Geminiviruses, the largest family of plant DNA viruses, cause devastating diseases in crops across the globe. However, theircharacteristics—such as compact genomes and efficient replication machinery—have made them indispensable tools in molecular biology and biotechnology.

Recently, a research team led by Prof. DENG Shulin from the South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Scienceshas systematically summarized the developmental trajectory and core applications of geminivirus vectors, ranging from virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) to synthetic biology. The study was recently published in the journal Biotechnology Advances.

Geminiviruses possess distinct features, including a stem-loop structure and replication protein (Rep), which enable the construction of functional geminiviral replicons (GVRs) in plants. Over the past three decades, geminiviruses have been developed into vectors for virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), high-level protein expression, and genome editing.

As VIGS vectors, bipartite geminiviruses utilize AV1 gene replacement, while monopartite geminiviruses rely on satellite DNAs to insert target sequences, enabling gene silencing in diverse plants. Insynthetic biology, GVRs facilitate high-level protein expression through autonomous replication and boost the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas genome editing in crops. Furthermore, gene regulatory elements derived from geminiviral genomes or satellite DNAs—including tissue-specific promoters and gene expression enhancement sequences—have expanded the vectors' utility in genetic engineering.

Additionally, the studyoffers an outlook on the future development of geminivirus vectors. For instance, GVRs can function as plasmid-like DNAs, supporting diverse and innovative designs in plant synthetic biology. Notably, the stem-loop structure and Rep are not exclusive to geminiviruses—a fact that suggests GVRs may have potential cross-kingdom applications beyond plants. The vast pool of viral resources is expected to further accelerate GVR applications through resource mining and optimization. Moreover, attenuated or engineered geminiviral strains hold promise as "plant vaccines" via the mechanism of cross-protection.

The researchers pointed out that the development of geminivirus vectors represents a transformation: from "plant pathogens" to "biological tools." As emerging concepts—such as plasmid-like DNA in plants, in-depth optimization, cross-kingdom applications, and "plant vaccines"—are translated into practical applications, these vectors may play a pivotal role in synthetic biology.

This research was supported by the Science and Technology Projects in Guangzhou, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, among other sources.