Duckweeds: from fundamental biology to a sustainable plant chassis for biotechnology.
Yin GM, Yang L, Li S, Zhang Y
Molecular Farming
PubMedThose green specks covering your local pond could soon produce the vaccines and medicines your family relies on, replacing energy-hungry pharmaceutical factories with something that grows on sunlight and water.
Duckweed is the world's smallest flowering plant, and it doubles in size incredibly fast. Scientists have figured out how to rewrite its genetic instructions — like editing a recipe — so it can churn out medicines, vaccines, and useful chemicals instead of just floating on water. The plants grow in simple tanks without soil, making them cheaper and more sustainable than most other ways we currently make these products.
Key Findings
Duckweed's simplified genome and unique biology make it easier to genetically engineer than most other plants, with CRISPR-Cas9 editing now established as a working tool in the species.
Duckweed has been successfully engineered to produce vaccines, therapeutic proteins, and high-value metabolites, moving beyond proof-of-concept toward practical application.
Duckweed outperforms established molecular farming systems like tobacco due to its rapid growth in contained, soil-free culture, edibility, and suitability for sustainable, scalable production.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists are turning duckweed — those tiny floating plants you see on ponds — into a living factory for medicines, vaccines, and valuable compounds. This review shows the technology is nearly ready for industrial scale.
Abstract Preview
Duckweeds (Lemnaceae), the smallest and fastest-growing flowering plants, have emerged as a transformative platform for sustainable biotechnology. This review synthesizes recent advances that under...
open_in_new Read full abstract on PubMedAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Chloroplast Genome Editing Eliminates Gluten Immunogenicity in Triticum aestivum
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose from within the arum or aroid family (Araceae), so oft...