Weslee Glenn, vice president of innovation at Ayana Bio, believes that synthetic biology and plant cell cultivation could transform the food and beverage industry and pave the way for a healed, healthy and sustainable planet. Here, he offers insight into some innovations with promising potential to address issues such as malnutrition and food waste.
10% of the world’s population suffers from chronic hunger, which can wreak havoc on the body and mind. Another quarter of our population suffers from hidden hunger, or micronutrient deficiencies that cause disease. Essential micronutrients are comprised of a subset of minerals, vitamins and small molecules obtained from the diet that protect cells from stress and help enzymes carry out their function. Together, up to one in three of us – a full third of the population – is either starving or malnourished.
While it’s not quite ready to take a victory lap, synthetic biology promises to address some of these shortfalls. Here are some innovations that could transform the industry, heal the world and make us healthier.
Gene editing to prevent post-harvest food spoilage
Post-harvest spoilage is a significant problem, with roughly one third of the food produced never being consumed, preserved or otherwise stored. Post-harvest losses may reach 75% in developing countries.
Scientists have gained a steady understanding of ripening and senescence (the process that leads to rotting) over the past few decades. These efforts are undoubtedly made possible through the availability of high-quality reference and draft genomes. From this genetic understanding, one primary goal is to lengthen the time between ripening and senescence without otherwise altering the plant.
Several high-profile examples have found use in commercial settings, such as the FLAVR SAVR tomato (containing a polygalacturonase knockout), the Innate Potato (which knocks down asparagine synthetase 1, polyphenol oxidase 2, and vacuolar invertase and introduces the late blight resistance gene RpiVnt1), and Arctic Apple (which contains a knockout of polyphenol oxidase).
Despite understanding the molecular underpinnings of ripening and senescence and clear examples of commercial success, anti-GMO sentiment has had a cooling effect on the industry for decades. But polling has shown that people are far more accepting of genetic knockouts than knock-ins now, and transient CRISPR-Cas strategies could meet non-bioengineered requirements in the United States and possibly in Europe. If many still haven’t warmed to the idea, perhaps climate urgency can help them begin to thaw.
Replacing synthetic preservatives
Even with the excitement and promise of genetic engineering strategies to prevent spoilage, preservatives are the tried-and-true method. These technologies play the important role of increasing the shelf-life of both produce and (ultra) processed foods.
Synthetic preservatives like butylated hydroxyanisole and sodium nitrite have been heavily scrutinised and are frequently derided as allergenic and carcinogenic despite regulatory bodies like EFSA providing no indication that they are dangerous at levels likely to be encountered in the human diet. Still, many companies are addressing the concern behind this scrutiny and offering natural alternatives.
Notably, some preservatives easily prepared with chemical synthesis, like calcium propionate, also occur naturally. These instances lend themselves to nature-identical synthetic biology solutions. In fact, several preservatives, such as citric acid, are primarily produced through microbial fermentation already.
Another cellular solution – plant cell cultivation – could emerge as a strategy to improve preservative options as well. Many spices, which are comprised of a complex set of molecules, have long been used as natural preservatives, and growing these powerful botanicals directly from cells could enable new optimisations. For example, a sage cell culture enriched in the antimicrobial rosmarinic acid content could provide a formidable alternative.
Fortifying crops with essential micronutrients
The root of nutrient decline in our food lies in poor soil health. Irrigation, fertilisation and harvesting methods increase efficiency and yield but strip the soil of nutrients. Fewer nutrients in the soil means fewer nutrients in the plants that we eat. Outfitting crops with essential micronutrients through biofortification offers a solution.
Biofortification entails breeding a crop to uptake or make micronutrients more efficiently. In some cases, crops can be engineered to make molecules they can’t otherwise.
Biofortification has already found tremendous real-life success. By some accounts, over 1 billion people will benefit from biofortified food by 2030. For example, pro-Vitamin A-fortified sweet potato (orange-fleshed sweet potato) prevents vitamin A deficiency in children from Mozambique. The BioCassava Plus program aims to increase the amino acid and protein levels of cassava, a staple crop that over 450 million Africans rely on as their primary source of calories but provides less than 30% of the recommended daily intake of protein. And this is just the beginning – modern genetic engineering techniques can accelerate new trait development.
Newer variations like agronomic biofortification are seeking to amend the soil microbiome by introducing richer microbial consortia in the top-soil – that five- to ten-inch deep layer that supports all life on this planet. Interestingly, this strategy could enhance the availability and uptake of multiple micronutrients instead of the single ones targeted by most genetic engineering or breeding methods.
Intention and urgency
Synthetic biology, like any technology, needs safeguards. So we must act with both intention and urgency to progress these solutions in our increasingly hot and hungry planet. Climate change is only worsening hunger – both visible and hidden. Tools at the cellular level, like synthetic biology and plant cell cultivation, are uncovering critical innovations for the nutritious and secure food system that we need.
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