Orange petunia

Orange petunia
close-up image of orange petunia flowers
Identifier(s)A1-DFR petunia
PlantPetunia × hybrida
ModeTransgenesis
Trait(s) conferredOrange flowers
Genes introducedA1
SourceMaize

Orange petunias or A1-DFR petunias are genetically modified organisms which contain a transgene from maize that colors the petunia flowers orange. First created in a 1987 experiment at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, the petunias were subsequently released into the wild but were not commercialized. In 2015 orange petunias were discovered in Helsinki by botanist Teemu Teeri, leading to a regulatory response dubbed the petunia carnage of 2017 in which plant sellers were directed to destroy the modified petunia plants rather than sell them. The United States Department of Agriculture approved the sale of orange petunias in the United States in January 2021.