The ever-accelerating March of Science has brought us cloned sheep, cows and most recently a camel. Are we ready now for a "plantimal"? That is, an organism combining genetic material from a plant and an animal? Specifically a petunia infused with human DNA?
Ready or not, a Chicago artist and a University of Minnesota biologist have concocted just such a petunia, called "Edunia," after artist Eduardo Kac, whose DNA runs through its veins. The pink-ruffled flower is the star of an exhibit that opened last week at the university's Weisman Art Museum.
With lush green foliage and cascades of pretty flowers, Edunia looks like any ordinary petunia. The blossoms' delicate red veins are the result of DNA manipulation that integrates a protein-coding sequence from a chromosome in Kac's blood.
Kac's collaborator, molecular biologist Neil Olszewski, said the idea initially caused a stir among faculty who worried that the project could be a "lightning rod for protesters."
"Some people are just opposed to what they call 'man playing god,' taking DNA from humans and putting it into a plant," Olszewski said.
He disagreed, saying that such arguments do not give nature "due credit" for situations in which "DNA does in fact move across species boundaries," such as tumors that bacteria commonly cause in roses.
A professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Kac, 46, is known for his work in technology and bio-art. His most famous creation was Alba, a genetically modified white rabbit whose fur glowed green because of an infusion of fluorescent jellyfish genes.