Color-Changing Flower In Development



Two scientists in Colorado are currently working to develop what they are calling “Petunia Circadia,” a flowering petunia that changes its color from red to blue and back again every 12 hours based on its circadian rhythm.

A flower is being developed that changes color.

Scientists Dr. Nikolai Braun and Keira Havens are currently working to create a flower they’re calling “Petunia Circadia” which links the plant’s pigment molecules called anthocyanins to its natural circadian rhythm.

If successful, the petunia flower would change colors every 12 hours from red to blue and back again completely on its own–with no chemicals, just sunlight and soil.

The two scientists, who formed the Colorado-based company Revolution Bioengineering, have previously successfully developed a white petunia that undergoes a hue transformation in the presence of the chemical ethanol.

These efforts are part of an emerging scientific pursuit called synthetic biology which attempts to engineer natural biological systems to perform in new and different ways.

The duo’s goal is to introduce a new twist on something familiar, such as a flower, to promote the new branch of science and to normalize the concept of genetically modified plants.


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