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Joshi J, Hanson AD. A pilot oral history of plant synthetic biology. Plant Physiol 2024; 195:36-47. [PMID: 38163646 PMCID: PMC11060686 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiad585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
The whole field of synthetic biology (SynBio) is only about 20 years old, and plant SynBio is younger still. Nevertheless, within that short time, SynBio in general has drawn more scientific, philosophical, government, and private-sector interest than anything in biology since the recombinant DNA revolution. Plant SynBio, in particular, is now drawing more and more interest in relation to plants' potential to help solve planetary problems such as carbon capture and storage and replacing fossil fuels and feedstocks. As plant SynBio is so young and so fast-developing, we felt it was too soon to try to analyze its history. Instead, we set out to capture the essence of plant SynBio's origins and early development through interviews with 8 of the field's founders, representing 5 countries and 3 continents. We then distilled these founders' personal recollections and reflections into this review, centering the narrative on timelines for pivotal events, articles, funding programs, and quoting from interviews. We have archived the interview recordings and documented timeline entries. This work provides a resource for future historical scholarship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaya Joshi
- Department of Wood Science, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Andrew D Hanson
- Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, 2550 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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Akter S, Castaneda-Méndez O, Beltrán J. Synthetic reprogramming of plant developmental and biochemical pathways. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 87:103139. [PMID: 38691988 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2024.103139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Plant synthetic biology (Plant SynBio) is an emerging field with the potential to enhance agriculture, human health, and sustainability. Integrating genetic tools and engineering principles, Plant SynBio aims to manipulate cellular functions and construct novel biochemical pathways to develop plants with new phenotypic traits, enhanced yield, and be able to produce natural products and pharmaceuticals. This review compiles research efforts in reprogramming plant developmental and biochemical pathways. We highlight studies leveraging new gene expression toolkits to alter plant architecture for improved performance in model and crop systems and to produce useful metabolites in plant tissues. Furthermore, we provide insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with the adoption of Plant SynBio in addressing complex issues impacting agriculture and human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shammi Akter
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE 19713, USA
| | - Oscar Castaneda-Méndez
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE 19713, USA
| | - Jesús Beltrán
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE 19713, USA.
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Hu X, Liu W, Yan Y, Deng H, Cai Y. Tropinone reductase: A comprehensive review on its role as the key enzyme in tropane alkaloids biosynthesis. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 253:127377. [PMID: 37839598 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.127377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
TAs, including hyoscyamine and scopolamine, were used to treat neuromuscular disorders ranging from nerve agent poisoning to Parkinson's disease. Tropinone reductase I (TR-I; EC 1.1.1.206) catalyzed the conversion of tropinone into tropine in the biosynthesis of TAs, directing the metabolic flow towards hyoscyamine and scopolamine. Tropinone reductase II (TR-II; EC 1.1.1.236) was responsible for the conversion of tropinone into pseudotropine, diverting the metabolic flux towards calystegine A3. The regulation of metabolite flow through both branches of the TAs pathway seemed to be influenced by the enzymatic activity of both enzymes and their accessibility to the precursor tropinone. The significant interest in the utilization of metabolic engineering for the efficient production of TAs has highlighted the importance of TRs as crucial enzymes that govern both the direction of metabolic flow and the yield of products. This review discussed recent advances for the TRs sources, properties, protein structure and biocatalytic mechanisms, and a detailed overview of its crucial role in the metabolism and synthesis of TAs was summarized. Furthermore, we conducted a detailed investigation into the evolutionary origins of these two TRs. A prospective analysis of potential challenges and applications of TRs was presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxiang Hu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Wenjing Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Yi Yan
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Huaxiang Deng
- Center for Synthetic Biochemistry, Institute of Synthetic Biology, Institutes of Advanced Technologies, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yujie Cai
- The Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China.
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Anhel AM, Alejaldre L, Goñi-Moreno Á. The Laboratory Automation Protocol (LAP) Format and Repository: A Platform for Enhancing Workflow Efficiency in Synthetic Biology. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:3514-3520. [PMID: 37982688 PMCID: PMC7615385 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
Laboratory automation deals with eliminating manual tasks in high-throughput protocols. It therefore plays a crucial role in allowing fast and reliable synthetic biology. However, implementing open-source automation solutions often demands experimental scientists to possess scripting skills, and even when they do, there is no standardized toolkit available for their use. To address this, we present the Laboratory Automation Protocol (LAP) Format and Repository. LAPs adhere to a standardized script-based format, enhancing end-user implementation and simplifying further development. With a modular design, LAPs can be seamlessly combined to create customized, target-specific workflows. Furthermore, all LAPs undergo experimental validation, ensuring their reliability. Detailed information is provided within each repository entry, allowing users to validate the LAPs in their own laboratory settings. We advocate for the adoption of the LAP Format and Repository as a community resource, which will continue to expand, improving the reliability and reproducibility of the automation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana-Mariya Anhel
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA/CSIC), 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lorea Alejaldre
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA/CSIC), 28223, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ángel Goñi-Moreno
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA/CSIC), 28223, Madrid, Spain
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Van Gelder K, Oliveira-Filho ER, Messina CD, Venado RE, Wilker J, Rajasekar S, Ané JM, Amthor JS, Hanson AD. Running the numbers on plant synthetic biology solutions to global problems. Plant Sci 2023; 335:111815. [PMID: 37543223 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering promise to deliver sustainable solutions to global problems such as phasing out fossil fuels and replacing industrial nitrogen fixation. While this promise is real, scale matters, and so do knock-on effects of implementing solutions. Both scale and knock-on effects can be estimated by 'Fermi calculations' (aka 'back-of-envelope calculations') that use uncontroversial input data plus simple arithmetic to reach rough but reliable conclusions. Here, we illustrate how this is done and how informative it can be using two cases: oilcane (sugarcane engineered to accumulate triglycerides instead of sugar) as a source of bio-jet fuel, and nitrogen fixation by bacteria in mucilage secreted by maize aerial roots. We estimate that oilcane could meet no more than about 1% of today's U.S. jet fuel demand if grown on all current U.S. sugarcane land and that, if cane land were expanded to meet two-thirds of this demand, the fertilizer and refinery requirements would create a large carbon footprint. Conversely, we estimate that nitrogen fixation in aerial-root mucilage could replace up to 10% of the fertilizer nitrogen applied to U.S. maize, that 2% of plant carbon income used for growth would suffice to fuel the fixation, and that this extra carbon consumption would likely reduce grain yield only slightly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Van Gelder
- Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | | | - Carlos D Messina
- Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Rafael E Venado
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Jennifer Wilker
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Shanmugam Rajasekar
- Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Jean-Michel Ané
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Amthor
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Andrew D Hanson
- Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
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