Advances in Plant Biotechnology for Sustainable Applications
摘要
Plant biotechnology has grown to become a revolutionary technology that holds big potential to mitigate global sustainability issues of agriculture, environment, food security, and bioeconomy. The chapter describes new accomplishments in plant biotechnology and how they are applied to enhance sustainable development. It discusses contemporary genetic technologies like genome editing in the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas system and transgenic crop technologies to enhance crop resilience, nutritional value, and production quantity. The effectiveness of tissue culture and micropropagation in reproductive conservation and in mass reproduction is discussed and how molecular marker-assisted breeding can be incorporated to make precision breeding of crops. The use of plant–microbe interactions and its application in the fields of biofertilization, biocontrol, and soil health management is also touched upon in the chapter. The methods of metabolic engineering towards improving the production of high-value phytochemicals and secondary metabolites are presented and how they can be utilized in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and industrial products. Besides, the use of engineered plants in phytoremediation and the clean-up of the environment is another indication of how biotechnology can aid in the restoration of the ecosystems. Sustainable practices in agriculture and industry are being transformed due to innovations in plant-based bioenergy and biomaterials that are enabled by digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and bioinformatics. Although there has been so much progress, issues such as regulatory, ethical, and social acceptance are also very vital. The future of how to combine advances in biotechnology with responsibility in innovation and to create a stronger and more sustainable future is left in the chapter.