植物合成生物学调控元件的研究进展

Research advances of regulatory elements in plant synthetic biology

近年来,合成生物学研究从低等的单细胞生物逐渐进入到多细胞的复杂高等生物体系。以植物为底盘的合成生物学研究为人工生物体系的设计和开发带来了新的研究方向。调控元件是合成生物学设计的基础,通过理性设计调控元件可以从时空、剂量等多种角度实现基因表达的精准调控,进而构建出不同的人造性状。植物调控元件的研究处于起步阶段,不仅数量少,还缺乏定量定性的表征方法,标准化描述也不完善。本文概述了近年来植物调控元件的研究进展,内容包括植物转录调控元件的类型特征、表征方法、数据库及其合成生物学应用。本文还指出了植物调控元件研究目前存在的问题,并对未来发展方向提出了展望。

In recent years, synthetic biology research has gradually spread from single-cell to complicated multi-cellular systems. New research directions to design and construct complicated artificial life have emerged with the development of plant synthetic biology. Regulatory elements are foundations for synthetic biology design. By rational design of regulatory elements, precise regulation of gene expression can be achieved from a variety of perspectives such as time and space and dosage, and different artificial traits can be constructed. Researches on regulatory elements are still in initial stage. Not only is insufficient in quantity, but also lacks quantative evalation and standardization. This article summarizes the research progresses of plant regulatory elements in recent years, including the features, characterization methods, databases, and synthetic biology applications of plant regulatory elements. This article also points out the current problems in the study of plant regulatory elements and prospect of their future in the area of plant synthetic biology.