Posted on 03/18/2024 12:04:27 PM PDT by Red Badger
In the ongoing search for sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to meat and other animal proteins, researchers have settled on a new product that only solidifies our descent into a dystopian science fiction story. Published in Nature Communications, this could be humanity’s new favorite food; genetically engineered mold.
The study, led by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, demonstrates how the edible fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, can be bioengineered to enhance its nutritional value and sensory appeal as a meat substitute. By modifying the fungus’s genome using cutting-edge synthetic biology tools, the researchers were able to elevate the production of key nutrients and flavor molecules, bringing it closer to mimicking the taste and texture of real meat.
A. oryzae, also known as koji mold, has a long history of safe use in fermented foods and has recently gained attention as a potential scaffold for cellular agriculture and alternative protein production. However, like many other fungi used in food applications, it has inherent limitations in nutrition and taste. To overcome the reality that this mold basically tastes like crap, the research team developed a comprehensive synthetic biology toolkit for A. oryzae.
Using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system, which allows for precise genomic modifications, the researchers first set out to enhance the production of ergothioneine, a potent antioxidant with potential health benefits, in the fungal mycelium. By overexpressing the fungus’s native ergothioneine biosynthetic genes, they were able to achieve levels much higher than those found in oyster mushrooms, currently the top dietary source of ergothioneine.
Next, with every dystopian science fiction trope imaginable, the team tackled the challenge of creating a more meat-like flavor and appearance.
They engineered the fungus to overproduce heme, the iron-containing molecule responsible for the characteristic taste and color of red meat. By modulating the expression of key enzymes in the heme biosynthetic pathway and introducing a heme-binding protein, they elevated intracellular heme levels to 40% of those found in leading plant-based meats that incorporate heme for flavor and color.
Remarkably, the heme-overproducing strain exhibited a distinct red color and could be readily formulated into realistic meat alternatives with minimal processing, setting it apart from plant-based proteins that often require extensive purification and additives.
The koji mold patty after frying. (Credit: Vayu Hill-Maini)
MAKING MEAT OUT OF MOLD
“These organisms have been used for centuries to produce food, and they are incredibly efficient at converting carbon into a wide variety of complex molecules, including many that would be almost impossible to produce using a classic host like brewer’s yeast or E. coli,” said senior author Jay Keasling, a senior scientist at Berkeley Lab. “By unlocking koji mold through the development of these tools, we are unlocking the potential of a huge new group of hosts that we can use to make foods, valuable chemicals, energy-dense biofuels, and medicines. It’s a thrilling new avenue for biomanufacturing.”
With the global food system facing mounting pressures from climate change, environmental degradation, and a growing population, the development of sustainable and nutritious alternatives to animal-derived foods is pretty critical. Fungi, with their rapid growth, ability to thrive on low-cost substrates, and high protein content, hold immense potential as a platform for alternative protein production.
While it is important to acknowledge that this research represents an early proof-of-concept, and further evaluation of the engineered fungal biomass’s safety, scalability, and consumer acceptance will be necessary, your dinner plate in the dystopian hell world we are slowly creating for ourselves could be host to meat made of mold.
“We think that there’s a lot of room to explore texture by varying the fiber-like morphology of the cells. So, we might be able to program the structure of the lot fibers to be longer which would give a more meat-like experience. And then we can think about boosting lipid composition for mouth feel and further nutrition,” explained bioengineer Vayu Hill-Maini, who is currently working with the Berkley team on how to cook this new ‘food.’ “I’m really excited about how can we further look at the fungus and, you know, tinker with its structure and metabolism for food.”
Yes, this study marks a significant step forward in the quest for sustainable meat alternatives. Synthetic biology and the potential of edible fungi may bring us closer to a future where nutritious, environmentally friendly, and alternative proteins are accessible to all, but nothing satisfies quite like a dead cow for that real “meat-like experience.”
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MJ Banias is a journalist who covers security and technology. You can find his work here. He co-hosts The Debrief Weekly Report. and you can email MJ at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.
Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos will not be eating mold...
I bet they do all the time and so do most people. Soy sauce is made with this exact species of fungus, so is sake. Brie cheese is literally covered with mold and it is the mold enzymes that make it liquidy on the inside. Blue cheese is almost half mold by weight. Every had salami? Yup it’s inoculated with bacteria and then mold on the rind which is eaten as well. The list of foods made with or of mold is huge. Humans have used molds for tens of thousands of years. Beer is fermented with mold , so is wine. That nice cloudy unfiltered unpasteurized IPA that you spent $15 on...what do you think the hazy part is? Live mold cells floating in your expensive beer.
Having a high protein single cell protein or multiple cell fungus with all 9 amino acids grown on waste or low cost substrates; or better yet electro synthesized substrates like acetic acid and it’s conjugate base. Boffins have already succeeded in making acetic acid from nothing more than water, CO2 from the Air and electricity at high faraday efficiency and in very dense electrocells. Why you ask is this important? The very best land plants only convert 1% of solar insolation into total plant biomass that’s roots,stalks,and leaves, plus any edible parts such as corn kernels. Corn is not at 1% it’s much less same for rice, wheat and barley. The top spot for terrestrial plants goes to Agave Weber a CAM plant it beats all other C4 and C3 plants at 1% sun to biomass.
A typical polysilicon solar cell turns 21% of solar insolation to electric DC output. That’s a factor of 20 times better than the very best land plant and 40 times more than the average land plant. The boffins who did the electricity to acetic acid had a 70+% faraday efficiency they came up with a result of 18 times as much carbon fixed into carbohydrate form vs the very best land plant. This means for a given square meter of land area you can make 18 times more total fixed carbon. Remember only a small fraction of a corn plant is the kernels so compared to total biomass vs edible biomass the electro synthesized route is 40 to 100 time more productive. Fungus grows quite well on acetic acid, turns out you can also grow ecoli,and various other single cell protein organisms. Vascular plants also can be grown in a liquid carbon base or mild acid acetic being one. So far rice,potatoes, tomatoes, and corn have been grown hydroponicly in the total darkness using acetic acid as not only the carbon source but the energy source as well. Think deep space food production or industrial warehouse stack and pack floor to ceiling high density food production. With a stack and pack protein organisms in racks or tanks next door. 100% nutrition in a fraction of the area. Solar panels also don’t care about desert conditions way to inhospitable for crops to grow in rows. Going to electro synthesized substrates let’s you take nonarible land and make huge amounts of food from them at 40 times the rates of just growing row crops.
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