An Israeli method for improving the scent and color of ornamental flowers
Do you remember the last time you felt the intoxicating scent of a red rose or a black lily? The scent of many flowers has weakened or disappeared. This is due to many years of controlled genetic selection of flowers, which favored beauty, color and long life over scent.
The global flower market, estimated at 30 billion dollars a year, is constantly demanding flowers with improved properties. The genetic improvement makes it possible to obtain successful new varieties, but once a successful variety with a certain color is obtained, it is impossible with the existing methods to obtain the same variety in a variety of colors without damaging the other traits.
Researchers at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University have found a way to deliberately change a single feature in ornamental plants without changing other features; Dr. Alexander Weinstein and research student Amir Zucker developed a method by which they transfer new genes to ornamental plants.
The method they developed is based on the use of Agrobacterium, which causes diseases in plants. After infecting the plant, the bacterium inserts part of its DNA into the DNA of the plant cell. The "guest" DNA sends signals to the cell to divide quickly and produce its nutrients for the bacterium.
Before infecting the plant with the bacterium, the parts responsible for causing the diseases in the plants are removed from the genetic material of the bacterium, and genes are planted in it that they wish to transfer to the plant, thus obtaining an effective tool for introducing desired genes. To help the bacteria, Weinstein and his assistants use a "gene gun". "We use this device to injure the tissue before infecting the plant with the bacteria. Holes are formed in the tissue that help the bacterium insert its genes into the plant cells," says Weinstein.
Weinstein decided to work with carnation plants. He chose an outstanding breed that was red in color and infused it with genes that changed its color to a variety of derived colors from red to white. This is the first time they managed to change the color without touching the other features of the nail.
The researchers also inserted genes into the nail that improved the plant's rooting ability, and thus obtained transgenic plants with a large flower crop - three times more flowering branches than the original variety. Using the same method, they were also able to increase the original smell of the carnation flowers 100 times. "We were able to do this thanks to a molecular connection we found between the production of color and smell, something that was previously unknown to scientists."
The "Yishom" company of the Hebrew University issued a patent for the method, and biotechnology companies have already expressed interest in purchasing the rights.
{Appeared in Haaretz newspaper, 30/4/2000}
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