The signal does not necessarily have to be a visible color change. The team also experimented with temperature. The second receptor pathway in these genetically engineered plants responds to diazinon, a currently used insecticide. Residential use prohibited In the US. As part of the same study, the research team used diazinon to turn on the plants’ normal ABA signaling, causing stress-induced increases in leaf temperature, similar to what the MIT team had previously tried. This can be confirmed with an infrared night vision camera.
The challenge now is to figure out how many molecular switches can be manipulated before things get too complicated, creating discrete pathways that all produce easily observable outputs. Wheeldon believes it’s worth the effort. More switches “complicates the questions you can answer and the applications you can run,” he says.
Although these color-changing plants still only exist in the lab, Cutler said his team hopes to “create biosensors that can manipulate organisms to sense all kinds of chemicals.” Ta. For example, plants already produce ABA in response to drought, so he imagines that thirsty plants might change color overnight to call for help before any real damage is done. are doing.
Wheeldon’s research group has been studying pesticides for many years. Pesticides are used in agriculture around the world, so they were an obvious first target for sensing experiments. But Cutler’s team has a long list of molecules it is currently testing, including drugs, substances of abuse, natural plant products and other pesticides.
“In the long run, I think we can create biotechnologies that help provide information about chemicals in the environment to the general public and other specific users,” Wheeldon says. “Real-time feedback about what’s in the environment. For example, is the local water supply contaminated? Are the bad guys using harmful chemicals in industrial processes?”
Brophy also envisions home applications of the technology for the Black people among us, like “a houseplant that changes color to let you know it needs something.”
“As a plant biology professor, I feel a lot of pressure to have great plants in my office. But hey, I’m just having a hard time,” she says with a laugh.
Because these plants are transgenic, meaning they contain the DNA of another species, they would face a rigorous approval process if someone tried to bring them to market in the United States.betalain-producing plants and Arabidopsis Because cross-pollination does not occur naturally, researchers need to demonstrate that genetically modified plants do not have unintended effects on the environment.
However, it is not impossible. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the sale of purple tomatoes that contain snapdragon genes that increase antioxidant content and extend shelf life. Last month, the agency gave the go-ahead to develop a glow-in-the-dark petunia with bioluminescent mushroom genes, which is expected to be brought to market next year.
As research progresses, plants that speak in color may also receive green light.
