Synthesis of recombinant products in the chloroplast

Abstract

For the engineering of new traits in plants and algae, modification of the plastid genome offers significant advantages. These include transgene integration by homologous recombination, high levels of expression, multigene engineering in polycistronic units, and reduced transmission through pollen. Numerous tools are available for DNA delivery, selection of transformants, removal of undesirable markers and efficient expression of single or multiple transgenes. The list of plants and algae with successful plastid transformation is increasing and includes some crop plants. Its further extension to agronomically relevant species and appropriate cultivars, together with advances in synthetic biology, will be key to the future development of plastids as green factories for the production of high-value metabolites or proteins.