Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
Sci China Life Sci. 2022 Nov;65(11):2191-2204. doi: 10.1007/s11427-021-2131-6. Epub 2022 Jul 15.
Efforts have been directed to redesign crops with increased yield, stress adaptability, and nutritional value through synthetic biology-the application of engineering principles to biology. A recent expansion in our understanding of how epigenetic mechanisms regulate plant development and stress responses has unveiled a new set of resources that can be harnessed to develop improved crops, thus heralding the promise of "synthetic epigenetics." In this review, we summarize the latest advances in epigenetic regulation and highlight how innovative sequencing techniques, epigenetic editing, and deep learning-driven predictive tools can rapidly extend these insights. We also proposed the future directions of synthetic epigenetics for the development of engineered smart crops that can actively monitor and respond to internal and external cues throughout their life cycles.
人们一直致力于通过合成生物学（将工程学原理应用于生物学）来重新设计具有更高产量、更强适应力和更高营养价值的作物。最近，我们对表观遗传机制如何调控植物发育和应激反应的理解有了进一步的拓展，揭示了一套新的资源，可用于开发改良作物，从而预示着“合成表观遗传学”的前景。在这篇综述中，我们总结了表观遗传调控的最新进展，并强调了创新的测序技术、表观遗传编辑以及深度学习驱动的预测工具如何能迅速扩展这些研究成果。我们还提出了合成表观遗传学在开发能够在整个生命周期中主动监测和响应内部和外部信号的工程化智能作物方面的未来发展方向。
