A Deliciously Edible Common-weed

[audiowizard]

I have this project:

 

Genetically engineering a crossbred plant. Similar in concept with the way scientists invented the killer bee by crossbreeding European honey bee's and the African bee's.

 

Combine the common weed for it's ability to naturally grow almost everywhere without human tending, and an edible vegetable such as spinach or romaine lettuce which is healthy and tasty. So the desired result of this project is a delicious and edible vegetable that grows everywhere, naturally.

 

Thank you

Lee Fernandes

[Turtle]

___Dandelion + Lettuce = Danduce or Lettelion

 

___Plantain + Spinach = Plantach or Spinain

 

;)

[audiowizard]

Exactly! ;)

[C1ay]

Hops + cannabis = ? ;)

[Turtle]

___Cannop? Honabis? Ed Rosentahl suggested that combine in the 70's but I never heard of any great success. Weed + ale = whale? ;)

[C1ay]

Hops and cannabis, both of the family cannabinaceae, are related enough that hops can be grafted to a cannabis root. The resulting hops then produces many of the same chemicals that cannabis produces. I wonder what kind of ale it might produce ;)

[Cryogenic]

I believe they already have, but even weeds won't grow in some places.

[audiowizard]

If someone has invented this...where are they? I have alot of people who want to have wild spinach and lettuce growing naturally and spreading along their yard, along the street, in the woods, etc.

[Cryogenic]

The wild radish is a very common spring weed. The bigeneric hybrid (Raphanobrassica) or Rabbage is a cross between the radish (Raphanus) and cabbage (Brassica). I'm sure the right conditions are still required, although it is a vegetable/weed hybrid. Elements and location will play a factor, and the real issue is usurpation infestation of invasive species. What happens when it goes out of control, and works it's way into school playgrounds, parks and golf courses? You know them golfers would be steamin'. How about a 5th hole salad? A man once took an unknown invasive native S. American rain forest flower type plant to Hawaii. It turns out they grow uncontrollably and have infested the island of Oahu, efforts to irradicate the plant have proved saltationless. As far as the forest goes, even some weeds require an ample amount of sunlight, and no chlorophyll without photosynthesis.

[audiowizard]

Yeah, I have quite a few people who want edible lettuce spreading naturally in their golf courses, along the streets, everywhere.

[UncleAl]

Genetically engineering a crossbred plant. Similar in concept with the way scientists invented the killer bee by crossbreeding European honey bee's and the African bee's.

Illucid.

 

You start with a C4 metabolism plant (e.g., crabgrass, corn) that is not toxic, waxy, or malodorous. You add that to a high-yield edible tube, fruit, or vegetable that is phtosynthetically inefficient (e.g., potato). Inserting gene cassettes is no big deal. How will you activate the promoter sequences? Hell, go the easy route and simply add lysine and tryptophan to corn or methionine to beans.

 

Photosynthesis necks down to one enzyme: RuBisCO. RuBisCO is the slowest most inefficient enzyme known. 30% of a leaf's soluble protein is RuBisCO, with a turnover rate around 3/sec and 1% efficency. Carbonic anhydrase has a turnover rate of 10^6/sec with 99% efficiency. If you rebuild RuBisCO with a still incredibly crappy 20/sec turnover and 7% efficiency you increase the world's food supply by a factor of 47. BUT IT WOULD BE WRONG.

 

http://employees.csbsju.edu/ssaupe/biol327/Lecture/photosyn-carbon.htm

http://www.scicom.demon.co.uk/Rubisco%20proj/Websites.html#phot