A blue rose is a flower of the genus Rosa (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow, through use of artificial means such as dyes. Blue roses are often used to symbolize mystery or the unattainable, [1] since they do not exist in nature because of genetic limitations. In 2002, researchers used genetic modification to create roses that contain the naturally occurring (in other plants) blue pigment delphinidin. In 2004, this was then announced to the world.
So-called "blue roses" have been bred by conventional hybridization methods, but the results, such as "Blue Moon", are more accurately described as lilac in color.
Since blue roses do not exist in nature, as roses lack the specific gene that has the ability to produce a "true blue" color, blue roses are traditionally created by dyeing white roses.[ citation needed ] In a book entitled Kitāb al-Filāḥah [2] written by Andalusī agronomist Ibn al-'Awwām al-Ishbīlī [3] in Arabic in the 12th century, and translated into French by J. J. Clement as Le livre de l'agriculture, [4] there are references to azure blue roses that were known to the Orient. These blue roses were made by placing a blue dye into the bark of the roots.
Scientists have yet to produce a truly blue-colored rose; however, after thirteen years of collaborative research by an Australian company, Florigene, and a Japanese company, Suntory, a rose containing the blue pigment delphinidin was created in 2002 by genetic engineering of a white rose. [5] The company and press have described it as a blue rose, but it is lavender or pale mauve in color. [6]
The genetic engineering involved three alterations – adding two genes, and interfering with another. First, the researchers inserted a gene for the blue plant pigment delphinidin cloned from the pansy into a purplish-red Old Garden rose "Cardinal de Richelieu", resulting in a dark burgundy rose. [5] [7] The researchers then used RNA interference (RNAi) technology to depress all other color production by endogenous genes by blocking a crucial protein in color production, called dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), and adding a variant of that protein that would not be blocked by the RNAi but that would allow the color of the delphinidin to show. If the strategy worked perfectly, in theory, it could produce a truly blue rose. However, the RNAi did not completely knock out the activity of DFR, so the resulting flower still made some of its natural color, and so was a red-tinged blue – a mauve or lavender. [5] [8] Additionally, rose petals are more acidic than pansy petals, and the pansy delphinidin in the transgenic roses is degraded by the acidity in the rose petals. Further deepening the blue colour would therefore require further modifications, by traditional breeding or further genetic engineering, to make the rose less acidic. [5]
As of 2008 [update] , the GM roses were being grown in test batches at the Martino Cassanova seed institution in South Hampshire, according to company spokesman Atsuhito Osaka. [9] Suntory was reported to have sold 10,000 Applause blue roses in Japan in 2010. [10] Prices were from 2,000 to 3,000 Yen or US$22 to $35 a stem. [11] The company announced that North American sales would commence in the fall of 2011. [12]
Due to the lack of blue roses in nature, they have come to symbolise mystery and something close to be unachievable. Among some cultures there is a tradition that the owner of a blue rose will have all their wishes granted. [13]
Violet is the color of light at the short wavelength end of the visible spectrum. It is one of the seven colors that Isaac Newton labeled when dividing the spectrum of visible light in 1672. Violet light has a wavelength between approximately 380 and 435 nanometers. The color's name is derived from the Viola genus of flowers.
Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is made by combining magenta pigment with either cyan pigment, black pigment, or both. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purple is created by mixing red and blue light in order to create colors that appear similar to violet light.
Magenta is a purplish-red color. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in color printing by an inkjet printer, along with yellow, cyan, and black to make all the other colors. The tone of magenta used in printing, printer's magenta, is redder than the magenta of the RGB (additive) model, the former being closer to rose.
Dianthus caryophyllus, commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of Dianthus native to the Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,000 years. Carnations are prized for their vibrant colors, delicate fringed petals, and enchanting fragrance.
Viola is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae. It is the largest genus in the family, containing over 680 species. Most species are found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere; however, some are also found in widely divergent areas such as Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes.
Anthocyanidins are common plant pigments, the aglycones of anthocyanins. They are based on the flavylium cation, an oxonium ion, with various groups substituted for its hydrogen atoms. They generally change color from red through purple, blue, and bluish green as a function of pH.
Centaurea cyanus, commonly known as cornflower or bachelor's button, is an annual flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Europe. In the past, it often grew as a weed in cornfields, hence its name. It is now endangered in its native habitat by agricultural intensification, particularly by over-use of herbicides. However, Centaurea cyanus is now also naturalised in many other parts of the world, including North America and parts of Australia through introduction as an ornamental plant in gardens and as a seed contaminant in crop seeds.
Hydrangea macrophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to Japan. It is a deciduous shrub growing to 2 m (7 ft) tall by 2.5 m (8 ft) broad with large heads of pink or blue flowers in summer and autumn. Common names include bigleaf hydrangea, French hydrangea, lacecap hydrangea, mophead hydrangea, and hortensia. It is widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates. It is not to be confused with H. aspera 'Macrophylla'.
Genetically modified plants have been engineered for scientific research, to create new colours in plants, deliver vaccines, and to create enhanced crops. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of Agrobacterium for the delivery of sequences hosted in T-DNA binary vectors. Many plant cells are pluripotent, meaning that a single cell from a mature plant can be harvested and then under the right conditions form a new plant. This ability is most often taken advantage by genetic engineers through selecting cells that can successfully be transformed into an adult plant which can then be grown into multiple new plants containing transgene in every cell through a process known as tissue culture.
In enzymology, a dihydrokaempferol 4-reductase (EC 1.1.1.219) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
Anthoxanthins are a type of flavonoid pigments in plants. Anthoxanthins are water-soluble pigments which range in color from white or colorless to a creamy to yellow, often on petals of flowers. These pigments are generally whiter in an acid medium and yellowed in an alkaline medium. They are very susceptible to color changes with minerals and metal ions, similar to anthocyanins.
Anthocyanins, also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compound that gives flowers a blue color, Anthokyan, in his treatise "Die Farben der Blüthen". Food plants rich in anthocyanins include the blueberry, raspberry, black rice, and black soybean, among many others that are red, blue, purple, or black. Some of the colors of autumn leaves are derived from anthocyanins.
Petunidin (Pt), like Europinidin and Malvidin, is derived from Delphinidin and is an O-methylated anthocyanidin of the 3-hydroxy type. It is a natural organic compound, a dark-red or purple water-soluble pigment found in many red berries including chokeberries, Saskatoon berries or different species of grape, and also part of the pigments responsible for the petal colors in many flowers. This pigment gives the Indigo Rose tomatoes the majority of their deep purple color when the fruits are exposed to sunlight. The name of the molecule itself is derived from the word Petunia.
A metalloanthocyanin is a chemical complex giving color to petals of certain plants.
Myrtillin is an anthocyanin. It is the 3-glucoside of delphinidin. It can be found in all green plants, most abundantly in black beans, blackcurrant, blueberry, huckleberry, bilberry leaves and in various myrtles, roselle plants, and Centella asiatica plant. It is also present in yeast and oatmeal. The sumac fruit's pericarp owes its dark red colour to anthocyanin pigments, of which chrysanthemin, myrtillin and delphinidin have yet been identified.
Violet is a color term derived from the flower of the same name. There are numerous variations of the color violet, a sampling of which are shown below.
There are numerous variations of the color purple, a sampling of which is shown below.
Blue flowers are rare in nature, and despite many attempts, blue roses, carnations and chrysanthemums in particular cannot not be produced by conventional breeding techniques. Blue colour in flower petals is caused by delphinidin, a type of anthocyanin, which are a class of flavonoids.
Orange petunias or A1-DFR petunias are genetically modified organisms which contain a transgene from maize that colors the petunia flowers orange. First created in a 1987 experiment at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, the petunias were subsequently released into the wild but were not commercialized. In 2015 orange petunias were discovered in Helsinki by botanist Teemu Teeri, leading to a regulatory response dubbed the petunia carnage of 2017 in which plant sellers were directed to destroy the modified petunia plants rather than sell them. The United States Department of Agriculture approved the sale of orange petunias in the United States in January 2021.