I got my firefly petunias from light.bio around a month or so ago and they’re now just starting to take off. This picture was taken in a dark room with no windows, though I’m sure the phone brightened it up a bit. They aren’t as bright as I was imagining, but I still find them neat.
I think it’s a fair concern in general but fine in this case since the company almost certainly edited in the lux operon which is one of the most well studied and understood gene switches out there. It and similar pathways have been used in many branches of science for decades. I think the novelty here is just that it’s in a consumer product instead.
Some GMOs are approved and released before we fully understand their long-term ecological or health impacts. While short-term studies may show no harm, ecological processes unfold over decades.
Another thing is that introducing glowing flowers might make genetic modification seem harmless or trivial. This could lead to less critical public debate and a gradual erosion of caution in how such technologies are used.