![]() ![]() Plants and bacteria have very similar DNA. Perhaps this means scientists can use glowing bacteria DNA to make plants grow. Image by Dejuliot.Īll the organisms on Earth are related, and their DNA is made up of the same four genetic building blocks that we call nucleotides. Different patterns of these nucleotides are responsible for the diversity of life we see on Earth. Xonotic glow plant map code#įor example, certain patterns code for legs, but slight changes in the order of nucleotides can make the difference between human legs and frog legs. Plants and bacteria have many DNA similarities, but they also have a ton of differences. But do plants share any of the same DNA that allows those bacteria to glow? They do. Actually, they share more DNA than you might think. Chloroplasts, which are the plant cell organ that allows plants to photosynthesize, actually evolved from bacteria. Chloroplasts have their own set of DNA, separate from the rest of the plant. This DNA is very similar to the DNA of some bacteria. Plants and bacteria share DNA, especially the DNA found in chloroplasts (which make most plants green). This is the tobacco plant, Nicotiana tabacum, which was used in this experiment. Scientists have learned that because of the similarities between plants and bacteria, certain sections of their DNA can be manipulated or exchanged. Both organisms have the genes that make the proteins which allow the organism to glow. In bacteria, this switch is given the special name of the lux operon.īut plants (specifically, their chloroplasts) lack the gene that switches on this protein-making process. When the lux operon is present, the organism can make special proteins, called luciferase. They can also make other special chemicals known as luciferins. ![]() When luciferins are exposed to luciferase, a chemical reaction occurs, and energy is released. Since the process of bacterial glowing was discovered, scientists have tried to apply it to other organisms as well. One example of this is Green Fluorescence Proteins (GFPs). GFPs are used by scientists to tell if experiments involving gene exchanges have worked. ![]()
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