Engineering synthetic regulatory circuits in plants

•Orthogonal parts quantitatively characterized in plants are key for robust regulatory circuit design.•Transfer functions allow us to develop in silico predictive models to guide assembly of complex genetic circuits.•Rationally designed regulatory circuits enable us to program living plants for adva...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant science (Limerick) 2018-08, Vol.273 (C), p.13-22
Main Authors: Kassaw, Tessema K., Donayre-Torres, Alberto J., Antunes, Mauricio S., Morey, Kevin J., Medford, June I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Genetic circuit
Mathematical modeling
Orthogonal
Plant Sciences
Plant synthetic biology
Synthetic biology
Transfer function
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Summary:•Orthogonal parts quantitatively characterized in plants are key for robust regulatory circuit design.•Transfer functions allow us to develop in silico predictive models to guide assembly of complex genetic circuits.•Rationally designed regulatory circuits enable us to program living plants for advanced applications. Plant synthetic biology is a rapidly emerging field that aims to engineer genetic circuits to function in plants with the same reliability and precision as electronic circuits. These circuits can be used to program predictable plant behavior, producing novel traits to improve crop plant productivity, enable biosensors, and serve as platforms to synthesize chemicals and complex biomolecules. Herein we introduce the importance of developing orthogonal plant parts and the need for quantitative part characterization for mathematical modeling of complex circuits. In particular, transfer functions are important when designing electronic-like genetic controls such as toggle switches, positive/negative feedback loops, and Boolean logic gates. We then discuss potential constraints and challenges in synthetic regulatory circuit design and integration when using plants. Finally, we highlight current and potential plant synthetic regulatory circuit applications.
ISSN:0168-9452
1873-2259
DOI:10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.04.005