I have these! They really do glow in the dark — but it’s much easier to capture in a photo than see with the naked eye. (Dim) “green tinted moonlight” is a good description of it. Or imagine a barely charged glow in the dark object. Still, cool technology!
It is interesting that this effect is not carried by a chromoplast, as fungi don't have plastids.
The mechanism for the bioluminescence must reside in some other cellular organelle.
However, if the genes are added to plastid DNA instead of the nucleus, then female seeds would have an exact copy of the bioluminescent DNA additions, since only DNA in the nucleus changes at fertilization.
Mine just arrived today. Haven’t had a chance to see it glow yet. It arrived a little wilted so I’m letting it get some light and rest before becoming a spectacle
Edit: couldn’t resist. Took it into a dark room and it indeed glows with an eerie light. Science!
Does this have anything to do with the company that was promising street lighting with glowing plants in a kickstarter many years ago[1]?
I recognized the picture of the glowing tobacco plant.
[1]: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/antonyevans/glowing-pla...
developer's website https://light.bio/
This seems like a horrible idea considering how much plants exchange genes even cross species very easily ? Never mind what effect it might have to night pollinators and other ecosystem effects. I look forward to fast forwarding a few decades where the entire ecosystem is either collapsing or glowing because of N bio engineered species we didn’t properly understand before releasing.
No EU options? :'(
I have to wonder whether in the coming decades we'll have types of nature preserves or botanical amusement parks where you can stroll through entirely bioluminescent fields (small fields!) of trees and shrubs. Not unlike Avatar, but maybe not (yet) so strongly vibrant. :)
Mine showed up really stressed. Leaves were all crumbly, I had to prune it back to nothing but tender stems, hopefully it survives. So far very little glow. As others have said, it’s easier to see in total darkness or using long exposure and it needs a LOT of Sun.
This would be awesome as a bedroom night light for kids afraid of the dark!
> these long exposure photos aren’t quite what the human eye sees; it’s more like green tinted moonlight
Awesome that it can be done at all but sounds like the images give an exaggerated impression of the glow.
Will plants grown from seeds taken from these plants become bioluminescent, too?
Maybe I'm the only one who finds it notable that NPR doesn't know that fungi is plural.
Just got mine in today as well. Initially right out of the box, a few flowers only had the faintest touch of glow once my eyes adjusted to darkness.
After some time in sunlight and getting watered, the glowing was a bit better and I could see more of the flowers. Once the sun got lower I put them under some led lighting.
At my final check for the day I could start to make out some of the leaves. The glow is still faint and requires adjusting to darkness, but didn’t take nearly as long.
As it recovers and starts growing vigorously, I do expect it to improve, though I doubt it will ever be capable of competing with most ambient light from any nearby sources.
Basically I got what I was expecting and look forward to them continuing to develop the tech, though I do think the company should be more cautious with their marketing images. I’m well aware of how good cameras are at being ad-hoc nightvision since as an agronomist I sometimes end up still trying to scout things when it’s getting dark, and my pictures still look like near daylight. Other people though may end up a bit too optimistic, and disappointed.
Eventually I’ll figure out how to take a picture that reflects what I actually see.
I’d love to see this applied to English daisies.