As we welcome the spring of 2026,we extend our sincere greetings and best wishes to colleagues worldwide in the field of crop science,our partners,and all those committed to sustainable agricultural development!The Ye...As we welcome the spring of 2026,we extend our sincere greetings and best wishes to colleagues worldwide in the field of crop science,our partners,and all those committed to sustainable agricultural development!The Year of the Horse symbolizes endeavor and far-reaching journeys,reflecting our own spirit of continuous exploration and breakthrough innovation on the path of crop science.Here,I extendmysincere appreciation to all our authors and reviewers for their invaluable time,expertise,and dedication,which are instrumental in the success of The Crop Journal,establishing it as a premier platform for the global crop science research community.The Crop Journal publishes its 2026 first issue as a special issue themed“Synthetic Biology for Crop Improvement”,ably vip-edited by four young scientists.The issue provides a comprehensive overview of major advances in the field.In the past few years,crop science has made long strides in metabolic engineering of important pathways in secondary metabolism.The achievements expedite the emergence of synthetic biology as a potent methodology for crop breeding and represent a fundamental paradigm shift from“deciphering crops”to“designing crops”,which is further empowered by artificial intelligence(AI).At this turning point of the New Year,I would like to take this opportunity to provide a brief retrospective and future perspective.展开更多
With the advancement of industry and bio-agriculture,the effective management of CO_(2) has emerged as a critical challenge for humanity.This study systematically explores multiple CO_(2) assimilation pathways using t...With the advancement of industry and bio-agriculture,the effective management of CO_(2) has emerged as a critical challenge for humanity.This study systematically explores multiple CO_(2) assimilation pathways using the comb-FBA algorithm,aiming to identify efficient artificial carbon fixation pathways.By extracting 49 CO_(2) and HCO3involved reactions and combining them with 6,529 reactions from MetaCyc,we constructed the computational set for analysis.These 16 core reactions give rise to 136 carbon fixation pathways for single C2 targets(such as acetyl-CoA,glyoxylate,and oxalate)and 576 carbon fixation pathways for single C3 targets(including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate or pyruvate).Based on these core reactions,we identified four principal carbon fixation modes.Through systematic assessments,we identified 12 promising CO_(2) fixation pathways,each comprising no more than 20 reaction steps and demonstrating thermodynamic feasibility.Through further analysis of enzyme oxygen sensitivity and availability,we identified three novel and promising pathways.By examining metabolite conversion relationships,we also identified alternative carbon fixation reaction modules,offering flexibility for pathway optimization and experimental design.In conclusion,this study provides a diverse library of artificial carbon fixation pathways,demonstrating the power of the comb-FBA algorithm in designing carbon assimilation pathways and laying the foundation for more efficient CO_(2) fixation strategies.展开更多
Phenolic compounds(PCs)are a group of compounds with various applications in nutraceutical,pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.Their supply by plant extraction and chemical synthesis is often limited by low yield a...Phenolic compounds(PCs)are a group of compounds with various applications in nutraceutical,pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.Their supply by plant extraction and chemical synthesis is often limited by low yield and high cost.Microbial production represents as a promising alternative for efficient and sustainable production of PCs.In this review,we summarize recent advances in this field,which include enzyme mining and engineering to construct artificial pathways,balance of enzyme expression to improve pathway efficiency,coculture engineering to alleviate metabolic burden and side-reactions,and the use of genetic circuits for dynamic regulation and high throughput screening.Finally,current challenges and future perspectives for efficient production of PCs are also discussed.展开更多
Although most in vitro(cell-free)synthetic biology projects are usually used for the purposes of fundamental research or the formation of high-value products,in vitro synthetic biology platform,which can implement com...Although most in vitro(cell-free)synthetic biology projects are usually used for the purposes of fundamental research or the formation of high-value products,in vitro synthetic biology platform,which can implement complicated biochemical reactions by the in vitro assembly of numerous enzymes and coenzymes,has been proposed for low-cost biomanufacturing of bioenergy,food,biochemicals,and nutraceuticals.In addition to the most important advantage-high product yield,in vitro synthetic biology platform features several other biomanufacturing advantages,such as fast reaction rate,easy product separation,open process control,broad reaction condition,tolerance to toxic substrates or products,and so on.In this article,we present the basic bottom-up design principles of in vitro synthetic pathway from basic building blocks-BioBricks(thermoenzymes and/or immobilized enzymes)to building modules(e.g.,enzyme complexes or multiple enzymes as a module)with specific functions.With development in thermostable building blocks-BioBricks and modules,the in vitro synthetic biology platform would open a new biomanufacturing age for the cost-competitive production of biocommodities.展开更多
文摘As we welcome the spring of 2026,we extend our sincere greetings and best wishes to colleagues worldwide in the field of crop science,our partners,and all those committed to sustainable agricultural development!The Year of the Horse symbolizes endeavor and far-reaching journeys,reflecting our own spirit of continuous exploration and breakthrough innovation on the path of crop science.Here,I extendmysincere appreciation to all our authors and reviewers for their invaluable time,expertise,and dedication,which are instrumental in the success of The Crop Journal,establishing it as a premier platform for the global crop science research community.The Crop Journal publishes its 2026 first issue as a special issue themed“Synthetic Biology for Crop Improvement”,ably vip-edited by four young scientists.The issue provides a comprehensive overview of major advances in the field.In the past few years,crop science has made long strides in metabolic engineering of important pathways in secondary metabolism.The achievements expedite the emergence of synthetic biology as a potent methodology for crop breeding and represent a fundamental paradigm shift from“deciphering crops”to“designing crops”,which is further empowered by artificial intelligence(AI).At this turning point of the New Year,I would like to take this opportunity to provide a brief retrospective and future perspective.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Pro-gram of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDC0120201)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(12326611).
文摘With the advancement of industry and bio-agriculture,the effective management of CO_(2) has emerged as a critical challenge for humanity.This study systematically explores multiple CO_(2) assimilation pathways using the comb-FBA algorithm,aiming to identify efficient artificial carbon fixation pathways.By extracting 49 CO_(2) and HCO3involved reactions and combining them with 6,529 reactions from MetaCyc,we constructed the computational set for analysis.These 16 core reactions give rise to 136 carbon fixation pathways for single C2 targets(such as acetyl-CoA,glyoxylate,and oxalate)and 576 carbon fixation pathways for single C3 targets(including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate or pyruvate).Based on these core reactions,we identified four principal carbon fixation modes.Through systematic assessments,we identified 12 promising CO_(2) fixation pathways,each comprising no more than 20 reaction steps and demonstrating thermodynamic feasibility.Through further analysis of enzyme oxygen sensitivity and availability,we identified three novel and promising pathways.By examining metabolite conversion relationships,we also identified alternative carbon fixation reaction modules,offering flexibility for pathway optimization and experimental design.In conclusion,this study provides a diverse library of artificial carbon fixation pathways,demonstrating the power of the comb-FBA algorithm in designing carbon assimilation pathways and laying the foundation for more efficient CO_(2) fixation strategies.
基金This work was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China(2018YFA0901800 and 2018YFA0901400)National Natural Science Foundation of China(21978015,21636001,and 21776008).
文摘Phenolic compounds(PCs)are a group of compounds with various applications in nutraceutical,pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.Their supply by plant extraction and chemical synthesis is often limited by low yield and high cost.Microbial production represents as a promising alternative for efficient and sustainable production of PCs.In this review,we summarize recent advances in this field,which include enzyme mining and engineering to construct artificial pathways,balance of enzyme expression to improve pathway efficiency,coculture engineering to alleviate metabolic burden and side-reactions,and the use of genetic circuits for dynamic regulation and high throughput screening.Finally,current challenges and future perspectives for efficient production of PCs are also discussed.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.31700033)the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.ZDRW-ZS-2016-3).
文摘Although most in vitro(cell-free)synthetic biology projects are usually used for the purposes of fundamental research or the formation of high-value products,in vitro synthetic biology platform,which can implement complicated biochemical reactions by the in vitro assembly of numerous enzymes and coenzymes,has been proposed for low-cost biomanufacturing of bioenergy,food,biochemicals,and nutraceuticals.In addition to the most important advantage-high product yield,in vitro synthetic biology platform features several other biomanufacturing advantages,such as fast reaction rate,easy product separation,open process control,broad reaction condition,tolerance to toxic substrates or products,and so on.In this article,we present the basic bottom-up design principles of in vitro synthetic pathway from basic building blocks-BioBricks(thermoenzymes and/or immobilized enzymes)to building modules(e.g.,enzyme complexes or multiple enzymes as a module)with specific functions.With development in thermostable building blocks-BioBricks and modules,the in vitro synthetic biology platform would open a new biomanufacturing age for the cost-competitive production of biocommodities.
