Abstract
Owing to advances in genome sequencing and editing, a genome can now be redesigned, synthesized and introduced into cells as desired. The field of synthetic genomics not only aims to provide deeper understanding of how the genome functions but can also be harnessed for a wide range of synthetic biology and bioengineering applications, from rapid evolution and screening for favourable strains to biotechnological and bioproduction tool development. Although genome synthesis has been carried out mainly in simple unicellular organisms, plants and animals are now also being investigated. Compared with animals, plants have unique advantages, such as fewer ethical concerns, simpler experimental operations and easier regeneration from cells to organisms. In this Review, we focus on genome synthesis in plants, discuss the current research landscape and assess possible future directions.
Key points
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Advances in genome sequencing, synthesis and editing technologies have enabled systematic redesign and chemical synthesis of plant genomes, establishing a new research discipline for functional genome exploration with potential for agricultural innovation and industrial bioproduction.
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Top-down chromosomal engineering strategies focus on the modification of endogenous chromosomes, and bottom-up strategies use de novo DNA assembly techniques to generate artificial chromosomes with distinct structural and functional properties.
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De novo synthesis of plant chromosome segments follows a stage-gated workflow involving computational design, modular DNA assembly, transformation, targeted integration and verification, plant regeneration and phenotypic validating, with post-analysis data driving iterative optimization cycles for genome design refinement.
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Accurate integration of large DNA fragments remains a technical bottleneck in seed plant synthetic genomics, requiring breakthroughs in homology-directed repair or nonhomologous end joining-mediated integration efficiency and engineered recombinase systems to improve plant genome engineering platforms.
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Acknowledgements
Work in the authors’ laboratory is funded by the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFE0101100 and 2019YFA0903900), the Natural Science Foundation of China (32230010 and 32270345), the Qidong-SLS Innovation Fund, and the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics (2023B1212060054).
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Lan, T., Chen, LG., Wang, Y. et al. Genome synthesis in plants. Nat Rev Bioeng (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00326-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-025-00326-1
