Strigoquant: Strigolactones in a Quantitative Light

Synthetic biology in plant sciences is a new and upcoming field that offers many opportunities potentially underrepresented in basic plant research. Genetically encoded quantitative biosensors for plant hormones, such as the StrigoQuant ratiometric biosensor for the class of plant hormones Strigolactones (SLs), can offer insights into complex, multigenic perception and signaling events when applied in both plant and mammalian cell models. Strigolactones are a key class of plant hormones that are not only key regulators of plant development and symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi, but crucial in the interaction between crop and parasitic Striga sp. and Orobanche sp. plants. Crop yield losses in main cereal crops in Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean due to Strigolactone exudation from crop roots is a major issue yet to be adequately addressed. The development of a quantitative SL sensor, StrigoQuant, has helped uncover some interesting aspects in SL perception in the model organism Arabidopsis. Application of this genetically encoded ratiometric biosensor in multiple models and the reconstitution of the SL signaling pathway in mammalian cells are synthetic biology approaches to improve our knowledge on this essential plant hormone signaling pathway as a whole and will aid in applied approaches of combatting SL-mediated crop destruction.