1
|
Pfotenhauer AC, Lenaghan SC. Phytosensors: harnessing plants to understand the world around us. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 87:103134. [PMID: 38705091 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2024.103134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Although plants are sessile, their ubiquitous distribution, ability to harness energy from the sun, and ability to sense above and belowground signals make them ideal candidates for biosensor development. Synthetic biology has allowed scientists to reimagine biosensors as engineered devices that are focused on accomplishing novel tasks. As such, a new wave of plant-based sensors, phytosensors, are being engineered as multi-component sense-and-report devices that can alert human operators to a variety of hazards. While phytosensors are intrinsically tied to agriculture, a new generation of phytosensors has been envisioned to function in the built environment and even in austere environments, such as space. In this review, we will explore the current state of the art with regard to phytosensor engineering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Scott C Lenaghan
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA; Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Pfotenhauer AC, Occhialini A, Nguyen MA, Scott H, Dice LT, Harbison SA, Li L, Reuter DN, Schimel TM, Stewart CN, Beal J, Lenaghan SC. Building the Plant SynBio Toolbox through Combinatorial Analysis of DNA Regulatory Elements. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:2741-2755. [PMID: 35901078 PMCID: PMC9396662 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
While the installation of complex genetic circuits in
microorganisms
is relatively routine, the synthetic biology toolbox is severely limited
in plants. Of particular concern is the absence of combinatorial analysis
of regulatory elements, the long design-build-test cycles associated
with transgenic plant analysis, and a lack of naming standardization
for cloning parts. Here, we use previously described plant regulatory
elements to design, build, and test 91 transgene cassettes for relative
expression strength. Constructs were transiently transfected into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and expression of a
fluorescent reporter was measured from plant canopies, leaves, and
protoplasts isolated from transfected plants. As anticipated, a dynamic
level of expression was achieved from the library, ranging from near
undetectable for the weakest cassette to a ∼200-fold increase
for the strongest. Analysis of expression levels in plant canopies,
individual leaves, and protoplasts were correlated, indicating that
any of the methods could be used to evaluate regulatory elements in
plants. Through this effort, a well-curated 37-member part library
of plant regulatory elements was characterized, providing the necessary
data to standardize construct design for precision metabolic engineering
in plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander C Pfotenhauer
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Alessandro Occhialini
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Mary-Anne Nguyen
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Helen Scott
- Intelligent Software and Systems, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Lezlee T Dice
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Stacee A Harbison
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Li Li
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - D Nikki Reuter
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Tayler M Schimel
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - C Neal Stewart
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 2431 Joe Johnson Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Jacob Beal
- Intelligent Software and Systems, Raytheon BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
| | - Scott C Lenaghan
- Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee Knoxville, 102 Food Safety and Processing Building 2600 River Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States.,Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Li B, Chen R, Zhu C, Kong F. Glowing plants can light up the night sky? A review. Biotechnol Bioeng 2021; 118:3706-3715. [PMID: 34251679 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Luminescence, a physical phenomenon that producing cool light in vivo, has been found in bacteria, fungi, and animals but not yet in terrestrial higher plants. Through genetic engineering, it is feasible to introduce luminescence systems into living plant cells as biomarkers. Recently, some plants transformed with luminescent systems can glimmer in darkness, which can be observed by our naked eyes and provides a novel lighting resource. In this review, we summarized the bioassay development of luminescence in plant cells, followed by exampling the successful cases of glowing plants transformed with diverse luminescent systems. The potential key factors to design or optimize a glowing plant were also discussed. Our review is useful for the creation of the optimized glowing plants, which can be used not only in scientific research, but also as promising substitutes of artificial light sources in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bolong Li
- School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Ru Chen
- School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Chenba Zhu
- School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China.,Institute of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Fantao Kong
- School of Bioengineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Reuter DN, Stewart CN, Lenaghan SC. Lighting the Way: Advances in Engineering Autoluminescent Plants. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 25:1176-1179. [PMID: 32891561 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2020.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Until recently, robust autoluminescence in plants has proven elusive. Two recent pioneering manuscripts (Khakhar et al. and Mitiouchkina et al.) expand our understanding of fungal bioluminescence to provide a new blueprint for engineering autoluminescence in plants. Here we discuss translating a fungal bioluminescence pathway into plants, along with potential future applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- D Nikki Reuter
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - C Neal Stewart
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
| | - Scott C Lenaghan
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; Department of Food Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Pepoyan AZ, Chikindas ML. Plant-associated and soil microbiota composition as a novel criterion for the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants. GM CROPS & FOOD 2019; 11:47-53. [PMID: 31847696 DOI: 10.1080/21645698.2019.1703447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The impact of genetically modified plants on plant-associated and surrounding soil microorganisms is an uninvestigated area of environmental risk assessment. Biological markers such as lysine racemase, phosphomannose isomerase, and sulfadiazine are in use or suggested for use in plant genetic transformation technologies to confirm that the uptake of DNA has occurred. Similar to the effects of antibiotic-resistance genes, these markers might change the host plant's microbiota. Taking into account the importance of the microbiota in plant growth and protection from pathogens as well as in the lives of both humans and animals, we propose novel criteria for the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants: the composition of the plant microbiota and plant-associated soil microbiota. In addition to the possible impact of genetic transformation technologies on the plant microbiota highlighted in this report, the microbiota of genetically modified plants (and/or plant-associated soil microbiota) should be investigated in a comparative study of genetically modified and unmodified plant-derived microbiotas. This could potentially provide important information to farmers when considering the adoption of genetically modified plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Astghik Z Pepoyan
- Department of Food Safety and Biotechnology, Armenian National Agrarian University, Yerevan, Armenia.,International Association for Human and Animals Health Improvement, Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Michael L Chikindas
- Health Promoting Naturals Laboratory, Rutgers State University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.,Academy of Biology and Biotechnology, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Banisadr S, Oyefusi A, Chen J. A Versatile Strategy for Transparent Stimuli-Responsive Interference Coloration. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:7415-7422. [PMID: 30673205 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b21290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The bioinspired stimuli-responsive structural coloration offers a wide variety of potential applications, ranging from sensing to camouflage to intelligent textiles. Because of its design simplicity, which does not require multilayers of materials with alternative refractive indices or micro- and nanostructures, thin film interference represents a promising solution toward scalable and affordable manufacturing of high-quality responsive structural coloration systems. However, thin films of polymers with appropriate thickness generally do not exhibit visible structural colors if they are directly deposited on transparent substrates such as glass. In this work, a versatile new strategy that enables transparent stimuli-responsive interference coloration (RIC) in the polymer-metal-substrate system is presented. The key concept is to use an ultrathin metal layer as an optical filter instead of high refractive index substrate or highly reflective substrate. Such an optical filter layer allows tuning of the degree of transparency, the constructive interference reflection light, and complementary destructive interference transmission light via changing the metal layer thickness. Real-time, continuous, colorimetric RIC sensors for humidity, organic vapor, and temperature are demonstrated by using different stimuli-responsive polymers. The transparent RIC film on glass shows strong coupling of constructive interference reflected colors and complementary destructive interference transmitted colors on opposite sides of the film. Such transparent RIC film allows for the proof-of-concept demonstration of a self-reporting, humidity-sensing window.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seyedali Banisadr
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , Milwaukee , Wisconsin 53211 , United States
| | - Adebola Oyefusi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , Milwaukee , Wisconsin 53211 , United States
| | - Jian Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee , Milwaukee , Wisconsin 53211 , United States
| |
Collapse
|