Japan is bursting with colour at this time of year. Cherry blossoms are in full bloom, camellias, magnolias, forsythia and dogwood perk up the landscape, while tulips, marguerites, violets and many other kinds of flowers bring a vibrancy to small gardens. Mother's Day is on May 8, when towns are traditionally full of red carnations. People everywhere are visibly energised by the rich floral varieties.
For some, though, even this explosion of colour is not enough. They crave new and different kinds of blooms - in blue, for instance. For a long time, experts have thought it impossible to create a blue rose. But thanks to the latest biotechnology, they will soon be available here.
Breeders around the world have crossed all kinds of roses, providing a huge variety of colours - anything, it seems, except blue. To get a true blue colour, flowers need the blue pigment delphinidin. But the gene of the enzyme that produces delphinidin is not found in rose petals.
Enter Japan's leading whisky brewer, Suntory, which is located in Osaka. In 1990, it launched a joint project with Australian bioventure company, Calgene Pacific (now Florigene) to develop blue roses using biotechnology. Researchers extracted the gene that produces the blue pigment in flowers such as petunias, and were able to implant and activate it in other flowers. In 1995, they produced the world's first blue carnation. Named Moondust, the blooms made their debut in Japan two years later. Today, they are also sold in North America and Australia.
The same technology was applied to roses in the years that followed, with scientists using the gene that produces the blue pigment in pansies. Last year, they finally achieved the impossible: a blue rose.
Compared with previous efforts, produced by conventional crossbreeding methods - which produce a blueish tinge to the petals - the biotech product is vivid blue, they claim. Suntory researchers have since refined their work, with the idea of creating a 'clearer' colour. Having reportedly invested 3 billion yen ($217 million) in the project, the company hopes to start marketing the roses in 2007 after the authorities have carried out environmental-impact and safety tests.