Bioluminescence

Who wouldn’t want to wander around an alien planet that gets its otherworldly glow from bioluminescent flora?

Start

The vision was to make a plant that will function as a desk lamp — a lamp that you don’t have to plug in, so you can save energy. In the end, it all came together, and a new idea emerged – a park fulfilled with bioluminescent plants.

A Short Introduction

The glowing greenhouse of our dreams is still so very far away, but it just got a tantalizing nudge closer.

There will soon be another way to experience Pandora besides going to Disney’s World of Avatar.
A team of scientists led by Dr. Karen Sarkisyan and Dr. Ilia Yampolsky have found that unlike other methods of getting plants to glow in the dark, merging their DNA with that of auto-luminescent mushrooms results in a life-form that lights up on its own.
Scientists have genetically engineered a plant with not just a visible glow, but a self-sustaining glow that lasts for the duration of the plant's life cycle.

Some fungi carry genes that allow them to produce bioluminescence and can be used to bioengineer plants that glow.
‍

(Credit: Louise Docker/Getty Images)

The use of bioluminescence can create an ambiance that makes us more respectful citizens, of the environment and of biodiversity.

Sandra Rey, founder of the French start-up Glowee

Detailed Description

It was only at the end of 2018 that a team of researchers published a paper on the biosynthesis of fungal luciferin, the compound that produces a glow in luminescent fungi.
‍

Luciferin

They discovered that these fungi synthesize luciferin from a compound called caffeic acid. And this is where things get interesting -because caffeic acid (no relation to caffeine) is found in all plants.

Caffeic Acid

The team reasoned that it might, therefore, be possible to genetically engineer plants to reallocate some of their caffeic acid to the biosynthesis of luciferin, as seen in bioluminescent fungi.

DNA

Benefits

A future in the making

Contributes in solving energy crisis

Fantasy becomes reality

A new opportunity of tourism

Transform trees into self-powered street lights

Reduces light pollution

A new form of art

Decarbonization of urban and suburban outdoor environments

A new sustainable alternative to lighting design