New potato glows green to ask for water

December 18, 2000
Web posted at: 2:14 PM EST (1914 GMT)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Scientists have pioneered a genetically modified "super potato" which glows when it needs water, the head of the project said on Monday.

Researchers at Edinburgh University injected potato plants with a fluorescence gene borrowed from the luminous jellyfish aequorea victoria, which causes their leaves to glow green when dehydrated.

"This is an agriculture of the future," Professor Anthony Trewavas told Reuters. "We were trying to design a way of monitoring the resources within a field and decided it was the plant itself which has that information."

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Genetic tinkering

The potatoes are not intended to be eaten but would act as "sentinels," planted beside the commercial crop to alert a farmer that the rest of his field needed watering.

The glow is barely visible to the naked eye but can be detected using a small hand-held device. Field trials are due to start next year though Trewavas predicted it could take some 20 years before the plants are commonly used.

The technology could be extended to other fruit and vegetables, he added.

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The University of Edinburgh

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