Imagine a holiday season where your Christmas tree glows naturally—no tangled strings of lights or electricity required. Advances in biotechnology are turning this dream into a reality, with scientists developing glow-in-the-dark plants that could revolutionize holiday traditions and sustainable decor. In this week’s Primer, we dive into the fascinating science of genetic engineering and explore how the Christmas trees of the future might light up your holidays in a whole new way.

Science Glow Up

• Light Bio, the Idaho startup, is all about glowing plants replacing traditional lighting in homes and gardens. They’ve engineered bioluminescent petunias using genes from Neonothopanus nambi, a glowing mushroom. Launched in February 2024, these $29 plants are available to add a green glow to your garden and your living room; no electricity needed.
• Ginkgo Bioworks, in cahoots with Light Bio, is using its synthetic biology platform to crank up the brightness and sustainability of glowing plants. The goal is to fine-tune the genetic engineering process and expand the variety of glowing plant species available​.
• Bioglow Tech made waves with Starlight Avatar, the first bioluminescent plant. Though no longer in operation, this mid-aughts initiative used bacterial bioluminescence genes from the marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri integrated into the plant’s DNA.

Science Glow-Down

Bioluminescent plants are created using genetic engineering, specifically by inserting light-producing genes from bioluminescent organisms into plant DNA. Here’s the glow-down:

• Gene source: Think bacteria, fireflies, and jellyfish. Bacterial bioluminescence is the go-to because it doesn’t need extra chemicals to produce light—just the plant’s natural cellular processes to shine bright​.
• Gene insertion: The glowing genes are inserted into the plant’s DNA using tools like Agrobacterium tumefaciens (a bacterium that naturally transfers DNA to plants) or genome-editing technologies like CRISPR.
• Regeneration: Once modified, the plant cells are grown into full plants via tissue culture, ensuring the glow genes are present in all cells.

Yes, But

Current challenges include brightness and energy efficiency. The light emitted by these plants is dim, which may impact the plant’s growth as it diverts energy for bioluminescence.

Zoom Out

The potential applications of glowing plants go far beyond holiday aesthetics. In the future, bioluminescent trees could light up streets or even replace electric lighting, reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Flashback

The idea of glowing plants captured public imagination in 2013 when the Glowing Plant Project raised nearly $500,000 on Kickstarter. While the project struggled to deliver on its promise, it demonstrated widespread interest in this nature and technology intersection.

Genetic Engineering Primer

Plasmids, restriction enzymes, and recombinant DNA oh my! Learn the process and power of genetic engineering with our Genetic Engineering Primer on-demand class. Our holiday present to you, wonderful reader, is free access when using the coupon code OHWHATFUN, but sign up before December 31 when our offer ends.

Happy New Year!

We’re taking a short holiday break, and the next Primer will land in your inbox on January 7, 2025. From all of us at Biotech Primer, we wish you a happy, healthy, and peaceful start to the new year!