a blue real phal

[RJSquirrel]

Its genes have been altered. If they DNA test the plant its not all orchid. Orchid isnt part of the Lilly family but its not a far stretch from orchid to lilly. The DNA and recombinant genes of the lilly IMO make it not an orchid. A 'Lillychid' maybe . Im curious to see how they are represented at Orchid Societys and how they are eventually classified. Its a very interesting situation indeed if for no other reason than the science involved and how much work went into the plants. And Im also pretty sure you cant buy one of these at any price right now. Well maybe 100,000 USD might get you 1

[HighSeas]

That's a "no-go" for me too. I don't like it. Personally, I'm not dying for a blue orchid.

[theroc1217]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

Its genes have been altered. If they DNA test the plant its not all orchid. Orchid isnt part of the Lilly family but its not a far stretch from orchid to lilly. The DNA and recombinant genes of the lilly IMO make it not an orchid. A 'Lillychid' maybe . Im curious to see how they are represented at Orchid Societys and how they are eventually classified. Its a very interesting situation indeed if for no other reason than the science involved and how much work went into the plants. And Im also pretty sure you cant buy one of these at any price right now. Well maybe 100,000 USD might get you 1

Technically it is still all orchid. The white orchids don't produce pigments in the flowers (well white) but all they did is tell the orchid how to make blue pigments. It's DNA isn/t changed at all, but it does now contain extra little rings of DNA and RNA that tell it to make blue proteins.

Essentially, they didn't dye it, but the gave it the information, in the form of DNA/rNA, and the command to turn itself blue using the amino acids it already has; due to the form that this information is carried in, it will be passed on to the plants offspring. The DNA in the nucleus remains unchanged and thus it is still 100% orchid, however it still contains other bits of DNA inside the cell that replicate themselves and produce blue pigment.

Hybridizing with this variety will prove really interesting, as instead of mixing the colors of the parents, this blue will always just be added to whatever other colors the orchid produces. This technique could also be used to create a truly black orchid, using expression of many different colors. Similarly, if an orchid doesn't produce enough of the correct amino acids to construct the pigmenting proteins, that color might not be expressed in the intensity that it would in other species. I suspect that is why they used 3-4 different proteins to pigment this Phal, hoping to use as any of the available amino acids as possible and not to deplete any one type.