According to RevBio, if you know which enzyme is not working, the process can be fixed and the flower can gain color. The company has modified a petunia to do just this when a certain molecule is present. When watered with a dilute ethanol, such as beer, the plant turns from white to red in 24 hours. The change can then be reversed by using regular water.
Of course, a plant need not be ill-functioning to be modified – it’s possible to modify the instructions in the DNA of any plant. Furthermore, says RevBio, the instructions can be modified so as to express the plant’s enzymes in patterns across the petals or even under certain environmental conditions, such as temperature.
via Gizmag
