Abstract
Plant cell culture (PCC) presents a promising and sustainable alternative to traditional agricultural methods for producing specialty bioactive compounds. However, its widespread industrial application has been hindered by challenges such as low yields, cell line instability and inconsistent product quality. engineering biology (EB) offers a powerful toolkit to overcome these limitations by systematically improving plant cell lines. This review focuses on the application of EB principles to enhance PCC for the production of high-value bioactives from an industry-oriented perspective. We explore three core pillars of the EB toolkit: (1) Multiomics and in silico design, which leverage comprehensive data integration and predictive modelling for rational target identification; (2) gene manipulation and pathway bioengineering, encompassing precise genome editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas), synthetic gene circuits and directed evolution for targeted metabolic reprogramming and (3) biosensors for high-throughput screening and real-time monitoring, enabling rapid testing and optimisation of engineered cell lines. The synergistic integration of these tools within the iterative design-build-test-learn (DBTL) cycle is highlighted as a key strategy for accelerating strain improvement. Ultimately, the convergence of these EB approaches is transforming PCC into a robust platform for producing pharmaceuticals, functional foods and green chemicals, contributing to a biobased economy with a minimal ecological footprint.