Luminescent GMO plants approved for sale in the US

Many fungi exhibit natural bioluminescence. The lab of Karen Sarkisyan at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences published a paper in 2020 showing that a fungal gene system could be transferred into tobacco plants and cause stable bioluminescence. The technology may have applications in imaging of plants for future study, but it also has aesthetic appeal.

Indeed, a US-based biotech company, Light Bio, have recently received approval from the USDA for sale of ornamental petunias which have been engineered using the same technology. The company plans to begin selling the plants next year.

Hopefully the plants will not be able to become established outside controlled environments, unlike the Free Fluorescent Fish now living wild in Brazil.