1. Where is plant biotechnology currently heading as a field?

 

 

Elite research area: Plant biotechnology 

Poul Erik Jensen, professor and anchorperson answers this question:

 

“The petrochemical industry produces many substances – substances which both pollute and are becoming scarce. However, plants possess almost unlimited potential for those who understand them – and this is the purpose of our research in a nutshell: Creating more knowledge about the chemical reactions and mechanisms inside plants which are hidden to the naked eye.”

 

Synthetic biology booming

“One of the high-focus areas of plant biotech is synthetic biology.

Here, you transfer parts from one organism to another. Out of the more than 400,000 different plant species on earth, each plant produces numerous substances of which some are known, while the majority have yet to be discovered.

However, the plants often only produce the substances in very limited amounts, sufficient only to produce a scent, signal colours and for self-defence.

Plant biotech research therefore focuses on making the plant produce more of these substances which can often benefit humans, either because they boost our health or because they can replace some of the substances that we currently are forced to source from the petrochemical industry."

 

Researching plant potential using biotechnology

“One way of researching plant potential is by studying the inner biosynthesis routes, which consist of long chains of chemical reactions. An example of such a synthesis chain is the promising anticancer agent Thapsigargin.

 

While studying such biosynthesis routes, you reveal parts that in themselves hold promising opportunities for producing other useful compounds in, e.g., moss or yeast cells.”