The Cactus Project

The cactus project is a transgenic artwork involving the fusion of human genetic material into the cactus genome resulting in the cactus expressing human hair. The cactus project involved the use of the agrobacterium system introducing the keratin gene into the cells of the cactus. By taking advantage of the totipotency of plant cells, the transformed cells were used to regenerate genetically engineered transgenic cacti. The logistical challenge was having the keratin expressed in cactus cells morphologically similar to hair and for the cactus to produce it externally.