国际基因工程机器大赛中植物合成生物学主题的设计与实践

doi:10.12211/2096-8280.2025-057

摘要/Abstract

摘要：

在近五年的国际基因工程机器大赛（International Genetically Engineered Machine，iGEM）获奖项目中，植物底盘的研究相对较少，主要受限于植物系统的复杂性。相较于微生物，植物遗传操作周期长、标准化元件库匮乏、转化效率低，使得工程化改造更具挑战性。然而，植物合成生物学在农业可持续化、环境修复和生物医药等领域具有独特优势，使其成为合成生物学的重要研究方向。近年来，随着基因编辑技术、合成启动子优化和高效转化体系的进步，植物底盘的可编程性显著提升，为应对粮食安全、营养强化和植物源药物生产等全球性问题提供了创新解决方案。以分析往年iGEM参赛项目及分享作者团队的参赛经验作为研究方法，本文将从iGEM竞赛的评审标准出发，探讨植物合成生物学项目的立题策略，包括科学问题的精准定位、遗传回路的模块化设计，以及实验与建模的有效整合。同时，本文将分析通过跨学科协作和成果可视化来提升项目的创新性与应用价值的策略（包括植物底盘选择策略、生物元件构建策略和精确化模型构建策略等），助力参赛团队在国际舞台上脱颖而出。

关键词: iGEM, 植物合成生物学, 植物底盘材料, 生物元件

Abstract:

As an important branch of synthetic biology, the number of related research results in the iGEM award-winning project is not prominent, which is behind the many obstacles brought by the complex characteristics of plant systems. Compared with microorganisms, the genetic operation of plants has obvious shortcomings : not only the operation cycle is long, the standardized component library available for use is very scarce, and the conversion efficiency is also at a low level. These factors are superimposed together, making the engineering transformation of plants difficult. However, even so, plant synthetic biology still occupies a non-negligible position by virtue of its unique value in many key fields such as agriculture, environment and biomedicine. Because of these unique values, it has become an important research direction in the field of synthetic biology. In recent years, with the breakthrough of a series of key technologies, plant synthetic biology has ushered in new development opportunities. Advances in gene editing technology and synthetic promoter optimization have significantly enhanced the programmability of plant chassis and the regulation efficiency of gene expression, providing a highly innovative solution to solve major problems such as food security, nutrition enhancement, and plant-derived drug production in the world. In view of the development of plant synthetic biology project, combined with the evaluation criteria of iGEM competition, there are many key links that need to be focused on. In the process of setting up the topic, it is necessary to accurately lock in scientific problems with research value and ensure the forward-looking and practical nature of the research direction; at the design level, the modular design of genetic circuits is the key to improving efficiency and reliability, enabling orderly regulation of complex biological functions. At the same time, the effective integration of experimental operation and mathematical modeling can provide more solid theoretical support and more accurate result prediction for research. In addition, interdisciplinary collaboration is also an important driving force for the development of plant synthetic biology projects. The cross-integration of multidisciplinary knowledge such as biology, engineering, and computer science can collide more innovative sparks. At the same time, the visual presentation of the results can make the research value and innovation points more intuitive, and further enhance the application potential of the project. The application of these strategies is expected to promote the project of plant synthetic biology to shine on the international platform and contribute more to the development of this field.

Key words: iGEM, plant synthetic biology, plant chassis materials, biopart

中图分类号:

Q812

何杨昱, 杨凯, 王玮琳, 黄茜, 丘梓樱, 宋涛, 何流赏, 姚金鑫, 甘露, 何玉池. 国际基因工程机器大赛中植物合成生物学主题的设计与实践[J]. 合成生物学, DOI: 10.12211/2096-8280.2025-057.

HE Yangyu, YANG Kai, WANG Weilin, HUANG Qian, QIU Ziying, SONG Tao, HE Liushang, YAO Jinxin, GAN Lu, HE Yuchi. Design and Practice of Plant Synthetic Biology Theme in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition[J]. Synthetic Biology Journal, DOI: 10.12211/2096-8280.2025-057.

图/表 5

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创新维度	技术突破点示例	应用场景靶点
底盘系统改造	叶绿体/线粒体合成工厂构建^[10]	高附加值天然产物生产
代谢网络重构	跨物种萜类合成途径的移植^[11]	抗逆作物开发（抗旱/耐盐）
智能调控装置	光控CRISPR开关的系统设计^[12]	环境污染物实时监测与修复
细胞通讯工程	根系植物-微生物群体系统^[13]	智能施肥/病虫害预警
植物营养强化	多营养协同强化^[14]	复合营养作物培育

创新维度	技术突破点示例	应用场景靶点
底盘系统改造	叶绿体/线粒体合成工厂构建^[10]	高附加值天然产物生产
代谢网络重构	跨物种萜类合成途径的移植^[11]	抗逆作物开发（抗旱/耐盐）
智能调控装置	光控CRISPR开关的系统设计^[12]	环境污染物实时监测与修复
细胞通讯工程	根系植物-微生物群体系统^[13]	智能施肥/病虫害预警
植物营养强化	多营养协同强化^[14]	复合营养作物培育

维度	评估指标	验证方法
科学原创性	是否提出新机制/新理论(如植物新型信号传导路径设计等)	文献分析、专利检索等
技术独特性	是否开发新元件/新思路(如植物特异的CRISPR-Cas12f系统等)	对比现有技术(Benchling元件库比对)、元件功能实验验证等
应用颠覆性	是否开辟新模式/新场景(如海水稻可实现在盐碱地生长等)	行业需求分析(PEST 分析模型)等
系统复杂性	是否实现多层次调控(如结合基因回路+代谢调控等)	计算机分析(Cobra框架建模、Cell Designer)

维度	评估指标	验证方法
科学原创性	是否提出新机制/新理论(如植物新型信号传导路径设计等)	文献分析、专利检索等
技术独特性	是否开发新元件/新思路(如植物特异的CRISPR-Cas12f系统等)	对比现有技术(Benchling元件库比对)、元件功能实验验证等
应用颠覆性	是否开辟新模式/新场景(如海水稻可实现在盐碱地生长等)	行业需求分析(PEST 分析模型)等
系统复杂性	是否实现多层次调控(如结合基因回路+代谢调控等)	计算机分析(Cobra框架建模、Cell Designer)

底盘植物	生长周期	转化效率	应用场景	元件兼容性
烟草	苗床期约60天，大田期约100天^[25]	农杆菌浸润法效率达60%-80%^[26]	常用于瞬时表达系统，适合重组蛋白生产	具有高度兼容性，对多种标准化载体适配良好^[27]
拟南芥	约6周	农杆菌介导浸花法效率可达30%- 50%^[28]	常用于基础代谢通路解析	适配多数标准化载体，对iGEM元件库有较好的适配能力^[29]
水稻	营养生长约90天，生殖生长约70天^[30]	农杆菌介导法效率为10%-20%^[31]	常用于作物性状改良	在启动子等元件选择上具有一定的特异性^[32]
浮萍	约30天	因株系而异，瞬时转染效率较高，而稳定转化的效率很低^[33]	常作为生物反应器生产外源蛋白	目前针对浮萍兼容性的研究相对较少，需要进一步探索其适配性