Present and future prospects of crop synthetic biology

Abstract

Affected by the explosion of the world's population, climate changes and resource depletion, crop design and utilization call for revolution. Alongside the rapid development of plant genomics, metabolomics, and new techniques, synthetic biology has now expanded from single-celled microbes to complex plant systems. Thus, much progress has been made in agriculture to meet the increasing demands for food, medicine, and energy. Here we reviewed the successful applications in crop synthetic biology, including crop production, nutrient quality, stress resistance, natural products, and biomedical. At last, we will discuss the challenges and future prospects in crop synthetic biology.