Dr. Uriel Urquiza

Plant Synthetic Genomics: building and booting synthetic chromosomes in Physcomitrium patens

The goal of my research is to establish plant synthetic genomics as a constructive discipline. My group develops the genetic and cellular methods required for synthetic plant chromosomes to function in living cells: acquiring telomeres, recruiting centromeric activity, replicating, segregating and maintaining heritable gene expression. We use the moss Physcomitrium patens as a programmable plant chassis, taking advantage of its high rates of homologous recombination, which make genome programming experimentally realistic.

The central biological question is whether complex gene regulatory networks depend on genomic context. We use the circadian clock as a quantitative test system: by relocating clock genes to a synthetic neochromosome, we can test whether a network that controls plant physiology is modular and portable, or hard-embedded in genome architecture. This is the highest-risk, highest-reward component of the programme.

Our technological toolkit combines RepTiles-guided biodesign automation, Golden Braid assembly, transformation-associated recombination, CRISPR-based targeting, telomere seeding, centromere activation, optogenetic control and liquid–liquid phase separation for recruiting chromosome functions. We are not only assembling DNA tracks; we are developing the instruction set for chromosome activation.

The programme is embedded in CEPLAS Research Area 3 (Synthetic and Reconstruction Biology) and is funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the CEPLAS Seed Fund, the HHU Strategic Research Fund, and additional CEPLAS support for collaborative research on artificial origins of replication with Dr Emily Wheeler (North Carolina State University, USA). Key collaborators include Dr André Marques (MPI for Plant Breeding Research / CEPLAS) on centromere biology and Prof Björn Usadel (FZ Jülich / HHU / CEPLAS) on genomics.

This work connects fundamental questions about genome organisation with practical routes towards sustainable biotechnology. Synthetic plant chromosomes could become programmable platforms for bioproduction, allowing plants to carry complex metabolic or biomedical programmes without modifying native chromosomes.