BBSRC Portfolio Analyser
Award details
ERASynBio2-SMARTPLANTS
Reference
BB/N010248/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor
Dr Philip Wigge
Co-Investigators /
Co-Supervisors
Institution
University of Cambridge
Department
Sainsbury Laboratory
Funding type
Research
Value (£)
485,236
Status
Completed
Type
Research Grant
Start date
17/08/2015
End date
16/08/2018
Duration
36 months
Abstract
A major goal of plant synthetic biology is to create smart plants that are able to respond to key cues and display a variety of agronomically valuable traits such as enhanced stress resilience or the biosynthesis of high value compounds. The objectives of the SMARTPLANTS consortium are to develop parallel regulatory networks (PaRNets) that are based on cues that plants normally encounter in their growth cycle, namely flowering and temperature changes, and translate these into metabolic engineering-based outputs to produce high value or stress-protecting compounds. Flowering is accompanied by a dramatic metabolic switch leading to the massive transfer of resources from the leaves to the seeds or the fruits. However there is still significant biomass remaining in the leaves and stems. By developing a PaRNet that uses flowering as a trigger, we will capture part of this biomass to convert it to a high value compound, the diterpene cis-abienol. Our flowering PaRNet will be based on the florigen signal encoded by the conserved FT gene. Similarly we will develop a PaRNet based on temperature fluctuations to induce upon higher temperatures the production of isoprene, a compound conferring heat-stress protection. One key aspect in the design of these networks is signal propagation, which will be mediated by mobile orthogonal Transcription Activator-Like Effectors (TALEs) activating synthetic promoters. Mobility will be engineered by fusing the TALEs to Intercellular Trafficking Motifs or viral movement proteins, or by using deconstructed viral vectors. Both regulatory network and metabolic engineering optimisation will be assisted by modelling in iterative rounds. Finally, to initiate and promote a community effort in the development of artificial plant regulatory networks we will organize an international symposium on this topic. SMARTPLANTS is a true interdisciplinary project, which will be carried out by a team of highly experienced scientists with complementary skills
Summary
A major goal of plant synthetic biology is to create smart plants that are able to respond to key cues and display a variety of agronomically valuable traits such as enhanced stress resilience or the biosynthesis of high value compounds. The objectives of the SMARTPLANTS consortium are to develop parallel regulatory networks (PaRNets) that are based on cues that plants normally encounter in their growth cycle, namely flowering and temperature changes, and translate these into metabolic engineering-based outputs to produce high value or stress-protecting compounds. Flowering is accompanied by a dramatic metabolic switch leading to the massive transfer of resources from the leaves to the seeds or the fruits. However there is still significant biomass remaining in the leaves and stems. By developing a PaRNet that uses flowering as a trigger, we will capture part of this biomass to convert it to a high value compound, the diterpene cis-abienol. Our flowering PaRNet will be based on the florigen signal encoded by the conserved FT gene. Similarly we will develop a PaRNet based on temperature fluctuations to induce upon higher temperatures the production of isoprene, a compound conferring heat-stress protection. One key aspect in the design of these networks is signal propagation, which will be mediated by mobile orthogonal Transcription Activator-Like Effectors (TALEs) activating synthetic promoters. Mobility will be engineered by fusing the TALEs to Intercellular Trafficking Motifs or viral movement proteins, or by using deconstructed viral vectors. Both regulatory network and metabolic engineering optimisation will be assisted by modelling in iterative rounds. Finally, to initiate and promote a community effort in the development of artificial plant regulatory networks we will organize an international symposium on this topic. SMARTPLANTS is a true interdisciplinary project, which will be carried out by a team of highly experienced scientists with complementary skills
Impact Summary
The SLCU and Cambridge University have excellent press communication officers. Important discoveries will be written up and published in peer-reviewed journals. Where relevant, press releases will be written on these advances for general audiences.
Committee
Research Committee A (Animal disease, health and welfare)
Research Topics
Crop Science, Microbiology, Plant Science, Synthetic Biology
Research Priority
X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative
Synthetic Biology ERA-NET (ERASynBio) [2014-2015]
Funding Scheme
X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme
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