Tobacco luciferase

The successful transfer of recombinant DNA into plants was vividly illustrated by an experiment in which the luciferase gene from fireflies was introduced into the cells of a tobacco plant (Fig. 9-29)—a favorite plant for transformation experiments because its cells are particularly easy to transform with Agrobacterium. The potential of this technology is not limited to the production of glow-in-the-dark plants, of course. The same approach has been used to produce crop plants that are resistant to herbicides, plant viruses, and insect pests (Fig. 9-30). Potential benefits include increased yields and less need for environmentally harmful agricultural chemicals. 

FIGURE 9-29 A tobacco plant expressing the gene for firefly luciferase. 

In the laboratory, pure firefly luciferin and luciferase are used to measure minute quantities of ATP by the intensity of the light flash produced. As little as a few picomoles (10 12 mol) of ATP can be measured in this way. An enlightening extension of the studies in luciferase was the cloning of the luciferase gene into tobacco plants. When watered with a solution containing luciferin, the plants glowed in the dark (see Fig. 9-29). 

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