Plant Molecular Engineering

In our lab, we develop and apply engineering approaches to understand biological complexity and advance plant biotechnology.

Our research is focused on:

(i) Understanding how phenotypes emerge from network functions. Quantitative traits are phenotypic traits that are determined by many genes and impacted by the environment. In plants, these include many agricultural traits such as biomass, seed yield, resistance to abiotic stress and resistance against generalist pathogens. These traits result from the actions of suites of genes working combinatorially within complex gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that often contain partially redundant nodes and numerous network motifs, such as feedforward and feedback loops, that define and fine-tune network dynamics. The complexity of GRNs has made them challenging to investigate using traditional genetic approaches. Similarly, predicting the effects of perturbations has been a significant barrier to applying genetic engineering to the improvement of quantitative traits. The process of rewiring or reconstructing regulatory networks using synthetic biology approaches can aid the understanding of how phenotypes emerge from network functions and inform rational engineering. Our long-term goals are to develop the knowledge and technologies required to optimise crop performance through the rational engineering of regulatory networks.

(ii) Exploring and utilising metabolic diversity. Plants produce a vast array of biologically active metabolites that help them adapt and survive in their ecological niches. Although these specialised metabolites may not be required for growth and development in optimal conditions, they contribute to survival and persistence. The richness of bioactive molecules found in plants also provides a wealth of potential pharmaceuticals, insecticides, flavours and fragrances and molecules of medicinal and industrial value. However, although bioactive plant extracts are frequently reported, the specific molecule(s) responsible for bioactivity is often unknown. Even when activity is connected to a specific compound, it may be present in tiny quantities or in a rare or difficult-to-cultivate species. Chemical synthesis has provided easy and cheap access to a few plant natural products but remains challenging or uneconomical for many molecules. In the past decade, aided by advances in genomics, biotechnology and metabolic engineering, pathways for high-value natural products used in medicine and industry have been elucidated and rebuilt in so-called ‘chassis organisms’, engineered to maximise yields. In our lab we integrate genomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics to investigate the genetic basis of plant natural products, enabling us to understand mechanisms of metabolic diversification and explore methods for biomanufacturing. We also develop plants as photosynthetic biomanufacturing platforms, applying engineering approaches to improve purity and yield. This includes utilising our knowledge of cis-regulation to engineer synthetic genetic circuits to optimise heterologous expression and engineering plants to improve their suitability and photosynthetic production chassis.

Current Projects

UKRI756 | Engineering gene regulation in plants to yield predictable expression with Christine Queitsch and Tobias Jores

UKRI758| Reprogramming plant responses to nitrate with Siobhán Brady and Matias Zurbriggen

USDA| Enhancing Tomato Nitrogen Use Efficiency for Improved Agronomic Traits with Siobhán Brady

BB/Z517082/1| International Research Center for Enhancing Plant Resilience. See the C-Spirit Website

BB/Y007786/2 | UKRI EngBio Mission Award: Engineering gene regulatory networks to design disease-resistant crops with Katherine Denby and Richard Morris

BB/Y007751/1| UKRI EngBio Mission Award: EBioAct: Environmentally sustainable production of bioactive triterpenes with Anne Osbourn, George Lomonossoff and Paul Fraser

Past Projects

BB/W010933/1 | Engineering nucleosome positioning in plants

BBS/E/ER/23NB0007 | Earlham BioFoundry

BB/W014173/1 | Engineering specialised metabolism and new cellular architectures in plants with Jim Haseloff, Anne Osbourn and Jenny Molloy

BB/S020853/1 | Engineering complex traits using targeted, multiplexed genetic and epigenetic mutagenesis with Siobhán Brady

BB/P010490/1 | An improved bioproduction system for proteins and small molecules with Sarah O’Connor

BB/R021554/1 | Sustainable bioproduction of pheromones for insect pest control in agriculture. See the SUSPHIRE website

BB/R000433/1 | Bioreactor capability for the Plant and Microbe DNA Foundry

BBS/E/T/000PR9815 | Plant and Microbe DNA Foundry

BB/L014130/1 | Synthetic Biology Research Centre : OpenPlant. See the OpenPlant Website

BBS/OS/GC/000013C | Synthetic biology tools and resources for genetic improvement in the developing world

BB/R021074/1 The Portable Organelle Project