Stanford scientists have genetically re-programmed plants to grow roots that change how they gather nutrients or water.
José Dinneny, a professor of Biology at Stanford University, shows a petri dish growing Arabidopsis thaliana roots which he been engineering with synthetic gene circuits.
Out in the field, there might be less success. Living things respond to the wild environment in unpredictable ways. Other genes, and genetic networks, may require tinkering.argue that there are better ways to fix the problem, such as improving soils or using conventional techniques to breed plants that can withstand the effects of the shifting climate.
“The synthetic biology industry is booming in the Bay Area, with many entrepreneurs programming biological functions into living cells,” said John Cumbers, founder and CEO of, a global network of biological engineers. “We can now readily engineer an enzyme or a cell to perform a particular function, like make a new bio-based chemical or material.”
The genetic toggling allowed the team to adjust growth patterns, such as the number of branches in the root system, without changing the rest of the plant. For example, an “off” state created a layer of cells on the tip of a root that blocks further growth.
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