biomanufacturing
Biomanufacturing is a field of biotechnology that uses living biological systems—including plant cells—to produce valuable biomolecules such as pharmaceuticals, industrial enzymes, and specialty chemicals. In plant science, this approach leverages the unique biochemical capabilities of plant cells as scalable, cost-effective production platforms for compounds that are difficult or expensive to synthesize chemically. Researchers explore how plant systems can be engineered or optimized to serve as living factories, advancing both agricultural biotechnology and the broader bioeconomy.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-04-13
Scientists successfully used CRISPR gene editing to knock out multiple genes at once in duckweed, a tiny aquatic plant with big potential for producing medicines and proteins. This first-of-its-kind achievement in this species opens the door to engineering duckweed as a cheap, fast-growing biological factory.
The PTG-Cas9 CRISPR system successfully knocked out two glycosyltransferase genes (FucT and XylT) simultaneously in Lemna minor — a first for this duckweed species.
Two fully homozygous edited plant lines (lines 44 and 217) were confirmed, with truncated or absent target proteins verified by western blot analysis.
Four guide RNAs were delivered at once using the plant's own tRNA processing machinery, demonstrating efficient multiplex (multi-gene) editing in a single transformation step.
