A petri dish on a piece of blue denim fabric,containing colonies of genetically modified Escherichia coli bacteria producing the dye indigo. Indigo has been used for thousands of years,and was originally obtained from plants such as woad,Isatis tinctoria,then Indigofera tinctoria. Chemical synthesis was developed in the late 19th Century. It is a polluting industrial process producing toxic waste. Annual world production of indigo is about 20 million kilogrammes,mostly for the dying of cotton in the manufacture of jeans. The picture shows colonies of E. coli streaked on to an agar medium. The bacterium has been modified genetically by the insertion of an oxygenase gene that allows the conversion indole into indoxyl,a precursor of indigo. The production of so-called "Biotech indigo" is a cleaner process,now working on an industrial scale,with benefits to the environment | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Burgess, Dr. Jeremy |
Taille de l’image : | 3413 px × 5120 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |