When do you send blue roses
Late in August, DNA Plant Technology Corp (DNAP), in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, plans to field-test genetically transformed chrysanthemums that sport pure white blossoms. If all goes well, florists may be selling the transgenic mums within two years. The DNAP researchers got white mums by adding a nonfunctional duplicate of the pigment gene, which suppressed the original gene's expression. Although nonengineered white mums are already on the market, none have the high productivity and disease resistance of the gene-spliced kind. Moreover, gene-splicing promises flower colors never seen in nature. There's every incentive to try, according to DNAP's Neil Courtney-Gutterson. The demand for horticultural oddities is huge - the worldwide market for cut flowers and ornamentals exceeds $4 billion annually.
- OSTI ID:
- 5826894
- Journal Information:
- Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States), Vol. 252:5013; ISSN 0036-8075
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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