Simultaneous introduction of multiple biomacromolecules into plant cells using a cell-penetrating peptide nanocarrier

Abstract

Plant cells contain groups of biomolecules that participate together in a particular biological process. Exogenous codelivery of multiple biomolecules is an essential step for elucidation of the biological significance of these molecules and enables various biotechnological applications in plants. However, the currently existing biomolecule delivery methods face difficulties in delivering multiple components into plant cells, mediating transgene expression, and maintaining the stability of the numerous components and lead to delays in biomolecular function. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have demonstrated remarkable abilities to introduce diverse biomolecules into various plant species. Here, we employed the engineered CPP KH₉-BP100 as a carrier to deliver multiple biomolecules into plant cells and performed a bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay to assess the simultaneous introduction of multiple biomolecules. We demonstrate that multiple biomolecule/CPP cargos can be simultaneously internalized by a particular plant cell, albeit with different efficiencies. We present a cutting-edge technique for codelivery of multiple biomolecules into plant cells that can be used for elucidation of functional correlations and for metabolic engineering.