Revolutionizing Nature: The Power of Plants
November 2024
By Elizabeth Siaw
Edited by Dannah Altiti
Plants are often associated with nature’s beauty, wild ecosystems, perhaps agriculture and the environment. However, what if these nurturing organisms could be engineered to play a bigger role in our lives rather than just when we go out and touch grass? Yes – imagine a world where plants can be engineered to produce medicines, clean the air, generate sustainable fuels and much more – welcome to the cutting-edge field of plant metabolism and synthetic biology.
Historical context
Fruits, flowers, leaves, and seeds don’t make up a plant. Plant cells have an incredible capacity to synthesize and store various plant chemicals, which we call secondary metabolites, or phytochemicals that play roles in the basic biochemistry, defense, ecology, and development of plants (Dixon & Dickinson, 2024). Throughout history, humankind has worked to identify and utilize these natural plant products; from aspirin to morphine, plants with medicinal compounds have been treated with particular interest, especially if they were able to contain large amounts of these chemicals.
As science progressed, people began experimenting to determine which plant-derived compounds would have ‘desirable’ effects by applying plant extracts to tissues, animals, or microbes (Burrell, 1937). This initiated explorations into pathways by which plants could biosynthesize desired compounds, which also tied into processes by which plants function and increased the potential of plants in many areas. For instance, photosynthesis in plants can fix and remove atmospheric carbon; biomass growth of certain plants can provide more material for sustainable biofuel; and defense mechanisms prevent pathogens from wiping out entire agricultural fields. Still, all these were limited to a specific species, or by the inhibiting factors of the process in some way. It was therefore no surprise that when molecular biology entered the playing field, the game changed drastically.
The prospects in plants
By genetically editing plants, scientists discovered that they now could transform the biosynthetic pathways in plants; by having the plant ‘focus’ its energies on one process more than another, or increasing the flux of a product, plants could now be stimulated into synthesizing more of a specific chemical, or doing so more quickly (Dixon & Dickinson, 2024). Think of increasing the concentration of healthy carotenoids in a tomato, improving fatty acids in seeds used in cooking oil, enhancing artemisinin (an anti-malarial drug) production in sweet wormwood, or producing Vitamin B for supplements in a weed-like plant – all these have been done through plant synthetic biology (Goold et al., 2018, Liu et al., 2022). Furthermore, the possibilities are not limited to nutrition and pharmaceuticals. Research is being done to increase oil production in crops for biodiesel (Yang et al., 2022), while other studies are ongoing to synthesize biodegradable plastic alternatives from plant starch or use plants as a platform to synthesize bioplastics on a larger scale (Morgan et al., 2024). In terms of the environment, model plants such as tobacco are studied to increase carbon fixation in photosynthesis for combating climate change (Goold et al., 2018).
In UW-Madison
Such exciting discoveries are also happening within the UW-Madison campus. The Goldman Lab in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences works on increasing flavour molecules in carrots, onions, and table beets (Goldman Lab, n.d.). In the Department of Botany, Hiroshi Maeda’s lab explores carbon dioxide conversion into useful phytochemicals to clean the air while enhancing plant-based production of material for food, energy, and medicine (PlantCMB, n.d.). The Gillaspy lab, run by CALS dean Glenda Gillaspy, aims to develop plants that recycle excess ground to fertilizer that can be better absorbed by plants to reduce phosphate pollution and algal growth (ECALS, 2022). At the Wisconsin Energy Institute, Professor John Ralph of Department of Biochemistry has been awarded for his research on the biosynthesis and degradation of plant lignin for biofuel processing (Hubbuch, 2024). Meanwhile, the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering’s new Dudley Lab focuses on sustainable biomolecule production in plants (PlantCMB, n.d.).
All in all, plant synthetic biology has the power to revolutionize the way we interact with and utilize plants, transforming them from basic resources into dynamic biofactories capable of addressing the world’s challenges. As research into this field continues to push the boundaries of what plants can do, we have yet to discover the hidden potential of plants to address global challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, sustainability, and healthcare. The possibilities are endless!
References:
Arabidopsis stock photo. (2007, November 13). iStock. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/arabidopsis-gm90970970-4636631
Burrell, R. C. (1937). Phytochemistry. What it is and how it has developed. Journal of Chemical Education, 14(11), 520. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed014p520
Dixon, R. A., & Dickinson, A. J. (2024). A century of studying plant secondary metabolism—From “what?” to “where, how, and why?” PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, 195(1), 48–66. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiad596
ECALS. (2022, August 8). Q&A: CALS Dean Glenda Gillaspy on joining the college, her research, hobbies and more – eCALS. https://ecals.cals.wisc.edu/2022/08/08/qa-cals-dean-glenda-gillaspy-on-joining-the-college-her-research-hobbies-and-more/
Faculty by Department, Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics Program. (n.d.). Plant Breeding & Plant Genetics Program, University of Wisconsin Madison. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://plantbreeding.wisc.edu/faculty/by-department/
Goldman Lab. (n.d.). Goldman Lab – Carrot, Onion, and Table Beet Breeding and Genetics. https://goldman.horticulture.wisc.edu/
Goold, H. D., Wright, P., & Hailstones, D. (2018). Emerging opportunities for synthetic biology in agriculture. Genes, 9(7), 341. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9070341
Hubbuch, C. (2024, April 17). WEI scientist John Ralph awarded top forestry prize for lignin research. Wisconsin Energy Institute. https://energy.wisc.edu/news/wei-scientist-john-ralph-awarded-top-forestry-prize-lignin-research
Liu, X., Zhang, P., Zhao, Q., & Huang, A. C. (2022). Making small molecules in plants: A chassis for synthetic biology‐based production of plant natural products. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology, 65(2), 417–443. https://doi.org/10.1111/jipb.13330
