LAUSR

Description Complex spatial patterns of gene expression are engineered in plants to modulate root morphology A long-standing aim of synthetic biology has been to engineer genetic circuits that are able to confer prescribed spatiotemporal patterns of gene expression. This feat would not only unlock the next tier in the technology tree of translational biology but would also constitute a powerful demonstration of a predictive and quantitative basic understanding of genetic regulation in higher eukaryotes. On page 747 of this issue, Brophy et al. (1) report a strategy to engineer spatial transcriptional patterns in the root of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to alter its morphology. This effort constitutes a milestone in the genetic engineering of a whole, fully developed multicellular organism and points to the challenges ahead.