ERUBY is a powerful visual reporter combining a feedback-insensitive TyrA arogenate dehydrogenase (ADHα) gene with original RUBY structure, and substantially promotes betalain biosynthesis in rice endosperm.

Ginsenosides, the primary bioactive components of Panax ginseng, exhibit diverse pharmacological properties, ranging from anticancer to neuroprotective effects. However, traditional production by ginseng cultivation faces limitations due to extended growth cycles, insufficient yields, intricate extraction processes, and significant environmental dependencies. Synthetic biology and synthetic metabolic engineering offer promising alternatives for sustainable manufacturing of essential bioactive compounds, including ginsenosides. First, this review describes the ginsenoside biosynthesis pathways, emphasizing crucial enzymes (e.g., HMG-CoA reductase, squalene epoxidase, dammarenediol-II synthase, amyrin synthase, and various UDP-glycosyltransferases) and their regulatory networks. Understanding these fundamental pathways enables rational engineering of production systems. Second, it examines current synthetic biology approaches, encompassing plant cell, tissue, and hairy root cultures, engineered microbial hosts including Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli, and cell-free enzymatic synthesis. Third, it evaluates the medicinal significance, market prospects, and industrial feasibility of these biomanufactured compounds. Finally, it analyzes the sustainability of production models and explores the emerging potential of engineered plant chassis. These advanced methodologies directly address traditional agricultural constraints and establish a robust framework for future ginsenoside synthesis.

Base editors derived from clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) systems are widely used for genomic studies in both plants and animals. The broad applicability and safety of base-editing approaches have garnered considerable attention from the research community, and there could be ways to further enhance targeting efficiency and target window range. However, the complex classification and diverse functionalities of base editors pose challenges to their effective utilization and improvement. In this review, we discuss technical principles characterizing various types of base editors, including cytosine base editors (CBEs), adenine base editors (ABEs), dual base editors (DBEs), thymine base editors (TBEs), and guanine base editors (GBEs), among others, which employ distinct mechanisms and DNA repair pathways. We also describe current optimization strategies to assist researchers in improving the deployment of these tools under specific conditions. Finally, we comprehensively analyze the practical applications and advantages of base editors, offering a clear view of their development, their previous and potential applications, and how to select the appropriate tools for specific purposes.