Synthetic Living Sheath: CRISPR-Engineered Bacterial Logic Gates & Nanospore Delivery for Enhanced Plant Surface Protection and Photosynthetic Augmentation
Jacob Thomas Messer, et al. Abstract This paper presents a novel, multi-layered bioengineering strategy to address agricultural sustainability and climate resilience by coating plant aerial surfaces (leaves, stalks, stems) with living, self-regenerating, and metabolically active “sheaths.” These sheaths are produced by CRISPR-edited bacterial consortia, delivered via nanospore technology, and regulated by synthetic genetic logic gates. The sheaths provide both robust environmental protection and a secondary, complementary photosynthetic process—while mimicking the functional properties of soil, thus extending the root microenvironment onto the entire plant surface. 1. Introduction Global agriculture faces threats from climate change, soil degradation, and emergent pathogens, while the extinction risk for crops like coffee has become acute. Current genetic and chemical solutions are limited by static modes of action and rapid obsolescence. We propose a dynamic, evo...