This orchid glows in the dark. It was created by artist Nicole Heydenrijk from Wainuomata, Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand, assisted by Rachel Lam (Image: David Rowland / Rex) This “blue rose” will go on sale this year, but it is actually mauve rather than a true blue (Image Suntory Flowers Ltd)
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WANT to woo someone with flowers? How about something really special, such as a blue rose, or maybe even an orchid that glows in the dark?
Plant scientists have been trying for years to genetically modify flowers for aesthetic purposes. The first to go on sale were blue carnations produced by Florigene of Melbourne, Australia, in 1996.
However, producing flowers with dramatic new colours or smells has proved much harder than expected. Florigene’s attempts to develop a true-blue rose, by switching off production of red pigment and adding a blue pigment gene from the iris, have been only partially successful.
Although a “blue rose” will go on sale this year, it is mauve rather than true-blue. “We are struggling,” admits lead researcher Yoshikazu Tanaka of Suntory in Osaka, Japan, Florigene’s parent company.
It turns out that flower colour is influenced by factors other than pigment genes alone – pH, the presence of metal ions and even the shape of the cell. “I think that we are in a better position now to know how to get a true blue rose, but the product might still be several years away,” says Cathie Martin at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, who studies plant colour.
There have been some extraordinary creations…
