You’re probably aware that plants rely on the sun to power photosynthesis and supply the plant with energy. The other side of that is that plants have evolved to control their development steps based on exposure to sunlight. Knowing this, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have taken the first steps toward controlling plant development and creating plants that can grow in the dark.
Plants rely on photoreceptors to trigger various stages of growth. Everything from germination, to leaf production, to flowering is triggered by photoreceptors. Most plants use a molecule called phytochromobilin that changes its shape when exposed to light. This is what triggers the biochemical cascade that leads to plant growth, and scientists have managed to short circuit this mechanism.
By feeding plants with a synthetic compound called 15Ea-phycocyanobilin, they were able to make the plants behave as if they had been exposed to light. Essentially, the 15Ea-phycocyanobilin displaces the naturally occurring photoreactive phytochromobilin in the photoreceptors. It’s a little like wiring a car’s throttle wide open.
When these plants were placed in the dark, it was discovered that they continued to develop as if they were in sunlight. This process does nothing to provide the plant with the sugars it makes through photosynthesis — the sun is still required for that. However, imagine that 15Ea-phycocyanobilin could be used to increase the total biomass of agricultural plants, or promote the growth of blossoms in the absence of ample sunlight. Of course, there are also numerous research opportunities to further study the process of photosynthesis and plant growth. Still, it’s pretty cool.