Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a tool that can be used to switch a plant’s key genetic traits on or off at will. The breakthrough was recently published in ACS Synthetic Biology and represents the first time that a synthetic genetic “toggle switch” has been used in a full-grown plant.
Synthetic biologists design and build new segments of DNA that can then be inserted into living organisms to work like circuits in electronics or a computer. Just as a switch is used to turn a lightbulb on or off in an electric circuit, the team’s “toggle” turns genes on and off when an external signal is applied. Up until now, the genetic toggle switch has only been used in single-celled organisms such as bacteria. The work at CSU is led by professors June Medford from the Department of Biology and Ashok Prasad from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
Medford said the interdisciplinary research has plenty of practical applications, particularly in agriculture where a switch could be used to better time the ripening of fruit, for example…