Engineering Bioluminescent Plants
Bringing firefly light to plants using synthetic gene circuits.
The ultimate goal of my synthetic biology work: making plants that glow autonomously. This project takes the candidate genes identified in the Missing Enzyme Hunt and engineers them into a functional bioluminescent pathway in N. rustica. Starting with known components like wild-type Photinus pyralis firefly luciferase and working up to the full four-gene pathway (BGL, Laccase, ACOT1, and luciferase) all targeted to the peroxisome for autonomous luciferin production.
Timeline
Phase 1: Luciferase + exogenous D-luciferin
Express wild-type Photinus pyralis luciferase in N. rustica and test for bioluminescence with externally supplied D-luciferin.
Read the lab note →Phase 0: RUBY-RED agroinfiltration practice
Use RUBY-RED as a visual reporter to confirm agroinfiltration works in N. rustica before attempting bioluminescence constructs.
Read the lab note →