Duckweeds for Plant Molecular Farming: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions

Abstract

Plant molecular farming (PMF), or “pharming,” leverages plant cells or whole plants as expression systems to produce recombinant proteins for pharmaceuticals and other applications. This approach has emerged as a viable alternative to traditional platforms like Escherichia coli and mammalian cell lines, offering distinct advantages such as low production costs, high protein stability, and human-like post-translational modifications. However, the reliance on terrestrial plants as bioreactors poses challenges, including competition with food crops for agricultural resources and the risk of contaminating the food supply. As a result, identifying new host platforms for efficient recombinant protein production is a critical priority for advancing PMF. In this review, we highlight duckweeds-small, fast-growing aquatic monocots in the family Lemnaceae-as a promising alternative. Duckweeds offer advantages such as rapid growth, high biomass yield, and a rich metabolic profile, making them an attractive platform for recombinant protein production. We summarize recent developments in the use of duckweeds for PMF, including advancements in tissue culture, transformation techniques, and the expanding availability of genetic resources. Finally, we discuss remaining challenges and propose future directions for establishing duckweeds as a robust host platform in synthetic biology.