Enabling plant synthetic biology through genome engineering

Nicholas J. Baltes, Daniel F Voytas

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

181 Scopus citations

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)120-131
Number of pages12
JournalTrends in biotechnology
Volume33
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2015

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords

  • CRISPR/Cas
  • Genome engineering
  • Sequence-specific nuclease
  • Synthetic biology
  • TALEN
  • Zinc-finger nuclease

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