By now, weve all heard that eating meat is not great for the world. The industry produces a lot of emissions and utilizes up a great deal of environmental resources. However reasonably, the only way the majority of people will decrease their intake anytime soon is if they have tasty alternatives that reproduce the “mouthfeel” of meat. Such options do exist– but theyre not ideal. And, perhaps more notably, theyre likewise hard to produce at scale, which suggests we need more options.
However what if we have an unanticipated ally in this struggle: cyanobacteria?
” Im a simple guy from the countryside who seldom tosses his arms into the air, but having the ability to manipulate a living organism to produce a new kind of protein which arranges itself into threads is hardly ever seen to this level– and it is extremely promising. Since it is an organism that can quickly be grown sustainably, as it endures on water, atmospheric CO2 and solar rays. This outcome gives cyanobacteria even greater capacity as a sustainable active ingredient,” states a passionate Poul Erik Jensen, who heads a research group focusing on plant-based food and plant biochemistry.
Hijacking genetics
The essential element in replicating the texture and taste of meat lies in protein. Contrary to popular belief, meat isnt the only natural source of protein; not. Lots of plants and algae likewise produce protein (some rather a lot), but the kinds of protein dont have the same structure as meat. This indicates they dont taste the same and do not have the exact same texture either.
” Cyanobacteria, likewise referred to as blue-green algae, are living organisms that we have had the ability to get to produce a protein that they dont naturally produce. The especially exciting thing here is that the protein is formed in fibrous strands which somewhat look like meat fibers. And, it might be possible to use these fibers in plant-based meat, cheese or some other new kind of food for which we are after a specific texture,” says Professor Poul Erik Jensen of the Department of Food Science.
Cyanobacteria is likewise called “blue-green” algae– which is a misleading name because theyre not related to algae at all. Theyre bacteria that have the capability to photosynthesize. In reality, they may be the very first animals that developed photosynthesis in the world, some 3.8 billion years ago. Recently, scientists have actually ended up being increasingly more thinking about cyanobacteria for use as a biomaterial or in various eco-friendly innovations. Theyve even been proposed as alternatives to wood or cement, as an alternative for plastics, or as a CO2 sink. However their possible as a protein source has been less explored.
Cyanobacteria also doesnt normally produce that type of protein. Researchers crafted cyanobacteria that has been persuaded to produce it.
Rather of going for the more established technique, which includes taking an existing protein and processing it to make it look more meatlike, this method basically produces meat-like protein all from the start.< Cyanobacteria under a microscope. Image through Wiki Commons. Milking cyanobacteria The scientists pirate the cyanobacteria and insert foreign genes into it, basically utilizing it as a host organism. Inside the cell, the protein starts to re-arrange itself into tiny threads (nanofibers).