The Mechanism behind the Heart Shaped Herb's Purple Glow

Angel Johnson

Abstract


This paper will investigate the mechanism behind the purple glow produced by the heart shaped herb seen in the Black Panther movie. Auto-luminescent plants Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco plant) have been produced facilitated by the horizontal gene transfer of the lux operon gene from bacteria. There are many bioluminescent marine species which live deep in the sea; these include anglerfish and Watasenia scintillans, also known as a firefly squid. Their luminescent properties are due to bioluminescent bacteria and photophores. This paper will investigate whether these bacteria can be used to produce the glow in the heart shaped herb.  


Keywords


Film; Biology; Bioluminescence; Heart Shaped Herb; Marvel; Black Panther

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References


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