Innovative Approaches in Synthetic Biology for Advancing Plant Biosynthetic Pathways

Synthetic biology is revolutionizing agricultural sciences by transforming our approaches to plant systems and enhancing trait innovation. Although plants possess an extensive collection of biosynthetic genes, these remain underexploited due to the complexity of multigene networks and metabolic pathways. With the rise of techniques like gene synthesis, modular cloning, and genome editing, scientists are increasingly capable of manipulating plant biosynthetic pathways. However, challenges such as metabolic complexity and regulation must be addressed to fully optimize these pathways. Exploring the intersection of synthetic biology, plant metabolic engineering, and genome editing holds the potential to create climate-resilient crops, novel phytochemicals, and sustainable production systems.

This Research Topic seeks to compile recent advances and explore new strategies in the design and programming of plant biosynthetic pathways and traits using synthetic biology. We invite research contributions that employ tools such as modular gene assembly, synthetic gene circuits, CRISPR-based regulation, and pathway refactoring. Additionally, integrating systems biology approaches, including genomics and metabolomics, with computational modeling and AI for pathway optimization will be emphasized. Translating techniques from microbial design into plant systems, as well as creating new synthetic biology components and standards for plants, remains a focus. We aim to encourage multidisciplinary approaches that enhance the predictability, modularity, and scalability of plant biosynthetic engineering for agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and industrial purposes.

To deepen our understanding at the crossroads of synthetic biology and plant advancement, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Reconstructing and optimizing plant biosynthetic pathways

• Regulating strategies using synthetic promoters, sensors, and CRISPR-Cas systems

• Techniques for metabolic compartmentalization and organelle targeting

• Integrating multi-omics data, AI, and machine learning for pathway design

• Developing standardized DNA parts and plant-specific synthetic biology toolkits

• Innovative approaches to improving plant-environment interactions against stresses

We welcome original research, reviews, methods, and perspectives detailing synthetic strategies and their significance in advancing plant biosynthetic engineering. Studies supportive of the broad theme are also encouraged.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Biosynthetic Pathways, CRISPR, Synthetic Biology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.