Synthetic genetic circuits as a means of reprogramming plant roots
Abstract
Scientists developed a collection of synthetic transcriptional regulators for plants that can be compiled to create genetic circuits that control gene expression by performing Boolean logic operations and can be used to predictably alter root structure. This work is the first step in designing crops that are better able to collect water and nutrients from the soil.
Used in syntheses
Questions this source addresses
- How can chemicals that react and spread create a pattern?
- How do cells know where they are in a growing body?
- How does a living thing know what shape to grow into?
- How does auxin shape a growing plant?
- How can synthetic transcriptional regulators be compiled into genetic circuits that perform Boolean logic operations inside plant cells?
- How could engineering root systems with programmable genetic circuits improve crop water and nutrient uptake under climate change?
- How does spatial and temporal control of synthetic circuits allow targeted manipulation of the developmental gradients that govern plant growth?
- What kinds of root architecture changes, such as branching patterns, root angles, and growth rates, can be predictably engineered using synthetic genetic circuits?