In photos: Mushroom enzymes enhance glow in light-emitting plants

imeng.vip:03月-10日

A new study discovered that a native plant gene immensely enhanced the glow of bioluminescent plants, especially mushrooms.

Scientists spotted multiple plant enzymes – hispidin synthases that improved the performance of “the most complex reaction of the bioluminescence pathway,” noted a statement by the scientists. 

This discovery also paved the way for scientific communities to assess which native plants can bear all the molecules needed for light emission. 

Scientists devised a hybrid method that combines the plant enzymes with other necessary bioluminescence enzymes found in mushrooms, allowing for the creation of bioluminescent plants, they revealed in a statement.

The luminescence phenomenon seen in many tropical mushrooms is still under investigation but the recent study suggests that the plants may inherently possess the ability to produce light on their own. 

The study was published earlier today [March 8, 2024] in the journal–Science Advances.

Glowing plants which could one day be used to signal health or disease
The company that helps develop light-emitting creative plants, LightBio, says that the glowing plants could one day signal health or disease. The light emitted from these plants is due to the interaction between the biochemical reactions within their cells.  According to Karen Sarkisyan, a synthetic biologist at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences who also led the study, this phenomenon has revealed the "subtle inner rhythms and dynamics within plants," implying that the light emitted by these plants reflects their internal biological processes in real-time.

Plants bioengineered without chemicals or UV light
The growth and movement of different plants have been bioengineered by Sarkysian to glow in the dark sustainably without the need for chemicals or UV light, the statement by the researchers highlighted. “This technology is a plug-and-play tool to visualize virtually any molecular physiology at the organismal level, completely non-invasively,” Sarkisyan stated.  As per the statement, Sarkisyan's work also unveiled that not only does a single indigenous plant gene effectively substitute for two fungal genes, but the plant gene is notably smaller and has simpler biological requirements for luminescence.