Fluorescence experiment on plants

Abstract

A previous article in this publication discussed the progress made in producing biolu-minescent plants using genetic engineering techniques. The preliminary study on bioluminescence aimed to enable a group of volunteer students to examine the phe-nomenon, collect information, formulate hypotheses and test them in the laboratory. They were then to draw conclusions using the scientific method. However, since ge-netic engineering requires considerable experimental and financial knowledge and resources, a simpler, more accessible experiment was conducted: would plants fluo-resce if watered with fluorescent solutions? This process was documented in a report and video submitted to the SAPIENCIA competition. This article describes part of the project.