As any avid gardener will inform you, plants with sharp thorns and spines can appear like you've had a fight with an offended cat. Wouldn't or not it’s nice to rid plants of their spines completely, but keep the delicious fruit and exquisite flowers?

I’m a geneticist who recently, along with my colleagues discovered the gene accountable for the prickliness on quite a lot of plants, including roses, eggplants, and even some grasses. Genetically adapted smooth-stemmed plants could eventually arrive at a garden center near you.

Acceleration of nature

Plants and other organisms evolve naturally over time. If random changes to their DNA, called mutations, improve survival, they’re passed on to offspring. For hundreds of yearsPlant breeders have taken advantage of those differences to create high-yielding plant varieties.

In 1983 first genetically modified organismsor GMOs, appeared in agriculture. Golden Ricedeveloped to combat vitamin A deficiency, and pest-resistant maize are only a number of examples of the usage of genetic modification to enhance crops.

Two recent developments have further modified the landscape. The advent of gene editing using a method called CRISPR has made it possible to vary plant traits more easily and quickly. If an organism's genome were a book, gene editing with CRISPR can be like adding or removing a sentence here or there.

This tool, and the increasing ease with which scientists can sequence an organism's complete DNA collection—or genome—are rapidly accelerating the power to predictably manipulate an organism's traits.

From Identification of a key gene that controls spines in eggplantOur team used genome editing to mutate the identical gene in other spiny species, creating smooth, spine-free plants. In addition to eggplant, we removed spines from a desert-adapted wild plant species with edible, raisin-like fruits.

We also used a virus to suppress the expression of a closely related gene in roses, thus producing a rose without thorns.

In nature, spines protect plants from grazing herbivores. But in cultivation, modified plants can be easier to handle – and after harvest, the damage to the fruit can be less. It is value mentioning that thorn-free plants produce other defenses, similar to their chemical-laden epidermal hairs, so-called trichomes deter insect pests.

From brilliant petunias to purple tomatoes

Today, DNA modification technologies are not any longer limited to large-scale agricultural industries, but are also directly available to consumers.

One approach is to mutate certain genes, as we have now done with our thornless plants. For example, scientists have mild tasting but nutrient-rich mustard greens by inactivating the genes accountable for bitterness. Silencing the genes that delay flowering in tomatoes has led to compact plants well suited to urban agriculture.

Another modification approach is to permanently transfer genes from one species to a different using recombinant DNA technology, creating what scientists call a transgenic organism.

At a recent party, I discovered myself in a darkened bathroom, attempting to catch the faint glow of the newly acquired Firefly Petuniathat comprises the genes accountable for the bioluminescent glow of the ghost ear mushroom. Scientists have also modified a Pothos houseplant with a gene from rabbits that permits it to Host air-filtering microbes which promotes the reduction of harmful volatile organic compounds or VOCs.

Consumers can even purple tomatogenetically modified to contain pigment-producing genes from the snapdragon plant, leading to antioxidant-rich tomatoes with a dark purple hue.

Risks and opportunities

The introduction of genetically modified crops into the patron market brings each exciting opportunities and potential challenges.

If genetically modified crops are within the hands of the general public, there could also be less control over what people do with them. For example, there’s a risk of release into the environment, which unforeseen ecological consequences. In addition, as the marketplace for these crops expands, the standard of the products could fluctuate, requiring recent or stricter consumer protection laws. Companies could also apply patent rules restricting the reuse of seeds, which could affect a few of the Problems within the agricultural sector.

The way forward for plant genetics is brilliant—in some cases, literally. Bioluminescent golf courses, houseplants that emit customized scents, or flowers that may change color in response to spray treatments are all theoretical possibilities. But as with every powerful technology, careful regulation and oversight are critical to make sure these innovations profit consumers while minimizing potential risks.