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1. Nanotechnology Approaches for Chloroplast Biotechnology Advancements

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.691295  

   Newkirk, Gregory M.; de Allende, Pedro; Jinkerson, Robert E.; Giraldo, Juan Pablo (July 2021, Frontiers in Plant Science)

   Photosynthetic organisms are sources of sustainable foods, renewable biofuels, novel biopharmaceuticals, and next-generation biomaterials essential for modern society. Efforts to improve the yield, variety, and sustainability of products dependent on chloroplasts are limited by the need for biotechnological approaches for high-throughput chloroplast transformation, monitoring chloroplast function, and engineering photosynthesis across diverse plant species. The use of nanotechnology has emerged as a novel approach to overcome some of these limitations. Nanotechnology is enabling advances in the targeted delivery of chemicals and genetic elements to chloroplasts, nanosensors for chloroplast biomolecules, and nanotherapeutics for enhancing chloroplast performance. Nanotechnology-mediated delivery of DNA to the chloroplast has the potential to revolutionize chloroplast synthetic biology by allowing transgenes, or even synthesized DNA libraries, to be delivered to a variety of photosynthetic species. Crop yield improvements could be enabled by nanomaterials that enhance photosynthesis, increase tolerance to stresses, and act as nanosensors for biomolecules associated with chloroplast function. Engineering isolated chloroplasts through nanotechnology and synthetic biology approaches are leading to a new generation of plant-based biomaterials able to self-repair using abundant CO 2 and water sources and are powered by renewable sunlight energy. Current knowledge gaps of nanotechnology-enabled approaches for chloroplast biotechnology include precise mechanisms for entry into plant cells and organelles, limited understanding about nanoparticle-based chloroplast transformations, and the translation of lab-based nanotechnology tools to the agricultural field with crop plants. Future research in chloroplast biotechnology mediated by the merging of synthetic biology and nanotechnology approaches can yield tools for precise control and monitoring of chloroplast function in vivo and ex vivo across diverse plant species, allowing increased plant productivity and turning plants into widely available sustainable technologies. 

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2. Agricultural Innovations to Reduce the Health Impacts of Dams

   https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041869  

   Lund, Andrea J.; Lopez-Carr, David; Sokolow, Susanne H.; Rohr, Jason R.; De Leo, Giulio A. (February 2021, Sustainability)

   null (Ed.)

   Dams enable the production of food and renewable energy, making them a crucial tool for both economic development and climate change adaptation in low- and middle-income countries. However, dams may also disrupt traditional livelihood systems and increase the transmission of vector- and water-borne pathogens. These livelihood and health impacts diminish the benefits of dams to rural populations dependent on rivers, as hydrological and ecological alterations change flood regimes, reduce nutrient transport and lead to the loss of biodiversity. We propose four agricultural innovations for promoting equity, health, sustainable development, and climate resilience in dammed watersheds: (1) restoring migratory aquatic species, (2) removing submerged vegetation and transforming it into an agricultural resource, (3) restoring environmental flows and (4) integrating agriculture and aquaculture. As investment in dams accelerates in low- and middle-income countries, appropriately addressing their livelihood and health impacts can improve the sustainability of modern agriculture and economic development in a changing climate. 

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3. Nanotechnology in agriculture: A solution to global food insecurity in a changing climate?

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.impact.2024.100502  

   Vaidya, Shital; Deng, Chaoyi; Wang, Yi; Zuverza-Mena, Nubia; Dimkpa, Christian; White, Jason C. (March 2024, NanoImpact)

   Although the Green Revolution dramatically increased food production, it led to non- sustainable conventional agricultural practices, with productivity in general declining over the last few decades. Maintaining food security with a world population exceeding 9 billion in 2050, a changing climate, and declining arable land will be exceptionally challenging. In fact, nothing short of a revolution in how we grow, distribute, store, and consume food is needed. In the last ten years, the field of nanotoxicology in plant systems has largely transitioned to one of sustainable nano-enabled applications, with recent discoveries on the use of this advanced technology in agriculture showing tremendous promise. The range of applications is quite extensive, including direct application of nanoscale nutrients for improved plant health, nutrient biofortification, increased photosynthetic output, and greater rates of nitrogen fixation. Other applications include nano-facilitated delivery of both fertilizers and pesticides; nano-enabled delivery of genetic material for gene silencing against viral pathogens and insect pests; and nanoscale sensors to support precision agriculture. Recent efforts have demonstrated that nanoscale strategies increase tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stressors, offering realistic potential to generate climate resilient crops. Considering the efficiency of nanoscale materials, there is a need to make their production more economical, alongside efficient use of incumbent resources such as water and energy. The hallmark of many of these approaches involves much greater impact with far less input of material. However, demonstrations of efficacy at field scale are still insufficient in the literature, and a thorough understanding of mechanisms of action is both necessary and often not evident. Although nanotechnology holds great promise for combating global food insecurity, there are far more ways to do this poorly than safely and effectively. This review summarizes recent work in this space, calling out existing knowledge gaps and suggesting strategies to alleviate those concerns to advance the field of sustainable nano-enabled agriculture. 

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4. Eliminating tissue culture from plant gene editing in the near future: A wish or reality?

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpb.2025.100433  

   Babaeianjelodar, Nadali; Trivedi, Jayati; Uhde-Stone, Claudia (March 2025, Current Plant Biology)

   Traditional plant breeding methods alone are insufficient to guarantee food security for a growing global population under a changing climate, necessitating more advanced approaches to develop productive and resilient crop varieties. The development of genome editing tools, particularly CRISPR/CAS, are significantly speeding up crop improvement by enabling targeted breeding in most crop species. However, for many crop species, the need for tissue culture remains a major bottle neck, slowing the progress of crop improvement. In this review, we are presenting and discussing approaches for delivering genome editing tools into a wide variety of crop plants, including perennials, and ideally without integration of transgenes. We suggest that efficient non-tissue culture delivery systems for high-performance genome editing are needed to fully reach the genome engineering potential in crop plants. 

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5. Advancing Crop Transformation in the Era of Genome Editing

   https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.16.00196  

   Altpeter, F.; Springer, N.M.; Bartley, L.E.; Blechl, A.E.; Brutnell, T.P.; Citovsky, V.; Conrad, L.J.; Gelvin, S.B.; Jackson, D.P.; Kausch, A.P.; et al (July 2016, The Plant cell)

   Plant transformation has enabled fundamental insights into plant biology and revolutionized commercial agriculture. Unfortunately, for most crops, transformation and regeneration remain arduous even after more than thirty years of technological advances. Genome editing provides new opportunities to enhance crop productivity, but relies on genetic transformation and plant regeneration, which are bottlenecks in the process. Herein we review the state of plant transformation and point to innovations needed to enable genome editing in crops. Plant tissue culture methods need optimization and simplification for efficiency and minimize time in culture. Currently, specialized facilities exist for crop transformation. Single cell and robotic techniques should be developed for high throughput genomic screens. Utilization of plant genes involved in developmental reprogramming, wound response, and/or homologous recombination could boost recovery of transformed plants. Engineering universal Agrobacterium strains and recruitment of other microbes, such as Ensifer or Rhizobium, could facilitate delivery of DNA and proteins into plant cells. Synthetic biology should be employed for de novo design of transformation systems. Genome editing is a potential game-changer in crop genetics when plant transformation systems are optimized. 

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