A seaweed found in the Pacific, Calliarthron cheilosporioides, stands tall despite being beaten down over and over again by waves and currents that the ocean brings. Biochemists at Stanford University examined this seaweed, that at first glance appears like coral because of its tough structure. As anyone who has been in the ocean knows, coral breaks very easily, and yet this seaweed with coral like features does not. This is due to connective tissues that runs through the hardened areas and allows for flexibility. For more on this read the article yourself.
How does this relate to garden greens? This is some speculation done on my part, but this seaweed could provide researchers the opportunity to look at the cells that make this connective tissue, isolate the gene, and plant it into other plants to help them grow strong. Plants have a woody stalk making them inflexible, which explains why they break so easily. The DNA from this seaweed could be an opportunity to strengthen these plants and make them last longer. But will this compromise their beauty? And is this an important topic to be pursued?
My first plant was a bean plant. I "fed" it constantly, but I was obliged to leave the country. When I returned 5 days later It was dry, dessicated. I wept for days. yea, i would like to see something that increases the survival of our beloved plants... But I am worried about this outcome. I personally don't like to temper with this chain of life. If plants dies, this gives the opportunity for other species to proliferate. anyways nice article!
ReplyDeleteI like your story Mustapha! I definitely know how that feels.
DeleteGenetically modified flowers? Yes I am guilty of hording my window space with 7 different pots with different plants inside, but I don't know if I would want them to be genetically modified. I think of nature as I would think of baseball. PEDs are not cool, and in nature it really is survival of the fittest, but it's not fair if they get extra help injected into their genome.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mustapha, let them die. Soil is comprised of the living and the dead.
I disagree with the others, a genetically modified flower may not be as bad. Many of the plants we see today are genetically modified to improve food and growth production. If this was looked into, this could help strengthen not just flowers but crops.
ReplyDeleteFinally! A plant related post!
ReplyDeleteGabby: I bet most of the plants in your window are already genetically modified, or at least represent cultivars not found in nature. It's too late (bwa-hahahahaha!)
Lindsay: I'd love to read the article myself, but I don't see a link.
Maybe the implementation might not be so much on having durable purty garden flowers as better fibers for use in textiles, plastics, cable, etc. Seaweeds and terrestrial plants are anatomically rather different, but if the sea weed in question is strong because of something that is added to a cellulosic cell wall, maybe a super-fiber GMO is possible?
The article was linked to the word "article" but I just tried it and the page didn't find. I'll do my best to find it again and forward it to you.
DeleteI know little on the structure of plants so I was going out on a limb with my with my speculations, but I agree with you, maybe what is in this seaweed can be utilized in other areas. I thought about architectural applications when I first read the article.