Synthetic genomics in crop breeding: Evidence, opportunities and challenges

Synthetic genomics represents a formidable domain, encompassing the intentional design, construction, and manipulation of artificial genetic material to generate novel organisms or modify existing ones. In the context of crop breeding, molecular design breeding has emerged as a transformative force,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yuhan Zhou, Ziqi Zhou, Qingyao Shu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-02-01
Series:Crop Design
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772899424000399
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832589914065076224
author Yuhan Zhou
Ziqi Zhou
Qingyao Shu
author_facet Yuhan Zhou
Ziqi Zhou
Qingyao Shu
author_sort Yuhan Zhou
collection DOAJ
description Synthetic genomics represents a formidable domain, encompassing the intentional design, construction, and manipulation of artificial genetic material to generate novel organisms or modify existing ones. In the context of crop breeding, molecular design breeding has emerged as a transformative force, ushering in notable progress. Nevertheless, the field faces unprecedented challenges, with climate change, population growth, and the scarcity of superior genetic resources exerting significant pressures. Recent strides in DNA synthesis methodologies, exemplified by innovative techniques like SCRaMbLE, have empowered the assembly and engineering of viral and microbial genomes. These advancements open promising avenues for the application of synthetic genomics in multicellular eukaryotic organisms, particularly in the realm of crop improvement. Synthetic genomics, with its capacity to manipulate gene sequences and regulatory elements, holds immense promise for the breeding of crops that meet diverse needs. Despite these advancements, the integration of synthetic genomics into crop breeding encounters hurdles, including the intricacies of complex crop genomes, the unpredictability introduced by epigenetic modification, and the limitations in achieving robust transformation processes. Addressing these challenges is pivotal to unlock the full potential of synthetic genomics in revolutionizing crop breeding. Looking ahead, we envision synthetic genomics in crop breeding not only as a scientific frontier but also as a burgeoning industry.
format Article
id doaj-art-700bcfe8131f4adb82dac928321a6d34
institution Kabale University
issn 2772-8994
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Crop Design
spelling doaj-art-700bcfe8131f4adb82dac928321a6d342025-01-24T04:46:04ZengElsevierCrop Design2772-89942025-02-0141100090Synthetic genomics in crop breeding: Evidence, opportunities and challengesYuhan Zhou0Ziqi Zhou1Qingyao Shu2State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Breeding, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm, The Advanced Seed Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Breeding, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm, The Advanced Seed Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaCorresponding author.; State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology & Breeding, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm, The Advanced Seed Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaSynthetic genomics represents a formidable domain, encompassing the intentional design, construction, and manipulation of artificial genetic material to generate novel organisms or modify existing ones. In the context of crop breeding, molecular design breeding has emerged as a transformative force, ushering in notable progress. Nevertheless, the field faces unprecedented challenges, with climate change, population growth, and the scarcity of superior genetic resources exerting significant pressures. Recent strides in DNA synthesis methodologies, exemplified by innovative techniques like SCRaMbLE, have empowered the assembly and engineering of viral and microbial genomes. These advancements open promising avenues for the application of synthetic genomics in multicellular eukaryotic organisms, particularly in the realm of crop improvement. Synthetic genomics, with its capacity to manipulate gene sequences and regulatory elements, holds immense promise for the breeding of crops that meet diverse needs. Despite these advancements, the integration of synthetic genomics into crop breeding encounters hurdles, including the intricacies of complex crop genomes, the unpredictability introduced by epigenetic modification, and the limitations in achieving robust transformation processes. Addressing these challenges is pivotal to unlock the full potential of synthetic genomics in revolutionizing crop breeding. Looking ahead, we envision synthetic genomics in crop breeding not only as a scientific frontier but also as a burgeoning industry.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772899424000399Synthetic genomicsArtificial genomeSequence modificationCrop breeding
spellingShingle Yuhan Zhou
Ziqi Zhou
Qingyao Shu
Synthetic genomics in crop breeding: Evidence, opportunities and challenges
Crop Design
Synthetic genomics
Artificial genome
Sequence modification
Crop breeding
title Synthetic genomics in crop breeding: Evidence, opportunities and challenges
title_full Synthetic genomics in crop breeding: Evidence, opportunities and challenges
title_fullStr Synthetic genomics in crop breeding: Evidence, opportunities and challenges
title_full_unstemmed Synthetic genomics in crop breeding: Evidence, opportunities and challenges
title_short Synthetic genomics in crop breeding: Evidence, opportunities and challenges
title_sort synthetic genomics in crop breeding evidence opportunities and challenges
topic Synthetic genomics
Artificial genome
Sequence modification
Crop breeding
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772899424000399
work_keys_str_mv AT yuhanzhou syntheticgenomicsincropbreedingevidenceopportunitiesandchallenges
AT ziqizhou syntheticgenomicsincropbreedingevidenceopportunitiesandchallenges
AT qingyaoshu syntheticgenomicsincropbreedingevidenceopportunitiesandchallenges