◎俞智敏

The blue rose has long been referred to by horticulturalists as the "Holy Grail" of the plant breeding world. Now what is being described as the world’s first genetically-modified blue rose is about to hit flower shops in Japan.

藍玫瑰一直被園藝專家們視為育種界的「聖杯」。但現在一種被形容為全球第一種經過基因改造的藍玫瑰即將出現在日本的花店裡。

A Japanese firm has announced it will be the first to put the unique flower on sale to the public - at a not-to-be-sniffed-at 2,000 and 3,000 yen per stem, about 10 times more expensive than normal.

一家日本公司宣布將首次讓這種獨特的花朵上市，價格則是一般人只能遠觀、不可褻玩的高貴，一枝要價2000至3000日圓，大約是一般玫瑰的10倍。

Genetically, there is no natural blue pigmentation in the rose to allow a true blue rose to be bred by conventional methods. But in 2004, whisky distiller Suntory said it had succeeded in developing natural blue roses.

就基因上而言，玫瑰並沒有天然的藍色素，可使用傳統方式培育出真正的藍玫瑰。但在2004年，威士忌酒商三得利公司表示已成功研發出天然的藍玫瑰。

With Australian biotech company Florigene, it said it spliced into roses the gene that leads to the synthesis of the blue pigment Delphinidin in petunias.

在與澳洲Florigene生技公司合作下，三得利公司表示已把一種能讓牽牛花合成藍色色素飛燕草素的基因，與玫瑰的基因相結合。

Helen Bostock, a horticulture advisor at the UK’s Royal Horticultural Society, says that while a true-blue rose sounds fabulous, it could stand out like a "sore thumb".

英國皇家園藝學會的園藝顧問波斯塔克女士則認為，儘管真正的藍玫瑰聽起來很吸引人，但卻可能顯得格格不入。

She is doubtful that a blue rose would be anything other than a novelty. "A red rose signifies passion, but blue is a bit cold in my book."

她很懷疑藍玫瑰除了新奇外還能有什麼其他意義。「紅玫瑰象徵熱情，但就我看來，藍色實在有點不討喜。」

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Holy Grail：