{"id":795,"date":"2017-10-11T17:07:45","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T09:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/?p=795"},"modified":"2017-10-11T17:07:45","modified_gmt":"2017-10-11T09:07:45","slug":"us-scientists-engineer-corn-boost-protein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2017\/10\/11\/us-scientists-engineer-corn-boost-protein\/","title":{"rendered":"US scientists engineer corn to boost protein"},"content":{"rendered":"
Keywords:\u00a0GMO , Corn , Methionine<\/div>\n
US scientists have found a way to genetically engineer corn to produce an amino acid contained in meat. It boosted the nutritional value of one of the world’s most important crops.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The process involved inserting a bacterial gene that causes corn to make methionine, a crucial nutrient for the health of skin, nail and hair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Researchers said the discovery could benefit millions of people in the developing world who depend on corn as a staple, and could reduce animal feed costs, according to the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“We improved the nutritional value of corn, the largest commodity crop grown on Earth,” said co-author Thomas Leustek. He is a professor in the Department of Plant Biology at Rutgers University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“Most corn is used for animal feed, but it lacks methionine, and we found an effective way to add it. Methionine is a key amino acid”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The sulfur in methionine “protects cells from pollutants, slows cell aging and is essential for absorbing selenium and zinc,” the PNAS report said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Already, industries spend billions adding synthetic methionine to field corn seed, which does not naturally contain this amino acid. It is in order to help livestock grow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Co-author Joachim Messing, a professor who directs the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, said this is a “costly, energy-consuming process.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The new method involved inserting an E. coli bacterial gene into the corn plant’s genome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The E. coli enzyme caused methionine production in the plant’s leaves. Methionine in corn kernels increased by 57 percent, the study said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The process did not affect plant growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Scientists fed the genetically engineered corn to chickens at Rutgers University and found it was nutritious for them, Messing said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Leustek told AFP that “in principle, the technology could be quickly deployed, within a couple of years.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“The transgene that we developed can easily be inserted into commercial corn varieties,” he said in an email.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“The major obstacle would be regulatory hurdles because it is a transgenic technology.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Food and animal feeds containing genetically modified organisms are highly controversial in the European Union, amid public suspicions that they carry a health risk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A sweeping review in 2016 of the available scientific literature by the US National Academies of Science found no evidence that genetically modified crops are unsafe to eat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Leustek said researchers also found that it might be possible to grow corn that contains this amino acid without using genetic engineering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“For example, by feeding plants with different sources of sulfur nutrients as fertilizer<\/a> ,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“Of course, this will require additional work and the outcome is not guaranteed. But our results strongly suggest that changes in use of fertilizers could also achieve the desired result.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Agence France Presse<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keywords:\u00a0GMO , Corn , Methionine US scientists have found a way to genetically engineer corn to produce an amino acid contained in meat. It boosted the nutritional value of one of the world’s most important crops. The process involved inserting a bacterial gene that causes corn to make methionine, a crucial nutrient for the health… Continue reading US scientists engineer corn to boost protein<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry-news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nUS scientists engineer corn to boost protein - agrinoon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.agrinoon.com\/agriculture\/2017\/10\/11\/us-scientists-engineer-corn-boost-protein\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US scientists engineer corn to boost protein - agrinoon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Keywords:\u00a0GMO , Corn , Methionine US scientists have found a way to genetically engineer corn to produce an amino acid contained in meat. 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