Enabling plant synthetic biology through genome engineering

Nicholas J Baltes; Daniel F Voytas

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.11.008

Enabling plant synthetic biology through genome engineering

Trends Biotechnol. 2015 Feb;33(2):120-31. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.11.008. Epub 2014 Dec 12.

Authors

Nicholas J Baltes¹, Daniel F Voytas²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, and Center for Genome Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
² Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, and Center for Genome Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Electronic address: voytas@umn.edu.

PMID: 25496918
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.11.008

Abstract

Synthetic biology seeks to create new biological systems, including user-designed plants and plant cells. These systems can be employed for a variety of purposes, ranging from producing compounds of industrial or therapeutic value, to reducing crop losses by altering cellular responses to pathogens or climate change. To realize the full potential of plant synthetic biology, techniques are required that provide control over the genetic code - enabling targeted modifications to DNA sequences within living plant cells. Such control is now within reach owing to recent advances in the use of sequence-specific nucleases to precisely engineer genomes. We discuss here the enormous potential provided by genome engineering for plant synthetic biology.

Keywords: CRISPR/Cas; TALEN; genome engineering; sequence-specific nuclease; synthetic biology; zinc-finger nuclease.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Agrobacterium / genetics
DNA End-Joining Repair
Endonucleases / genetics
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
Gene Targeting / methods*
Genetic Engineering / methods*
Genome, Plant*
Homologous Recombination
Mutagenesis, Site-Directed / methods
Nitrogen Fixation / genetics
Plants / genetics*
Synthetic Biology / methods*
Zinc Fingers / genetics

Substances

Endonucleases