Background: There are over 350,000 species of flowering plants with an astounding diversity of forms. The myriad of floral structures and patterns arose through evolution by modification of gene sets and genetic pathways that instruct flower development and patterning. These genetic modifications evolved in part to attract pollinators that have selected the most attractive flowers for millions of years. In the past few decades, scientists have uncovered how flower development is orchestrated and created biotechnology capable of tinkering with the genetic instructions for flowers. Because flowers are the basis of the majority of our food, this knowledge holds great potential for plant genetic engineering and sustainability.
Objective: This project seeks to create an interactive course for outreach programs and university classrooms around the world by implementing a collection of novel flowers and accompanied visuals for teaching plant development and biotechnology. The course will allow students to engage with living plants, analyze them just as researchers do, and even design them themselves! Importantly, these experiments and analysis do not require specialized equipment, making them ideal for university practical rooms with large cohorts of students. An additional objective of the project is to use imaging and animation to communicate plant development from an engineering perspective and inspire curiosity as to how modern gene technology can enable the improvement of plants for human use.
