Genetics made chrysanthemum to blue
Two new genes in the genome of chrysanthemum helped the flower turn blue.
Chrysanthemum blossoms are most often pink, yellow and red colors. However, scientists were able to create a new shade, which they added into the genome of the flower only two genes. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
Scientists have genetically engineered ‘true blue’ chrysanthemum flowers, a rarity in the plant world: https://t.co/bvUplIRG3T pic.twitter.com/EmpTVv7QPT
— Nature News&Comment (@NatureNews) 27 Jul 2017
During the download an error has occurred.In nature plants are often found in shades of blue, but among the garden flowers of pure blue color is rare.
Japanese researchers have for many years tried to recreate the blue and purple hues of roses and carnations, but has faced a number of difficulties. Field and forest flowers blue weakly genetically associated with plants, which are used for creating bouquets and floral arrangements.
Plants with bright blue flowers Express (i.e., translate the genetic information of DNA into RNA) a lot of genes, which are responsible for the formation of delphinidin pigment, giving colors a blue tint. Accordingly, in order to make the blue chrysanthemum or any other initially nasini flower, you need to find the gene of interest and add it into the plant.
Nanbu, Noda, one of the authors of a study in 2013 found that adding a gene from bell medium (médium Campánula) in the DNA of chrysanthemum allowed us to obtain a bright purple color. In the current study, the scientist and his colleagues suggested that the blue color provided by other genes, but it turned out that it was enough for a genome modified to add only one gene of a plant klitoria trifoliate (Clitoria ternatea). As a result, two new genes have changed the molecular structure of anthocyanin in chrysanthemum, and the flower turned blue.
In the future this approach could be used for modification of other plants, such as lilies and carnations.