Project Abstract.
The current aim is to genetically modify a species of algae so that it becomes luminescent when in the dark. Currently we are aiming to work with the species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We will simultaneously be attempting to implement the same or a similar genetic system into Escherichia coli and possibly a plant species such as Arabidopsis thaliana.
• Practical applications: A system causing part or all of a plant to glow in certain situations has obvious pragmatic benefits: if a crop were designed so that when in the presence of a pathogen it emitted light, then at night a farmer would be able to quickly ascertain areas of infection.
• If the system could be engineered into, for example, grass, then patches of this glowing grass could be planted along the sides of winding country roads. There are safety aspects of this to consider, including the ability of our luminescent grass to mate with other species of grass and transfer the gene system.
• Energy Conservations: Imagine walking down a street where half of the lampposts have vanished and been replaced with glowing trees. This would reduce the energy required to power street lighting, lowering the carbon footprint of any town or city.
• Novel applications: These are the less practical, more quirky aspects of the technology we’re creating. This includes uses such as glowing house plants, which could then be used either as nightlights for children, as romantic ‘mood setters’, or as useful homing beacons when you’re drunkenly stumbling towards your bedroom. Though these too would likely have an effect on energy consumptions of individual households, the impact would be less intense.
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
This is a single celled species of green algae. It is a eukaryotic, photosynthetic organism. It is easily transformable, either by: electroporation; the bacterium Agrobacterium tumorfaciens; glass beads; or by the use of a biolistic particle delivery system (gene gun).
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