Plants are dependent on the sun. Sunlight does not only supply them with energy, but also controls their development steps. So-called photoreceptors（感光器） activate¹ the processes of germination²（发芽） , leaf development, bud formation, and blossoming in the cells. The light-absorbing component³ of a photoreceptor may be replaced by a chemically similar synthetic⁴ substance. For the first time, the effects on complete plants are now described in the The Plant Cell journal.

"The plants developed in the dark as if they were in light," says the Director of the studies Tilman Lamparter, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The seeds and seedlings⁵ of thale cress were fed with a synthetic substance named "15Ea-phycocyanobilin". In the plant cell, this substance replaces the natural, photoactive（感光性的） component of the photoreceptor, the "phytochromobilin". Incorporation⁶ of 15Ea-PCB activates⁷ the photoreceptor and the plant is made believe it is exposed to light. In spite of the darkness, model plants germinate⁸ and grow similar to a control group exposed to light. "It was shown for the first time that synthetic substances can cause light effects in entire plants."

Synthetic photoreceptors might be valuable tools for research, as they facilitate studies of many chemical plant processes compared to conventional genetic⁹ engineering methods. Apart from growth, photosynthesis¹⁰ can also be investigated much better. "Blossoming of flowers or development of the photosynthesis system may be controlled much better in the future," predicts Lamparter. "These findings would be of high use for agricultural industry in the cultivation¹¹ of flowers or biomass production, for instance." In the future, it is planned to study related aspects in further detail.