Revision as of 17:41, 17 November 2008

Proposal

We propose to genetically alter a bonsai plant to introduce three functions:

luminescence by floral parts
regulation of luminescence by day/night cycles
switch (possibility to "turn off" the luminescence within a half-an-hour time period)

Species of bonsai
Gene expression in flowers
- emphasize proteins expressed ONLY in flowers (probably use petals because theyre the prominent part?...)
Gene/protein used for glowing
- Luciferase?..
- fusion effects?
Day/night cycles - luminescence only at night
- Looking at time-of-the-day-sensitive plants and genes responsible for sensitivity to sunlight
- Actual linkage of luciferase expression with nighttime
Possibility to turn luminescence "off" (by spraying, for example)
- Compound that catalyzes degradation of luciferase
- Receptors that would allow the compound into the cell
  - modify receptors already present
  - introduce receptors from another species/specifically engineered receptors
Side effects
- Will light from glowing flowers mess up natural day/night cycle of bonsai?
- Will it mess up year-long cycles?
- Will life expectancy of bonsai decrease?
- Harmful to people? (It shouldn't be...)
- Additional requirements for plant upkeep? (because it might spend a lot of energy producing the glow)

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 =Research=
 *Luciferase Expression
+**''Firefly Luciferase Gene: Structure and Expression in Mammalian Cells''
+***http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=365129
+***Luciferase cDNA
 **''Transient and Stable Expression of the Firefly Luciferase Gene in Plant Cells and Transgenic Plants''
 ***http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1698089.pdf