Plants offer a vast source of bioactive chemicals with the potential to improve human health through the prevention and treatment of disease. However, many potential therapeutics are produced in small amounts or in species that are difficult to cultivate. The rapidly evolving field of plant synthetic biology provides tools to capitalize on the inventive chemistry of plants by transferring metabolic pathways for therapeutics into far more tenable plants, increasing our ability to produce complex pharmaceuticals in well-studied plant systems. Plant synthetic biology also provides methods to enhance the ability to fortify crops with nutrients and nutraceuticals. In this review, we discuss (1) the potential of plant synthetic biology to improve human health by generating plants that produce pharmaceuticals, nutrients, and nutraceuticals and (2) the technological challenges hindering our ability to generate plants producing health-promoting small molecules.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.691462 | DOI Listing |
Chempluschem
January 2025
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal, 462066, Madhya Pradesh, India.
The agricultural sector of any country plays a pivotal role in its economy. Irrigation and the provision of appropriate nutrient levels in soil are essential for optimizing plant growth and enhancing crop productivity. To support the increasing need for food due to the growing population worldwide, synthetic fertilizers have been widely used in the agricultural sector.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater Sci Technol
January 2025
Institute for Smart City of Chongqing University in Liyang, Jiangsu 213300, China.
Contamination by heavy metals (HMs) in aquatic ecosystems is a worldwide issue. Therefore, a feasible solution is crucial for underdeveloped and developing countries. Waste-derived materials (WDMs) exhibit unique physical and chemical properties that promote diverse mechanisms for the removal of HMs in constructed wetlands (CWs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biol Chem
January 2025
CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China. Electronic address:
Biomolecular condensates (BMCs) represent a group of organized and programmed systems that participate in gene transcription, chromosome organization, cell division, tumorigenesis, and aging. However, the understanding of BMCs in terms of internal organizations and external regulations remains at an early stage. Recently, novel approaches such as synthetic biology have been used for de novo synthesis of BMCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant Physiol Biochem
January 2025
Functional Plant Cultivation and Application Teams, Institute of Urban Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, 610000, China; State Key Laboratory of Dao-di Herbs, Beijing, 100700, China; Zhengzhou Research Base, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. Electronic address:
Conifers of the genus Taxus are environmentally friendly plants with significant medicinal and ecological value, contributing to the enhancement of urban living environments. Paclitaxel, a compound found in Taxus, has garnered particular research interest owing to its potent anti-cancer effects. However, traditional methods of extracting paclitaxel from Taxus are not only inefficient, but also destructive and unsustainable, posing the major risk of Taxus extinction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
January 2025
Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Makkah, 23955, Saudi Arabia.
Antarctica's harsh environmental conditions, characterized by high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, pose challenges for microorganisms. To survive in these extreme cold regions with heightened UV exposure, microorganisms employ various adaptive strategies, including photoprotective carotenoid synthesis. Carotenoids are garnering attention in the skin health industry because of their UV photoprotection potential, given the direct relationship between UV exposure and skin burns, and cancer.
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