Synthetic biology advances towards a bio-based society in the era of artificial intelligence
Attia Iram, Yueming Dong, Codruţa Ignea
Abstract
Synthetic biology is a rapidly emerging field with broad underlying applications in health, industry, agriculture , or environment, enabling sustainable solutions for unmet needs of modern society. With the very recent addition of artificial intelligence (AI) approaches, this field is now growing at a rate that can help reach the envisioned goals of bio-based society within the next few decades. Integrating AI with plant-based technologies, such as protein engineering, phytochemicals production, plant system engineering, or microbiome engineering, potentially disruptive applications have already been reported. These include enzymatic synthesis of new-to-nature molecules, bioelectricity generation, or biomass applications as construction material. Thus, in the not-so-distant future, synthetic biologists will help attain the overarching goal of a sustainable yet efficient production system for every aspect of society. • Artificial intelligence tools are emerging as valuable gears in synthetic biology. • Plant-based products and technologies are key solutions for a bio-based society. • Plant protein and cell engineering enable designer systems with novel functions. • Microbiome engineering opens new avenues for sustainable agriculture.