Molecular engineering in plants articles from across Nature Portfolio

This study demonstrates the power of directed evolution to unlock latent functional potential in plant Rubisco. By identifying mutations that enhance CO₂ fixation and solubility, it advances avenues for improving crop photosynthesis and productivity.

During plant cultivation, denitrification process can release greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O) to atmosphere. Here, the authors develop a soybean–bradyrhizobial symbiosis system with enhanced capacity to reduce N₂O emissions using the incompatibility between two soybean R genes and their effector present in bradyrhizobia.

By dissecting natural variants, Zhang et al. uncover design principles for engineering the FLS2 immune receptor with broad recognition spectra to detect evasive bacterial pathogens, offering a promising strategy to improve crop disease resistance.

The integration of omics technologies, genome editing and protein design with artificial intelligence (AI) promises rapid advances in the field of crop improvement that will improve global food security.

CRISPR activation enables multiplexed, cell-type-specific and stable gene expression in plants. Houbaert et al. successfully reprogrammed gene expression in the root endodermis and restored flavonoid production in mutants, displaying the power of this synthetic biology tool.

The efficient delivery of proteins into plastids is key to using plastid protein engineering in biotechnology applications, a fact that is often overlooked. This study identifies transit peptides that efficiently import different passenger proteins into major plastid types across plant species, offering an effective tool for manipulating plastid-related traits.

By integrating theoretical modelling and single-cell analysis of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in Nicotiana plants, a recent study reveals how agrobacterial density governs synergistic and antagonistic effects on transformation outcomes. These insights led to the development of a dual binary vector system that mitigates immune-triggered antagonism, enabling more efficient engineering of complex metabolic pathways in plants.

The tobacco rattle virus was engineered to express the RNA-guided TnpB enzyme ISYmu1 and guide RNA. This miniature CRISPR system enabled transgene-free germline genome editing in Arabidopsis thaliana without the need for tissue culture or plant transformation.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines hold promise for creating new and improved immunizations; however, their delivery is challenging in terms of compliance, reactogenicity, cost and scalability. In response to ‘the ultimate bioengineering challenge’ competition, we propose an edible mRNA vaccine platform using lettuce chloroplasts.

Coating RNA- or DNA-loaded layered double hydroxide nanosheets with lysozyme enhances their uptake by loosening the plant cell wall and stimulating endocytosis and membrane trafficking — with promising implications for both fundamental research and agricultural applications.