Biologists at
Cambridge University have recently developed a
genetically engineered strain of
potato that will help to limit the amount of
water used in
agriculture by exhibiting bioluminescence whenever it senses a
water shortage.
That's right--the
potato plants' leaves emit a faint level of bioluminescent
light when the plant
senses a necessity for water, such that if they are exposed to a
blacklight the leaves of the plant would glow "like a
white shirt in a
disco", Cambridge biologist Anthony Trewavas says. This will allow
farmers to selectively
identify which potatos require
watering and which do not, which will work to preserve water as well as to prevent the loss of
vital nutrients such as
nitrates that may be washed into
plant-inaccessible depths of the
soil by overwatering.
Trewavas and associates achieved this feat by inserting a portion of the
genetic material of
luminescent jellyfish aequorea victoria into a normal strain of potato plant, and then by activating
triggers which will allow the plant to better
conserve water when it identifies itself to be dehydrating, as well as causing it to activate bioluminescent genes that cause it to
glow a faint
green.