the top of the plant, this was first named Firefly Petunia. Despite the name, this plant hasn’t been introduced with any firefly genes. Four genes were introduced from a bioluminescent mushroom and a fifth from a fungi. According to the researchers, the first gene takes a metabolite and turns it into an intermediate while the second gene takes the intermediate and turns it into the actual fuel for the bioluminescence. The third gene is what makes light. And then the last gene takes the product from the light reaction and recycles it back to the starting point.
The firefly petunia glows brightly and doesn’t need special food thanks to a group of genes from the bioluminescent mushroom Neonothopanus nambi. The fungus feeds its light-emitting reaction with the molecule caffeic acid, which terrestrial plants also happen to make. By inserting the mushroom genes into the petunia, researchers made it possible for the plant to produce enzymes that can convert caffeic acid into the light-emitting molecule luciferin and then recycle it back into caffeic acid enabling sustained bioluminescence. The plant was approved by the US Department of Agriculture as an ornamental plant.
Beyond the beauty of the plant, glowing petunias are helpful for the study of plant physiology and gene expression in real-time, offering insights into how plants grow and respond to their environment. This technology opens to endless useful applications such as glowing crops when they are affected by pests, glowing trees to indicate their water requirement, glowing plants to indicate the presence of a pollutant etc.
On the other hand, introducing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the environment requires regular assessments to ensure they do not disrupt any local ecosystem.
Glowing petunias are a testament to the blend of the beauty of nature with the ingenuity of science. Also, this is a shining example of what’s possible when imagination meets innovation.
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References :
1. https://shorturl.at/Vbnoj
2. https://shorturl.at/X7KNo