Turbo Platform for Plant Research
Researchers open up plant chloroplasts for high-throughput screening for the first time, enabling faster development of more robust crops
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
image:
Algae cultures rotate on a shaker.
view moreCredit: MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology/ Gina Bolle
Chloroplasts—the “light power plants” of plant cells—are increasingly the focus of synthetic biology. These organelles house the photosynthetic apparatus and host several metabolic pathways that are of great interest for engineering new traits. Gene insertion into chloroplasts is precise and carries a lower risk of transgene escape.
Despite this potential, chloroplast biotechnology remains in its infancy because standardized, scalable methods for rapid testing of diverse genetic parts have been missing. A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg has now presented a micro‑algal platform that allows automated, fast, and large‑scale testing of chloroplast genetic modifications.
Automated High Throughput at the Chloroplast Level
In microbiology, optimization through repeated, rapid cycles is standard practice. This platform opens plant chloroplasts to high‑throughput applications for the first time. The researchers employ the micro‑alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. René Inckemann, who carried out the work in Tobias Erb’s group, explains: “We succeeded in characterising more than 140 gene‑regulatory DNA parts in the alga, covering a wide range of expression strengths. This is essential for fine‑tuning genetic circuits.”
All components are compatible with common biotechnological standards, so the DNA library can be readily used in other laboratories. For example, plant scientist Felix Willmund at the neighboring Center for Synthetic Microbiology validated the technology and is already using it to develop robust chloroplasts. The researchers have established a workflow that can generate and assay thousands of so‑called transplastomic algal lines—organisms with altered chloroplast genomes—in parallel.
Consequently, multiple genes can now be stably combined in chloroplasts and their activities predictably balanced. This is a crucial step toward identifying which modifications have real potential. By transferring only the most promising variants into more complex plant models, the development pipeline from concept to field trial is accelerated, and resources are conserved.
From Chloroplasts to Crop Plant
As a proof of concept, the team introduced a synthetic metabolic pathway into the alga’s chloroplasts. The engineered pathway enabled the alga to take up CO₂ more efficiently under stress conditions, resulting in almost double the biomass production—a “turbo‑alga.” This demonstrates how targeted interventions in chloroplast metabolism can boost productivity.
The new library provides a solid foundation for a wide range of research, such as improving plant resilience to heat, drought, or excessive light, enhancing nutrient profiles, or increasing yield. It can also serve as a platform for novel carbon‑fixation routes or the production of high‑value natural compounds (e.g., pharmaceutical precursors). “The platform we present here will play a central role in the research consortium “Robust Chloroplast”, as well as the Excellence Cluster ‘Microbes‑4‑Climate’, where, together with Marburg University, we aim to develop new biologically based solutions to climate change,” says Tobias Erb. “Key technologies like this are essential for focused research at a pace that matches the urgency of the climate challenge.”
A microtiter plate with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Marburg have developed a test platform that can be used to generate and analyze thousands of algae lines with modified chloroplast genomes in parallel.
Credit
MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology / Gina Bolle
Journal
Nature Plants
Article Title
A modular high-throughput approach for advancing synthetic biology in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas.
Article Publication Date
3-Nov-2025
Plants under stress: How rye rearranges its genes
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For their research, the scientists are using the site of the long-term experiment ‘Eternal Rye Cultivation’ at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.
view moreCredit: IPK Leibniz Institute/ S. Dreissig
The researchers investigated the genetic basis and environmental plasticity of meiotic recombination in a large rye population . They used over 500 rye plants, some of which were grown under normal conditions and some under nutrient deficiency. Material was obtained from the Federal Ex Situ Genebank at IPK and commercially available population varieties, and all plants were cultivated on the grounds of the 'Eternal Rye Cultivation' experiment at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg.
Established in 1878 by Julius Kühn, this experiment is still ongoing today. Various nutrient and humus replacement systems are compared in a long series of experiments, ranging from farmyard manure and mineral complete fertilisation to areas without fertilisation. “This area was particularly well suited to the study because the nutrient deficiency had built up over a very long period, making it very stable,” explained Dr. Steven Dreissig, head of the independent research group “Plant Reproductive Genetics”.
The researchers collected pollen and sequenced the cell nuclei of over 3,000 sperm cells from 584 individuals. They aimed to determine the number of crossover events between the parental chromosomes and identify their positions. This process could be studied directly in pollen for the first time, i.e., where it actually takes place, and in such large numbers.
“We were able to show that plant genes mix significantly less when there is a nutrient deficiency than when nutrients are supplied in adequate amounts,” says Christina Wäsch, the study’s first author. “You can think of it like playing cards: if the cards are only shuffled half-heartedly, fewer new combinations are created.” However, that's not all. The research team also discovered differences between plant types. While the modern cultivar remained relatively stable during the study, old varieties and wild forms were susceptible to stress, explains Christina Wäsch. “This shows that genetic diversity plays a major role in how plants cope with environmental changes.”
The research team also investigated the genetic basis of recombination. “In our study, we demonstrated that the recombination rate is not controlled by a single master switch, but rather by numerous small genetic regions acting in concert,” explains Dr. Steven Dreissig. More than 40 alleles and two candidate genes are now known. “We now know the areas on the chromosome where these numerous genetic switches are located, but we often do not yet know all the decisive genes.”
“Nevertheless, our current study makes an important contribution to our understanding of the genetic architecture and environmental plasticity of meiotic recombination”, says Dr. Dreissig. “Unlike previous studies, which only examined individual or a few genotypes, we analysed the genetic effects in a large, genetically diverse population.” The IPK researcher believes identifying the genes that control recombination under stress could be a valuable breeding tool. “The targeted control of recombination under stress will help to accelerate the development of new, improved crops that are more resistant to adverse environmental conditions.”
Journal
New Phytologist
Article Title
Population-wide single-pollen nuclei genotyping in rye sheds light on the genetic basis and environmental plasticity of meiotic recombination
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