“There are plants that glow everywhere, even in the middle of the night, the forest is shining.†Many people like the scene presented by the movie Avatar, and scientists and some companies are trying to make this scene a reality.
Recently, according to foreign media reports, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced that they have cultivated luminescent plants and will soon begin to illuminate the room. These plants can shine for a few hours at a time. Scientists hope to reduce the demand for electric lighting through this plant in the future.
A luminescence plant was developed by a team of plant nanoelectronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They have recently designed spinach that detects explosives and leaf sensors that alert farmers when crops lack moisture. In this study, scientists want to solve lighting problems, which account for about 20% of global energy consumption.
Michael Strano, a senior author of the study, said: "Our vision is to cultivate a plant that works like a desk lamp - a light that you don't need to plug in. Light is ultimately driven by the energy metabolism of the plant itself."
The idea of ​​luminescent plants is not particularly novel. In May of this year, China Optical Network reported that the team of scientists in Yunnan, China, successfully cultivated the luminous plants for the first time in China, mainly relying on marine luminescent bacteria.
In addition to the above-mentioned scientific team, previous startups such as Bioglow and Glowing Plants have proposed similar ideas. The research of these teams is currently used in the future to use street lighting for sustainable lighting, and even to use small bonsai for table lamp reading to reduce human dependence on artificial lighting.
It is understood that "GMO luminescence" and "nano-fluorescence luminescence" are two options for artificially cultivating luminescent plants.
In order to make them shine, this time, MIT scientists embedded specially designed nanoparticles into the leaves of watercress plants. The luminescent effect requires three different components, each of which is placed within the carrier nanoparticles.
In addition, it is inspired by the bioluminescent glow fireflies. Fireflies emit light through interactions between molecules called luciferase and fluorescein, so both are added. Finally, their activity is driven by molecules called coenzyme A. These components are packaged in nanoparticles and suspended in solution.
The next step is to soak the plants in solution and pressurize them so that the particles enter the leaves through small holes called pores. Fluorescein and CoA are packaged inside the polymer nanoparticles, entering and accumulating in the inner layer of the leaves, while luciferase is contained within the smaller silica nanoparticles, allowing them to enter plant cells. Since fluorescein is released from its granules, it also enters the cell and reacts with luciferase, producing a luminescent effect.
At present, the light emitted by plants is very dim, but the researchers say they can do further work to increase the brightness of the light. Now they have increased the duration of the luminescence from 45 minutes to three and a half hours.
The team said that this approach can avoid some of the previous failed attempts to genetically engineer plants to express the luciferase gene. Although the light emitted by these new plants is not bright enough, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say their methods are simple and can be applied to any type of plant. Ideally, future work will see the use of spray paint instead of soaking methods to enable them to apply light to trees on the street.
The research results were published in the journal Nano Express.
Previously, George, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, said that this biotechnology would bring more inspiration to "continuous lighting." “Biology is very energy efficient. Plants don't need to consume extra energy, they are easy to handle, they are very environmentally friendly, and the light is denser than the battery energy pack. Even weakly glowing flowers will be a great sign,†Professor George said.
Another experimental team of synthetic biologists and botanists at Stanford University in California is also working on "sustainable luminescent plants," and they are hoping to make the rose shine, making this technology more commercially valuable. This technology is applied to other commercial areas such as plantation, flower gardening.
At present, the risk of this technology is currently unevaluable. For example, some scientists are worried that plants containing this gene will undergo biological variation.
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