Are you sick and tired of losing your beloved pot plants in the dark?

Have I got a solution for you!

Five words: Glow-in-the-dark plants.

Now this may seem a little crazy at first on the initial once over of that statement BUT, there are glow-in-the-dark organisms all around us and before I delve into glowing plants, I want to whet your appetite with some delicious science facts! First lets set things straight, we can’t continue to refer to them as ‘glow in the dark,’ the condition of glowing has a proper name in fact. That is, Bioluminescence. Now this word may be familiar to you, if not don’t worry that’s why I’m here. Defined as:

Now we know that they glow, but what about how?

GFP is the gene which allows the jellyfish to you know glow (duh).

I hope you can see where I’m going with this, If not you may be wondering how this ties in with your current, or hypothetical, pot plants that currently does not glow. To that I highlight the existence of genetic editing, a really cool thing which allows us to take a traits from one living organism and add it to another successfully. Pretty cool right?

The CRISPR-Cas9 complex is referred to as ‘genetic scissors,’ and are known for its extreme precision in targeting genes. It does this through; an enzyme called Cas9, which is the thing that actually does the cutting of targeted DNA, and gRNA (guide ribonucleic acid), a type of RNA (RNA is like a manager that tells the team what to do) which guides the Cas9 on where to cut. The really awesome thing about the gRNA is that it can be ‘programmed’ to different DNA sequences. So we can target a useless gene that does nothing, cut it out, and while the DNA is trying to repair itself, shove in the GFP gene so it heals using GFP as a building block. How amazing is that!

With this technology, it’s possible to make your plants glow.

It’s important to note that these aren’t the only bioluminescent creatures, there’s a really really common one, and to expand on that a bit I’ll ask a quick question:

Q: Have you ever seen a bioluminescent creature in person?

A: Yes! Yes you have!

I am 100% confident that everyone has, and this confidence stems from the kinda weird fact that humans, yes humans, emit light and are classified as bioluminescent! You might be confused after seeing that you do not in fact light up and think that I’m pulling your leg, but it’s true. Unfortunately, though human bioluminescence is true, the issue lies with our eyes. They just aren’t strong enough. So, while we really rad and emitting light, we just can’t see it.

So while we can make your plants an unmissable piece of glowing home decor, or even more importantly a beacon so you don’t stub your toe on the edge of your pot plants on midnight runs to the fridge. We cannot do the same for your directionally challenged friends you lose on a crowded street at night. (I recommend tying a ballon to their wrist instead for the really hopeless ones)

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