Agricultural Molecular Engineering of Nucleic Acids and Proteins

Agricultural molecular engineering harnesses the tools of modern biotechnology to manipulate plant nucleic acids and proteins for crop improvement and bioproduct synthesis. At the nucleic‐acid level, precise genome editing techniques—most notably CRISPR/Cas systems—enable targeted alteration of genes controlling yield, stress resilience, nutrient composition and metabolic pathways. Complementary approaches modulate gene expression via synthetic promoters, transcriptional activators or repressors, and RNA‐based silencing to fine‐tune trait performance without altering DNA sequence. Protein engineering in plants focuses on de novo production of high‐value enzymes, vaccines, antibodies and structural proteins in leaves, seeds or cell cultures. Transgenic and transient expression platforms allow accumulation of proteins with complex folding and post‐translational modifications, including human‐compatible glycosylation. Delivery of genetic constructs employs Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, particle bombardment or nanoparticles, while transient systems deploy deconstructed viral replicons for rapid, high‐yield expression. Applications range from fortifying staple crops with vitamins and essential amino acids to molecular farming of pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes. Integrating genome editing with advanced expression technologies promises sustainable agriculture, on-demand biomolecule production and enhanced food security under changing climates.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Fanzor, a eukaryotic OMEGA‐like RNA‐guided endonuclease, has been biochemically characterised and structurally resolved by cryogenic electron microscopy, revealing conserved catalytic cores and guide‐RNA interactions. Programmable Fanzor variants achieve precise human genome editing, expanding the toolkit beyond prokaryotic CRISPR effectors and suggesting new avenues in plant and animal engineering. Another study reports polymer‐coated carbon nanotube hybrids bearing functional peptides for plant mitochondria targeting. These nanocarriers deliver DNA with up to thirtyfold greater efficiency than conventional methods, supporting stable integration and expression of metabolic pathway genes. Enhanced mitochondrial engineering improved growth rates, demonstrating broad potential for organelle‐specific trait modification in crop plants.

Agricultural Molecular Engineering of Nucleic Acids and Proteins publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in agricultural molecular engineering of nucleic acids and proteins across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

CRISPR/Cas9: RNA-guided endonuclease system that creates targeted double-strand breaks in DNA for genome editing.

Guide RNA (gRNA): Synthetic RNA that directs Cas nucleases to complementary genomic sites.

Base editor: Fusion of a deaminase to a Cas variant enabling single-base conversions without double-strand breaks.

Transient expression: Short-term production of a protein in plants using non-integrative vectors, lasting days to weeks.

Deconstructed viral replicon: Minimized plant virus genome retaining replication elements but lacking genes for spread, used for high-level transient expression.

Nanocarrier: Nanometre-scale particle engineered to deliver DNA, RNA or protein into plant cells and organelles.

Cis-regulatory element: DNA sequence (promoter, enhancer, silencer) that controls transcription of nearby genes.

Glycoengineering: Modification of host glycosylation pathways to produce proteins bearing precise N-glycan structures.

Off-target effect: Unintended cleavage or editing at genomic sites similar to the intended target.

Logic gate: Synthetic regulatory circuit that integrates multiple inputs to control gene expression in a Boolean manner.

References

1. Fanzor is a eukaryotic programmable RNA-guided endonuclease. Nature (2023).
2. Polymer-coated carbon nanotube hybrids with functional peptides for gene delivery into plant mitochondria. Nature Communications (2022).
3. A CRISPR/Cas9 toolkit for multiplex genome editing in plants. BMC Plant Biology (2014).
4. Evaluation of off-target and on-target scoring algorithms and integration into the guide RNA selection tool CRISPOR. Genome Biology (2016).
5. Synthetic developmental biology: molecular tools to re-design plant shoots and roots. Journal of Experimental Botany (2023).
6. When plant virology met Agrobacterium: the rise of the deconstructed clones. Plant Biotechnology Journal (2015).
7. Plant glycoengineering for designing next-generation vaccines and therapeutic proteins. Biotechnology Advances (2023).