Australia’s Gene Technology Regulator has granted a licence to Florigene for commercial release of a genetically modified Hybrid Tea rose which expresses genes for the colour blue. [...] Six years after it was founded in Melbourne in 1986, Florigene gained patents over use of a petunia gene which imparts blue flower colour. In 1994 it successfully implanted the gene into carnations to create a GM range which has been commercially available worldwide for some years. In 2003 the company was acquired by the Suntory group of companies but its research is still conducted in Melbourne.