News

Plants get a GMO glow-up

Genetically modified varieties are coming out of the lab and into homes and gardens
James W. Satterlee
By James W. Satterlee
Nov. 10, 2024

As any avid gardener will tell you, plants with sharp thorns and prickles can leave you looking like you’ve had a run-in with an angry cat. Wouldn’t it be nice to rid plants of their prickles entirely but keep the tasty fruits and beautiful flowers?

Not every rose has its thorn, thanks to gene editing.
James Satterlee, CC BY-SA
Not every rose has its thorn, thanks to gene editing.

I’m a geneticist who, along with my colleagues, recently discovered the gene that accounts for prickliness across a variety of plants, including roses, eggplants and even some species of grasses. Genetically tailored, smooth-stemmed plants may eventually arrive at a garden center near you.

Acceleration of nature

Plants and other organisms evolve naturally over time. When random changes to their DNA, called mutations, enhance survival, they get passed on to offspring. For thousands of years, plant breeders have taken advantage of these variations to create high-yielding crop varieties.

In 1983, the first genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, appeared in agriculture. Golden rice, engineered to combat vitamin A deficiency, and pest-resistant corn are just a couple of examples of how genetic modification has been used to enhance crop plants.

Two recent developments have changed the landscape further. The advent of gene editing using a technique known as CRISPR has made it possible to modify plant traits more easily and quickly. If the genome of an organism were a book, CRISPR-based gene editing is akin to adding or removing a sentence here or there.

This tool, combined with the increasing ease with which scientists can sequence an organism’s complete collection of DNA – or genome – is rapidly accelerating the ability to predictably engineer an organism’s traits.

By identifying a key gene that controls prickles in eggplants, our team was able to use gene editing to mutate the same gene in other prickly species, yielding smooth, prickle-free plants. In addition to eggplants, we got rid of prickles in a desert-adapted wild plant species with edible raisin-like fruits.

The desert raisin (Solanum cleistogamum) gets a makeover.
Blaine Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA
The desert raisin (Solanum cleistogamum) gets a makeover.

We also used a virus to silence the expression of a closely related gene in roses, yielding a rose without thorns.

In natural settings, prickles defend plants against grazing herbivores. But under cultivation, edited plants would be easier to handle – and after harvest, fruit damage would be reduced. It’s worth noting that prickle-free plants still retain other defenses, such as their chemical-laden epidermal hairs called trichomes that deter insect pests.

From glowing petunias to purple tomatoes

Today, DNA modification technologies are no longer confined to large-scale agribusiness – they are becoming available directly to consumers.

One approach is to mutate certain genes, like we did with our prickle-free plants. For example, scientists have created a mild-tasting but nutrient-dense mustard green by inactivating the genes responsible for bitterness. Silencing the genes that delay flowering in tomatoes has resulted in compact plants well suited to urban agriculture.

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

The firefly petunia is genetically engineered to glow in the dark.
The firefly petunia is genetically engineered to glow in the dark.

At a recent party, I found myself crowded into a darkened bathroom to observe the faint glow of the host’s newly acquired firefly petunia, which contains the genes responsible for the ghost ear mushroom’s bioluminescent glow. Scientists have also modified a pothos houseplant with a gene from rabbits, which allows it to host air-filtering microbes that promote the breakdown of harmful volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.

Consumers can also grow the purple tomato, genetically engineered to contain pigment-producing genes from the snapdragon plant, resulting in antioxidant-rich tomatoes with a dark purple hue.
Norfolk Healthy Produce, CC BY-SA
The Norfolk purple tomato is colorful to the core.

Consumers can also grow the purple tomato, genetically engineered to contain pigment-producing genes from the snapdragon plant, resulting in antioxidant-rich tomatoes with a dark purple hue.

Risks and rewards

The introduction of genetically modified plants into the consumer market brings with it both exciting opportunities and potential challenges.

With genetically edited plants in the hands of the public, there could be less oversight over what people do with them. For instance, there is a risk of environmental release, which could have unforeseen ecological consequences. Additionally, as the market for these plants expands, the quality of products may become more variable, necessitating new or more vigilant consumer protection laws. Companies could also apply patent rules limiting seed reuse, echoing some of the issues seen in the agricultural sector.

The future of plant genetic technology is bright – in some cases, quite literally. Bioluminescent golf courses, houseplants that emit tailored fragrances or flowers capable of changing their color in response to spray-based treatments are all theoretical possibilities. But as with any powerful technology, careful regulation and oversight will be crucial to ensuring these innovations benefit consumers while minimizing potential risks.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
James W. Satterlee
James W. Satterlee

James W. Satterlee is a postdoctoral fellow in plant genetics at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Science

Science highlights or most popular articles

Glow-based assay sheds light on disease-causing mutations
Journal News

Glow-based assay sheds light on disease-causing mutations

Sept. 2, 2025

University of Michigan researchers create a way to screen protein structure changes caused by mutations that may lead to new rare disease therapeutics.

How signals shape DNA via gene regulation
Journal News

How signals shape DNA via gene regulation

Aug. 19, 2025

A new chromatin isolation technique reveals how signaling pathways reshape DNA-bound proteins, offering insight into potential targets for precision therapies. Read more about this recent MCP paper.

A game changer in cancer kinase target profiling
Journal News

A game changer in cancer kinase target profiling

Aug. 19, 2025

A new phosphonate-tagging method improves kinase inhibitor profiling, revealing off-target effects and paving the way for safer, more precise cancer therapies tailored to individual patients. Read more about this recent MCP paper.

How scientists identified a new neuromuscular disease
Feature

How scientists identified a new neuromuscular disease

Aug. 14, 2025

NIH researchers discover Morimoto–Ryu–Malicdan syndrome, after finding shared symptoms and RFC4 gene variants in nine patients, offering hope for faster diagnosis and future treatments.

Unraveling cancer’s spaghetti proteins
Profile

Unraveling cancer’s spaghetti proteins

Aug. 13, 2025

MOSAIC scholar Katie Dunleavy investigates how Aurora kinase A shields oncogene c-MYC from degradation, using cutting-edge techniques to uncover new strategies targeting “undruggable” molecules.

How HCMV hijacks host cells — and beyond
Profile

How HCMV hijacks host cells — and beyond

Aug. 12, 2025

Ileana Cristea, an ASBMB Breakthroughs webinar speaker, presented her research on how viruses reprogram cell structure and metabolism to enhance infection and how these mechanisms might link viral infections to cancer and other diseases.