A US company has developed a light-producing plant that is bright enough to be used as a lamp.
Starlight Avatar was created by bioengineers at St Louis-based Bioglow who say it’s the first ever light-emitting plant.
Molecular biologist Dr Alexander Krichevsky, who used genes from bioluminescent bacteria to create the effect, said it was a huge step forward.
He said: “If you think about it, what was the most exciting thing that happened in horticulture and ornamental industry in the past thousand years?
“Maybe a few new flower colours, maybe a few new scents. The glowing plants are a revolutionary concept, which is long overdue.”
Several plants have previously been described as having a glowing effect.
But Dr Krichevsky says these plants were either painted with dye, required chemicals or needed ultraviolet (UV) light to induce a temporary light emission effect.
Bioglow’s plants were the first autonomously luminescent, plants that emit light on their own without the need for chemicals or UV light, he added.
Starlight Avatar is a genetically-modified version of a regular pot plant called Nicotiana alata and glows continuously during its lifetime.
The company auctioned the first batch of glowing shrubs in January and are accepting orders for further plants which are currently being developed.
