Karen Sargsyan, a scientist at Imperial College London, has found that in a dimly lit space, a morning glory full of shiny flowers is very attractive. His goal is to share this miracle with more people and dreams of a future world full of glowing plants, as shown in the movie Avatar. To make this dream a reality, Sargsyan and other scientists modified the glowing morning glories. He is also a co-founder of a biotechnology company called Lightbio, which recently received approval from the USDA to sell these glowing morning glories in the United States. PhotoBiotech plans to start shipping these plants in early 2024 so that more people can enjoy these beautiful glowing plants.
This modified plant exhibits a bright green color, thanks to DNA extracted from the glowing mushroom of South America's new sea cucumber. Karen Sargsyan explains that they extracted a naturally luminous system from a fungus commonly found in tropical forests and transplanted it into plants. During the day, morning glory looks plain brown, but at night, it emits a strange green glow. Bioluminescence includes about 1,500 species, including bacteria, fish, jellyfish, worms, amphibians, arthropods, and mushrooms. Natural light is produced when oxygen interacts with a substance called luciferin, which in turn requires an enzyme called luciferase to produce light energy. With the exception of bacteria, this process remains a mystery in most living organisms.
In 2018, Sargsyan teamed up with an international team of scientists to pinpoint the enzyme that causes the Nambi mushroom to glow. Two years later, they detailed how these enzyme genes could be introduced into tobacco plants. Tobacco plants were chosen because they are easy to reproduce and grow quickly. As a result, modified plants glow green on their leaves, stems, roots, and flowers. In 1986, Salkisyan co-founded LightBio with chemist Keith Wood. Keith Wood was involved in the work of using firefly genes to create the first genetically modified luminescent plant. The research team is based at the University of California, San Diego and published their groundbreaking findings in the journal Science. Wood recalls that despite the faint light emitted, it was a truly innovative achievement at the time.
However, plants do not naturally glow on their own. Instead, they require a special chemical application to trigger bioluminescence, which is fluorescein obtained from fireflies. A few years later, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology succeeded in achieving a similar effect by encapsulating firefly enzyme in nanoparticles as a delivery system. These particles are suspended in a solution, and then the plants are soaked in this solution. This process allows the plant to emit light briefly. Wood mentioned that although this is an innovation, the concept has not yet been widely used commercially. The reason is that people want plants to naturally emit bright light without any unconventional treatments or special requirements.
In 2010, scientists Parish Sassafras and Larry Matt Reynolds at Stony Brook University used the genes of marine bioluminescent bacteria to breed a plant that could naturally emit light. However, the light emitted by this plant is rather dim. Based on this discovery, entrepreneur Anthony Evans launched a kickstarter campaign in 2013 with the aim of creating using different bacterial strains"Glowing plants that don't require electricity"。Donors will receive a promise to grow their own glowing plants. The campaign raised nearly $500,000 on the Kickstarter platform while raising potential concerns about the potential for the widespread release of genetically modified plants and their ability to become invasive pests.
After many attempts, Anthony Evans' company, Taxa Biotech, failed to deliver on their promises. Getting the plants to shine independently turned out to be much more difficult than initially expected. Modifying a plant to have new traits is not as easy as simply adding new genetic components that need to be seamlessly integrated with the host organism. Unfortunately, the genes of fireflies and bacteria do not work effectively in plants. Sargsyan and Wood believe they have overcome this obstacle, claiming that the bioluminescence pathways of the fungus they discovered can coordinate with the plant's own metabolic system to produce light. This process involves a molecule called caffeic acid, which is widely found in plants and is used in the formation of cell walls. The same molecule is also present in fungi and is converted into luciferin by four specific enzymes. PhotoBiologics' engineered plants contain genes responsible for producing these enzymes.
They found that these plants were brighter than any other. These morning glories continue to shine throughout their lifespan, and the flowers give off an unusual glow. "The light almost reveals the inner nature of these plants," Wood says. "Although there are more than 12 genetically modified foods in the world, only a small number of genetically modified decorative plants, such as blue roses and carnations in different shades of purple, have entered the market. In the U.S., the Evaluation Body reviews applications for the introduction of new genetically modified plants or crops. In the case of lightbio's petunias, the USDA concluded that it is less likely to cause pest or disease problems in agriculture than commonly grown petunias. In addition, the plant is considered safe to grow and propagate outside of a laboratory setting.
Jennifer Kuzma, co-director of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Society at North Carolina State University, expressed her concern that the agency had not adequately assessed the potential environmental and ecological risks that these plants could pose. Although bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon, luminescent plants may influence the behavior of insects and animals because they are not Xi to this luminescence phenomenon.
In its application to the USDA, Lightbio responded to concerns about potential environmental risks. They emphasize that morning glories typically grow in homes, businesses, or botanical gardens, and that the artificial lighting used in these spaces far exceeds the light produced by these glowing morning glories at night. Wood mentioned that Lightbio is preparing for an increase in commercial production, and interested customers can already sign up to book the plant. More than 10,000 people are already on the waiting list, and the company plans to launch for the first time next spring before expanding to a nursery and garden center. Wood and Sarki's goal was to create a greater variety of decorative plants and work to increase their brightness.
Drew Endy, an associate professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, was keen on LightBio to reintroduce the concept of bioluminescent plants and studied some of the company's initial models. He noted that it was evident from the number of donors in the unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign 10 years ago that there was a lot of public interest in it. He believes that people want to be innovative and extraordinary, and want to be part of something bigger. While some skeptics may question the purpose of indoor luminescent plants, Endi envisions some practical applications, such as the use of these plants as alternative artificial lighting, to reduce reliance on demanding lighting systems. However, Endy believes that the sheer cool nature of these plants is one of the more convincing reasons.
If LightBio successfully launches their product, Endi**, this type of biotechnology, will spark a broader social discussion. He asks questions about potential scenarios: what would it be like if your neighbor was planting glowing morning glories in the garden, or a young child was tending to their glowing petunias.
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