7/7/2004: Blue roses

[Beestie]

A little more info from Japan Today (July 1, 2004):

TOKYO — Suntory Ltd said Wednesday it has developed the world's first biotechnology-driven blue roses. In a project Suntory started in 1990 with its Australian bio-venture subsidiary Florigene Pty Ltd, researchers have been trying to develop blue roses by extracting blue-pigment genes from other plants, such as petunias, and implanting them into roses.

Suntory said it eventually succeeded in creating blue pigment in roses by implanting the gene that leads to the synthesis of blue pigment from pansies. Unlike roses created by using conventional breeding technologies, the roses developed in the Suntory project have almost 100% Delphinidin in their petals, which has made new and very different blue roses possible. (Kyodo News)



It still doesn't look blue and I'd be bummed if this were the culmination of 14 years of work. I wonder what it smells like.