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Development of a revised plant synthetic biology toolkit to advance crop improvement

Project description

A plant synthetic biology toolkit for better crops

The agriculture sector faces significant challenges in fighting the effects of climate change and meeting increasing global food supply demands owing to the growing population. Genetic modification is a promising lab-based technology that can help address these challenges, allowing the altering of plant DNA and creating plants with desirable characteristics. This process is further streamlined by the use of so-called Phytobricks, which have been established in the plant synthetic biology community as standard DNA parts for plants. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the REPLANT project will develop a toolkit based on the Phytobricks standard and comprising innovative gene editing technologies. Project work will lead to improved crops and contribute towards resolving the global sustainability and food security issues.

Objective

Agronomy faces significant global challenges such as coping with climate change, a need for more sustainable practices, and an increasing demand for more food of higher quality due to a growing population. Addressing them will require the adoption of transformative innovations, such as the genetic technologies that underlie Plant Synthetic Biology (SynBio). Plant SynBio, through transgenesis and more recently gene editing, allows us to proactively alter plant DNA to modify their characteristics and address the aforementioned challenges. In addition, plant SynBio can enhance the production of high-value, or new compounds in plants by molecular farming.
SynBio requires the generation of complex DNA constructs that comprise several transcriptional units, facilitated by the development of modular cloning toolkits and the Phytobrick Standard Syntax, a recent agreement of the plant SynBio community that systematized the sequence requirements for cloning.
The aim of REPLANT is to generate a new plant SynBio toolkit based on the Phytobrick architecture that includes the latest developments in protein production and gene editing techniques. The advantages provided by the REPLANT will be demonstrated by two proof-of-concept experiments with biotechnological applications: enhancing the production of SARS-CoV2 recombinant antibodies in plant leaves, and modification of tomato plant architecture in variants of commercial interest. This toolkit, alongside its dissemination approaches will allow a faster advancement of plant SynBio, accelerating the development of improved crops to help solve the global challenges of sustainability and food security.

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01

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Coordinator

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 206 641,20
Address
CALLE SERRANO 117
28006 MADRID
Spain

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Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Research Organisations
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