Edible mycelium bioengineered for enhanced nutritional value and sensory appeal using a modular synthetic biology toolkit

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Filamentous fungi are critical in the transition to a more sustainable food system. While genetic modification of these organisms has promise for enhancing the nutritional value, sensory appeal, and scalability of fungal foods, genetic tools and demonstrated use cases for bioengineered food production by edible strains are lacking. Here, we develop a modular synthetic biology toolkit for Aspergillus oryzae, an edible fungus used in fermented foods, protein production, and meat alternatives. Our toolkit includes a CRISPR-Cas9 method for gene integration, neutral loci, and tunable promoters. We use these tools to elevate intracellular levels of the nutraceutical ergothioneine and the flavor-and color molecule heme in the edible biomass. The strain overproducing heme is red in color and is readily formulated into imitation meat patties with minimal processing. These findings highlight the promise of synthetic biology to enhance fungal foods and provide useful genetic tools for applications in food production and beyond.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer2099
TidsskriftNature Communications
Vol/bind15
Antal sider18
ISSN2041-1723
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2024

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
V.M.R. was supported by the Miller Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. P.C.M. and J.D.K. were supported by Novo Nordisk Foundation grant no. NNF20CC0035580. C.V.D.L. was supported by Novo Nordisk Foundation grant NNF21OC0065495. This work was part of the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute ( https://www.jbei.org ) supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research under contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

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