Lux Z

This project develops a computational pipeline that translates the DNA of Vibrio fischeri a bioluminescent marine bacterium into generative images and animations using Stable Diffusion. Rather than using biological data as a metaphor or aesthetic reference, the pipeline treats DNA sequence properties as direct visual parameters: GC content determines colour temperature, lux box scores determine light intensity, and protein geometry conditions image structure through ControlNet. The result is a set of per-gene visual portraits and organism-level animations whose appearance is fully determined by measurable properties of real genomic data. A synthetic gene, LuxZ, is also designed and inserted into the pipeline on equal footing with the natural genes.