Instead of traditional breeding: A new rescue for the climate and the planet
Meat production using traditional methods is associated with a huge burden on the natural environment. Animal farming consumes enormous amounts of energy and water and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, more and more people pay attention to the ethical aspect - avoiding animal suffering becomes a priority for them.
At the same time, meat remains one of the most important sources of high-quality protein for humans. Hence the dynamic development of the meat substitutes market, whose global value is currently estimated at EUR 6.7–8.1 billion annually. According to forecasts, over the next ten years this market is expected to grow at a rate of up to 12.3%. annually.
Pig genes in lettuce. How did scientists "fool" nature?
Scientists from Great Britain presented a breakthrough achievement in the magazine "Frontiers in Plant Science": they genetically modified plants to produce myoglobin - a protein naturally present in animal muscles. It is myoglobin that gives meat its red color and is the source of the so-called heme iron, essential in the human diet.
Researchers cloned the genes encoding myoglobin from pigs and cattle, and then introduced them into chloroplasts - structures in plant cells responsible for photosynthesis - in tobacco and lettuce seedlings. Thanks to this, plants began to produce protein characteristic of animal meat. Importantly, this change was heritable - subsequent generations of plants also produced myoglobin.
As Dr. Alexia Groff, co-author of the study, explains:
We have shown that plants can be modified to produce the animal protein, myoglobin, in their chloroplasts - structures responsible for obtaining energy in the process of photosynthesis. This could provide a more sustainable way to produce an important ingredient in plant-based meat substitutes.
Yield per hectare: Plants win over traditional meat
Experiments have shown that 800 mg of myoglobin can be obtained from a kilogram of dry matter of modified tobacco, and 810 mg from lettuce. For comparison, real meat contains from 8,100 to 11,200 mg of this protein per kilogram of dry matter. Although the myoglobin content in plants is lower, plant cultivation is much more efficient and environmentally friendly than animal breeding.
"Despite this, growing plants is much more efficient in terms of resource use than animal breeding. As a result, myoglobin obtained from plants could provide an amount of protein per hectare comparable to, or potentially even greater than, animal production, while using much less water and lower greenhouse gas emissions," the authors of the study emphasize.
Leaf steaks and lettuce full of iron. What awaits us in stores?
Myoglobin obtained from plants can be isolated from leaves and purified using industrial technologies. Because its structure is identical to animal myoglobin, it can be used as an ingredient of plant meat substitutes, improving their taste, color and nutritional properties.
Moreover, researchers see potential in using edible lettuce enriched with myoglobin as a new food product, especially valuable for people who need an additional source of iron.
We hope that edible lettuce modified to produce myoglobin could one day also serve as a heme iron-fortified food, if regulations allow it, says Dr. Kyoko Morimoto, Kyomei's chief scientific officer.
Currently, further research is underway to optimize the process and approve the products for food circulation.
