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The Future Technologies Award “VYZOV” in the “Breakthrough” category has been awarded to Ilia Yampolsky
For deciphering the molecular mechanisms of bioluminescence and creating glowing plants
Bioluminescence – the light emitted by living organisms – has long fascinated humanity. Prior to Ilia Yampolsky’s work, only seven luciferins were known, enabling luminescence in certain bacteria, fireflies, worms, dinoflagellates, crustaceans, and jellyfish. Together with colleagues, Ilia Yampolsky discovered new luciferins, including those responsible for fungal luminescence, deciphered the complete biochemical pathway of luminescence, and then – for the first time in the world – used genetic engineering to fully transfer this pathway, along with all the necessary genes, into plants. This led to the creation of the first glowing plants in history. The laureate’s team subsequently increased the brightness of these plants a thousandfold and established commercial production of glowing houseplants.
However, the laureate’s achievements do not end there. Genetic-engineering-based bioluminescence using the luciferin/luciferase system is already widely used in biology and biomedical research, offering several advantages over traditional markers such as fluorescent proteins, since it produces no background emission and is not phototoxic. Moreover, the method developed for transferring entire biochemical pathways from one kingdom to another opens the door to engineering new traits in eukaryotes, including atmospheric nitrogen fixation.
The “VYZOV” Award was presented for deciphering the molecular mechanisms of bioluminescence and creating glowing plants.
december 15