Patrick Shih, an associate professor of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, is advancing research in synthetic plant biology. This field aims to use plants to produce therapeutic compounds, improve nutrition, and develop new types of fuel by gaining a deeper understanding of biological systems.
Shih explains, “What we’re trying to do with biological systems is tear them down, build them back up and demonstrate that we understand how they tick.” He shared this perspective in a 101 in 101 video, a UC Berkeley series where experts summarize their work in 101 seconds.
Looking ahead, Shih envisions agriculture evolving into a large-scale factory to create essential compounds for human needs. “All of our food, fiber and fuel come from plants,” he says. “If you have this ability to just tweak them, manipulate them, engineer them for new purposes, all of a sudden we have the agricultural infrastructure to build new things.”
Shih’s research involves introducing genes into plants that are not naturally present, with the goal of turning plants into bioreactors or biofactories capable of producing drugs and therapeutics. His laboratory has already shown that synthetic plant biology can be used to produce a crucial component of human breastmilk, which previously was not available in baby formula.
Currently, Shih’s team is working on solutions related to bioenergy, health, and agriculture, while also developing technologies to make plant engineering more efficient. He notes the significance of conducting this work at UC Berkeley: “Berkeley is arguably ground zero for a lot of synthetic biology and genome editing, genome engineering. To be able to establish a lab that’s focused on plant synthetic biology, there’s no better place than Berkeley, really, to be doing this.”
Readers can view additional 101 in 101 videos featuring UC Berkeley faculty and experts.
