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submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

I got my firefly petunias from light.bio around a month or so ago and they're now just starting to take off. This picture was taken in a dark room with no windows, though I'm sure the phone brightened it up a bit. They aren't as bright as I was imagining, but I still find them neat.

@houseplants

#plants #flowers

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[-] [email protected] -4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Probably very unpopular opinion. I don’t get it how you could buy genetically modified plants.

-unpredictable impact on ecosystems

-uncontrolled spread through insects/seed

-no long term studies available

I really wish people would be more responsible with our environment.

[-] [email protected] 23 points 2 days ago

depends on your definition of genetically modified. you'd be hard pressed to find any plant that hasn't been selectively bred, spliced and adapted by humans.

[-] [email protected] -4 points 2 days ago

That's a disingenuous argument. You can't selectively breed an completely foreign gene into an organism. I can't believe this even has to be said, but I guess the GMO lobby gets to people more than I thought.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Yes you can, it just takes a lot more effort to get the right random mutation.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Good luck breeding a plant until it replicates jellyfish DNA for fluorescence.

[-] [email protected] -1 points 2 days ago

No one lobbied me lol. They cross bred a petunia with a mushroom. It's roughly the same concept as when humans bred maize.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Not really. They transformed plant cells in a lab with GFP from a mushroom and established a stable transgenic line. This can't be done without modern techniques. Not the same as breeding them

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

No they didn't crossbred it. Fungi and plants are so far apart in the tree of life that suggesting this is ludicrous. You can't get a fungal spore and place it in a petunia's flower and get a hybrid.

DNA manipulation in a lab and selective breeding are fundamentally different. It's silly to try to compare both.

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this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2025
136 points (97.9% liked)

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