Light Bio
Imagine a valley full of luminous plants in the dark: it would be like bringing the world of ‘Avatar’ to Earth. Cities of the future will be able to illuminate parks and pedestrian paths with bioluminescent plants, with firefly DNA, powered only by water and fertilizer.
For millions of years, the fireflies they depended on a precise chemical dance to signal their readiness to mate in the summer twilight. At the same time, deep forest fungi emit a luminescence ghostly to attract insects that disperse their spores.
Now, the biotechnology is appropriating these ancient evolutionary tricks to reinvent public lighting in cities.
Last year, a team of Chinese researchers announced that they had achieved it through genetic engineering.
When resorting to Firefly DNA and bioluminescent fungi, scientists have, in practice, transformed common plants into self-sustaining lanterns — which opens doors to a revolution in public lighting.
Meanwhile, Chinese biotechnology researchers Magicpen Bio have recently developed more than twenty species of plants capable of emitting a constant and visible light in the dark.
Orchids, sunflowers and chrysanthemums can now shine for themselveswithout requiring any energy source, unlike conventional public lighting, says .
Instead of depend on aggressive brightness and energetically expensive municipal lampscities of the future will be able to illuminate parks and pedestrian paths with bioluminescent plants fed only by water and fertilizer.
A inspiration for these luminous gardens was born decades ago, in rural China. Before Li Renhan becoming the founder of a cutting-edge biotech startup and obtaining a PhD from China Agricultural University, he was just a boy fascinated by the natural world.
“I was born in the countryside. At the time, my family didn’t have money, so at night I couldn’t do anything other than lie in a hammock in my grandfather’s bamboo grove to cool off. Fireflies would often land on my arms,” Li told .
Years later, while studying gene editing, Li found himself wondering if genetic instructions that make a firefly glow could be inserted into the DNA from a sunflower.
So he put together a team to find out.
“We wanted to transfer animal geneslike those of fireflies, for plants, so that they too could shine at night. We are committed to bringing this technology to cultural tourism and the night-time economy. Imagine a valley full of luminous plants in the dark: it would be like bring the world of ‘Avatar’ to Earth,” Li explained.
The biology of living light
How can a plant, after all, produce its own light? THE Bioluminescence is, essentially, a chemical reaction. In fireflies and glow mushrooms, an enzyme acts on a light-emitting molecule, releasing energy in the form of visible photons.
Magicpen Bio researchers managed to isolate genetic sequences specific factors responsible for this reaction. Using advanced technology gene editingcarefully inserted these sequences into the genomes of common plants.
The result is a living organism which continuously produces enzymes and molecules needed to generate a smooth shine and natural.
The plants were recently presented to the public at the Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing. Surprised researchers and visitors observed the experimental specimens, including intensely illuminated chrysanthemums and orchids.
These modified plants do not require special care or “recharging” night under UV lamps. They function exclusively based on their own biology.
“Beyond tourism, we could also use them in urban parks without the need for electricity,” said Li. “These plants do not need electricity. They only need water and fertilizer. They save energy, reduce emissions and can light up cities at night.”
This new biological frontier inevitably raises questions. If we fill a public square with luminous flora, How will nocturnal insects react?already today disoriented by the artificial lighting of cities, to a bright chrysanthemum?
And what will happen if these genetically modified seeds escape the boundaries of the parks and interbreed with wild plants in neighboring fields?
By planting these bioluminescent gardens, we are launching a vast open-air ecological experiencethe. The soft light that emanates from these leaves illuminates more than the dark paths of cities. It also illuminates a future in which humanity no longer limits itself to observing evolution, but begins to actively direct it.
