Synthetic gene circuits in plants: recent advances and challenges

Plant synthetic biology is a rapidly advancing multidisciplinary research area that applies engineering principles to design, construct, and implement new plant capabilities at the molecular, cellular, and whole organism scales. Synthetic gene circuits are important tools for enabling increased customizability in the control of gene expression in plants, with widespread applications spanning new approaches for basic biology to introduction of new traits for advancing agriculture. In this review, we first aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of synthetic circuits. Next, we discuss recent progress in the construction of advanced synthetic gene circuits in plants for programmable control of gene expression. Finally, we discuss the current challenges associated with developing and applying effective circuits while also highlighting future prospects and research directions, including quantitative measurement, high-throughput testing, and circuit modelling.