Celery gene keeps rose fresh for one month

Scientists at North Carolina State University have found that a celery gene can help roses get rid of the blight that causes them to wither after picking When they inject the gene into roses, they can keep the roses fresh one month after picking When some fungal pathogens infect the plant, they will produce a kind of sugar alcohol called mannitol, which will interfere with the plant's resistance to the disease The disease will cause the petals to wither and leaves to be fragile Putting lettuce in the refrigerator for a long time will also have this effect In order to keep the roses fresh for a long time after picking, horticulturists John dolly and John Williamson from North Carolina State University extracted a gene called "mannitol dehydrogenase" from celery and injected it into the rose, so that the rose can resist the threat of the disease Williamson said that many plants are born with the gene, but whether rose also has the gene is still uncertain, and if it exists, it can not produce enough enzymes to help rose resist the disease There is no difference in appearance and smell between the genetically modified roses and the normal roses At present, scientists are testing these roses to see how strong they can resist the disease Moving flowers from one place to another will reduce the preservation time of their petals Dolly said the aim of the study was to produce roses that would last longer There are other scientists working on this kind of research For example, some scientists mix water with some kind of sugar to keep plants fresh longer after picking and fight against some plant diseases.