2-Hydroxy-4-Methoxybenzaldehyde (2H4MB): Integrating Cell Culture, Metabolic Engineering, and Intelligent Genome Editing

2-Hydroxy-4-Methoxybenzaldehyde (2H4MB) is a valuable aromatic compound with applications in flavour, fragrance, and pharmaceuticals. Because of its endangered status and root-specific accumulation, its production in native plants is restricted. In order to increase 2H4MB yield, this study emphasises recent developments in metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, in vitro culture methods, and AI-assisted route prediction. This review discussed about how CRISPR-based genome editing can be used to modify important biosynthetic genes and regulatory components, as well as how predictive machine learning techniques can be used to improve production conditions. Inadequate genetic resources, poorly understood biosynthetic pathways, and a dearth of reliable transformation systems are among the present constraints. The work highlights the importance of using integrative plant biotechnology techniques to fully realise the industrial and medicinal potential of this underutilised chemical.