I have always struggled with something which at first glance appears a very basic concept.

Plants have DNA.

However, when I let my fertile little mind explore this fact I start to wonder about the possibilites of playing around with this DNA.

I realise that plant life lacks a backbone/nervous system as we know it, but faced with quotes like ”humans are 98% fruit fly” makes me wonder if with a little genetic recoding, could we create a daffodil with working eyes?
Could we put ears on an oak tree?

Is it possible to stick a brain in a pagonia?

Can someone cleaver please put me out of my misery

I think I know the short answer 🙂

Can someone with a cleaver please put me out of my misery

FTFY

come on, I need hard evidence.

Triffids had a real effect on me.

with a little genetic recoding, could we create a daffodil with working eyes?

So you want to create eyeballs, muscles to control those eyes, blood capillaries to fuel the muscles and eyes, a heart to pump the blood, some way of oxygenating the blood (lungs most likely), and a brain to control everything. Plus with all this you’d probably need a liver or something to look after everything, and of course are you going to be able to provide enough nutrition to run everything just sucking at dirt with your roots? Probably not – so you’d need some way of seeking out more food, and a way to ingest it. A mouth and legs and arms most likely.

So with a little genetic recoding? Looks unlikely.

Regards,

A mathematician.

-20 points to the first Jpeg of Seymour’s creation

Also humans have DNA. So do birds.

So you want to create

me? no. not personally.

eyeballs, muscles to control those eyes, blood capillaries to fuel the muscles and eyes, a heart to pump the blood, some way of oxygenating the blood (lungs most likely), and a brain to control everything. Plus with all this you’d probably need a liver or something to look after everything, and of course are you going to be able to provide enough nutrition to run everything just sucking at dirt with your roots?

You’re missing the bigger picture. Are all those things really neccessary? Eyeballs and a couple of fibrous muscles perhaps, cleverly fed via some kind of watery starchy solution.
The eyeballs don’t even have to work per se, just literally be created via manipulation of genetic code.

If you want a more straight forward question then try this, Does the DNA within organic plant life also contain the basic building blocks as animal life? as such, could we flick a switch and create something very wierd?

I’ve seen fruit flies with eyeballs on their wings and knees through similar experiments, this is just one more fantastical step away, surely?

We’ve already created pumping heart material from stem cells, a goggle eyed tulip can’t be far away surely?

Also humans have DNA. So do birds.

You see where i’m going with this?.. you’re clearly on my wavelength.
You can be my wingman.

You did say “working eyes”. If you just want a daffodil with completely useless eyeballs, that might be a different question. Ask a geneticist/biologist.

You can be my wingman.

This thread was worth that. Thank you 😀

dont jelly fish have really basic eyes, jsut a collection of cells that can sense light or something? dont plants lean towards the light?

they’ve already got eyes man! *insert creepy music*

Where would you stop though? 🙂

😆

…this is serious..

“rediculous”

😳

This has been done for many years, all kinds of genes (DNA sequences) from all types of speices have been inseted in to bateria for research.

So, are the building blocks for animal life also contained within plant life?

Is it remotely possible to flick some switches and create any kind of anomolly?

Many plants can already sense light, so they already have eyes (in some sense).

Edit: doh, philconsequence got there first

rediculous? definately.

vorlich, bob, remind me not to contact you when looking for imaginantion

I realise at first glance this may appear rediculous. But when you stop to actually think about the facts, its seems mildly plausable.

Until a geneticist tells me its impossible, then I guess its possible!

ohhh and also there are underwater (deeeeeeep sea) plants that are more like animals, and deeeeeeeeeep sea animals that are more like plants.

😀

the worlds got some cool stuff in it!

coral – thats freaky stuff right there – ‘am I a plant? am I animal’ am I one, am I a collective?…”

plants in the jungle that send out feelers like fingers to wrap around stuff so they can climb trees….

give it 5 years so the human race can evolve into big balls of fat with no real skills other than using facebook to bully fatter balls of fat and i for one will be welcoming our plant overlords, at least they can maintain an ecosystem

but what about when the plants delveop a taste for ‘VineBook’?

are the building blocks for animal life also contained within plant life

If they have DNA[they do] then yes they just need it sequenced in the right order, number of chromosomes changed, new sequences added and hey presto you have a new species altogether

Basically you want a plant that is an animal or a plant with animal features and you could not because the cells thht make up an eye for example are animal cells and not plant cells

Phil you cannot be more like a plant on a cellular level as animal and plants have different cell types.irc science boffins named them animal cells and plants cells but I cant recall which is which.

Plants cells have a cell wall over the cell membrane,whereas,animals cells lack cell wall.
In plant cells, there is a single large vacuole present in the middle, whereas, in animals cell,there are more than one vacuoles.
Plant cells possess plastids, but, animal cells don’t.
Animal cells have centrioles, whereas, plant cells don’t.
Plant cells are more square shaped, animal cells are more round
Plant cells have chlorophyll for Photosynthesis (make their own food), and animal cells don’t

PS lay of the drugs ..or start taking them depending on what brought about this thinking

vorlich, bob, remind me not to contact you when looking for imaginantion

I realise at first glance this may appear rediculous. But when you stop to actually think about the facts, its seems mildly plausable.

Until a geneticist tells me its impossible, then I guess its possible!

You’re struggling with spelling.

I’d leave the deeper concepts alone until you’ve grasped the basics.

As someone trained and paid to muck about with plant DNA I’d have to say no. DNA is only the start of making an organism. Yes, plants and animals use the same basic chemistry, it’s why we eat them afterall, but it is at the very basic level, it’s how they are used that defines the diferences.

To paraphrase a hackneyed cliche:
DNA is like a list of ingredients to make a cake; useless until you know what order to add things in, how much of each, what type of each, when and how to mix, what size and shape tin, oven temperature, etc, etc, etc…..

Plants detect light from UV to near infrared, respond to vibrations, move in response to touch, detect many more volatile chemicals than our noses manage but their responses are (loosely) analogous, not homologous, to animal responses.

Phil you cannot be more like a plant on a cellular level as animal and plants have different cell types.irc science boffins named them animal cells and plants cells but I cant recall which is which.

Plants cells have a cell wall over the cell membrane,whereas,animals cells lack cell wall.
In plant cells, there is a single large vacuole present in the middle, whereas, in animals cell,there are more than one vacuoles.
Plant cells possess plastids, but, animal cells don’t.
Animal cells have centrioles, whereas, plant cells don’t.
Plant cells are more square shaped, animal cells are more round
Plant cells have chlorophyll for Photosynthesis (make their own food), and animal cells don’t

i is aware of this, but i was talking about behaviours not cell structure 😀 plants that open and shut jaw like features to trap passing debris, animals that attach themselves to a rock and just float there absorbing stuff. i love the deep sea!

You can put green fluorescent protein from jellyfish into plants (and other things)

I’d leave the deeper concepts alone until you’ve grasped the basics.

a n t a g o n i s t i c

I think I spelt that right?

I’ll type more slowly for your benefit from now on.

shackleton, junkyard, I thank you.

as for the drugs, im teetotal for well over a year now. I think I actually need drugs to stop my mind going on such strange tangents.

I’m off to read a bit more about DNA.

You can put green fluorescent protein from jellyfish into plants (and other things)

I saw that once also, so some cells are cross transferable..