Startup grows egg proteins in potato fields

初创公司PoLoPo在马铃薯田中种植鸡蛋蛋白

关键词：

来源：

nature biotechnology

来源地址：

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-025-02563-6

资源所属：

马铃薯基因组设计育种

类型：

前沿资讯

语种：

英语

原文发布日期：

2025-02-14

摘要：

Molecular farmers Maya Sapir-Mir (left) and Raya Liberman-Aloni are taking a global culinary favorite and transforming it into a low-cost bioreactor to manufacture egg protein. They set up PoLoPo in 2022 to engineer potato plants to produce egg-white protein without the need for expensive bioreactors. The company, which is based in Ness Ziona, Israel, has begun its first field trial growing the protein-rich tuber.PoLoPo has also developed potatoes with enhanced production of the protein patatin, which is found naturally in the tuber. The PoLoPo team genetically tweaked the potato genome to express genes that shift the plant’s metabolism towards protein production and accumulation in tubers. The team is now seeking approval from the US Department of Agriculture for the patatin-rich potatoes. PoLoPo received backing from the German venture capital firm FoodLabs. Other genetically modified potatoes are already available for sale in the USA. J.R. Simplot, based in Boise, Idaho, is already selling genetically modified Russet Burbank, Ranger Russet and Atlantic potatoes, which were created to resist bruising and potato blight.