aroidgrower

I have been looking in genetic modification of plants and animals for sometime. I seems like a very interesting new science and some of the results seem more scifi than real. A few years back a fire fly gene was put in a orchid and the plant now glows in the dark. I have heard it is being mass produced but I hear it's about 2,000.00 a plant yet I have not seen one offered at this price personally.
I have a friend who works in this field and I also recently found a website that aparently will do this work for a price. Both my friend and the company said they would be willing to do the work which could take 1 to 2 years and cost would be higher than I am willing to pay.
I thought that people here would be interested to know that the reality of a glowing banana is out their. The plants probably best to use Ae Ae or the lime form of Siam Ruby. I have also seen were new animals genes are being use. The bioluminescent genes were once just yellow lime green color they now have blue orange and red. I believe their is some work to make the brighter as well. Now a glow in the dark banana sounds interesting as a novelty to me but the potential for adding hardy genese disease tollerant and other useful genes are being worked with as well.
This science looks to produce a lot of useful and interesting products and organisims but the downside to this work can but very dangerous. The glowing gene which is aparently harmless seems more novel than any of the other work I have read about. Some thinks like producing grass that is roundup tollerant were you can spray you whole yard with roundup and the grass will survive. The problem here was the grass was being grown and pollenated with similar weedy grasses producing super weeds which are tollerant of roundup. Other creations are now being shown in the guinness book of records they have a whole section for the first genetically modified plants and animals in it was the first glow in the dark rabbit, cat , pics and mice also being used are florecent genes but these only glow under the florecent or black lights.
Well hope maybe in years to come we will see some of these crazy creations I am thinking the price for the work now would be around 70 to 150 thousand dollars. Anyone interseted LOL.

Sodak

I just want a banana that will survive a zone 5 winter without building a house over it.

Has anyone found one yet?

mskitty38583

have you not seen the movie" I am legend" yet. maybe not a good idea to start genetically mutating things. they have a newsbite on yahoo about glow in the dark cats that they cloned, they glow under florecence or black lights i believe. scare me....... i have psyco cats now, dont need them to creep me out too. uhhhhhhh. so they go putting these 'genes' into things....no wonder people are seeing aliens. heck they glow in the dark too dont they? lol.

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aroidgrower

Sodak I am putting a new banana into TC that maybe the answer for you hardiness problem. It was a collected banana seed that I grew 3 years ago. I have been unable to flower it yet or get a true ID. It has flaps on the stems similar to basjoo but they tend to dry up and turn fiberous. The plant produces large rhizomes similar to basjoo but they spreed much more and are usually 1 to almost 2 feet under ground. It has survived the last 3 years here in zone 6 better than basjoo. I think you would have to protect it but it does look to be faster hardier and taller growing than basjoo so far. More test are still needed to see what all it can do.

Sodak

Now that would be really great. I wouldn't mind mulching, covering, etc. in the winter, but I have yet to hear of truly successful overwinter of Basjoo, Sikkimensis in a zone 5. Something like this would be absolutely fantastic, and potentially very profitable. Put me down on your list once you get it working. I have faith!

Cheers.

51st state

Yup, stick me on the list once you get a nice hardy one in T.C.

got a name for it yet?

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Tropicallvr

Wow that sounds really promising. Where is the seed from, China?
Do you have some pictures?
Thanks

aroidgrower

The seedling did have a bit more red on the trunk than other seedlings but it is a species and unless I can find large enough difference in the seedlings it will be sold only under its species name if and when I can ID it with no cultivar name.

MediaHound

We've talked about it here before, I really can't wait to see one or at least a photo!
If anybody ever has access to purchase these, send me a message!

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AllenF

I am all for a Zone 5 banana and would like to be in on the first batch.

Allen

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bigdog

Sounds like a Musa itinerans variety. I seem to remember you posting a picture of a banana that you dug up last fall, only to find long rhizomes. Was it ordered from natureproducts.net? If it was, I'm pretty sure that's Musa itinerans.

Here's the thread I'm referring to:
Bamboo Banana ??? Uknown SP.

I think I have the same thing as you, Brian. Nice to hear that yours made it through the winter! I wasn't sure if you had trialed yours there yet or not. I have left mine out, and it is still growing during mild spells.

As for transgenic plants, they are pretty neat. In fact, that was my area of study here at UT Knoxville until this semester. I finally had to examine whether or not I wanted to be in a lab for the rest of my career, and decided against it. So, back to production hort. for me! A professor on campus is working on a florescent plant, with genes from jellyfish, that will help to identify areas where unexploded land mines are located. Don't ask me anything about it, lol, I only know that much.

bencelest

Bananas that glows in the dark?
Sounds scary doesn't it?

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Tropicallvr

What were the other seedlings that it had more red than? Must have come from some batch. I trialed a couple large M. initerans from nature products(the running type). The M. initerans that is sold by nature products seemed less hardy at a similar size than the one sold by agri starts, although I wasn't exactly happy that the two runners didn't survive next to the agri start one, it gave me some info on the pecking order of the initerans.
For me- 1 Agri starts initerans(possibly M.yunnaninsis)
2. Burmese blue
3. Initerans gigantea (the runner)
And Musa initerans form india is still untested!
Not sure if I'm totally correct about the order of 2 and 3 but number one seemed right on.

I heard about that thing that is used for finding mines. You have to hold the jelly fish just where it's tenticles touch the ground, then it zaps the mines dead. Just kidding, but it sounds like a good idea with all those post war areas with land mines, and cluster bombs.

MediaHound

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mskitty38583

mediahound....that one hurt. thanks for the laugh!

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Mustang

If you need help testing it Brian, just let me know and I'll happily help out !

MediaHound

We all know that's what cows are for...

:2780:



seriously, though.. they use cows for this in some places..

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Kerrpe

What happens when you eat a glowing banana?

bencelest

My opinion is that you will glow too!
In the dark.
You are what you eat.
That's why I said it's scary.

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mskitty38583

see i told you genetically mutating things is bad juju! im going into law enforcement i have to be incognito, i cant glow in the dark! they could see me for miles i would not be able to hide anywhere.

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