Glow in the Dark Plants

Plants are often described as “glow in the dark.” From the scarlet flowers of Slavic folklore to the Pandora forests in Avatar, people have been mesmerized by the notion that plants can glow. However, most attempts to make glow-in-the-dark plants require chemical sprays or “black light” illumination to achieve their glowing effect, posing a number of environmental concerns and a high cost of production.

In recent years, scientists have been trying to create a type of plant that could glow without the need for chemicals or external black light sources. But while some of the efforts succeeded in creating dimly lit flora, others failed to deliver on their promise and even caused plants to be harmed.

Currently, the only way to get plants to glow in the dark is by inserting genetic material from bacteria into their DNA. The resulting genes can activate proteins that cause the organisms to glow, but this process is dangerous and difficult for plants.

Researchers at MIT have recently taken a different approach to making glowing plants that can be grown in the lab or in the garden. They’ve used a technique called “plant nanobionics” to produce watercress with a bioluminescent pigment.

The technique works by dripping the plant into a solution that contains specially engineered particles containing ingredients for a chemical reaction that produces light. The particles, which are made of polylactic acid (PLGA), are designed to release luciferin and a chemical called coenzyme A, both of which act in tandem to give fireflies and other bioluminescent creatures their glows.

When the PLGA particles are soaked into the watercress, they gradually release luciferin and coenzyme A. The two compounds oxidize each other, producing energy and emitting light when they bind to each other. The team hopes that once this technique is perfected, they’ll be able to grow glowing plants that can glow for hours, much like a flashlight or a lamp.

They also hope the technology will one day be used to monitor plants’ responses to stressors such as drought or herbivore wounding, which can affect their growth. This new technology would allow them to monitor plant health, and its ability to respond to changes in the environment will give researchers a deeper understanding of how plants develop and change.

This new generation of plants can be made to glow continuously, from seedling to maturity, and they’re 10 times brighter than previous efforts, the scientists claim. Their leaves, stems, roots and flowers can all be monitored and recorded for up to 3.5 hours at a time, with the plants producing a billion photons per minute.

But the real power of this technology lies in its ability to be used to monitor plant health, without affecting the plants’ internal processes that normally keep them hidden from human observation. The team said this technology could be used to study the activity of various hormones and other biochemicals, as well as the effects of stressors on a plant’s growth.