Understanding and overcoming protein production bottlenecks in plants

Abstract

Plant protein production systems are scalable and sustainable platforms capable of meeting the growing demand for functional proteins in nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and industry. Recent advances in essential amino acid (EAA) biosynthesis, gene regulation, and subcellular targeting have enhanced protein yields and stability, but are yet to be integrated into holistic engineering approaches. Metabolic engineering can improve amino acid (AA) metabolism and energy efficiency, while genetic engineering enables finetuned, spatiotemporal expression of target proteins. Coupled with in silico tools for protein design, novel proteins with enhanced stability and functionality can be developed. Integrating these strategies would enable the fine-tuning of protein synthesis while balancing cellular energy costs, offering context-dependent opportunities to advance protein production in plant systems.

Keywords: amino acid biosynthesis; gene regulation; plant protein production; protein stability; subcellular targeting; synthetic biology.