Hebrew University scientists discover way to create real dairy proteins from plants

Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists are a step closer to making plants produce dairy proteins, potentially revolutionizing food production. Their study, published in Frontiers in Plant Science, shows that engineered plant seeds can manufacture and store -casein, a key protein in cow's milk.

Professor Oded Shoseyov, who led the research, expressed surprise at the findings. "The protein absolutely behaves like real dairy -casein – even better," he stated. The protein accumulated in an unexpected location within plant cells, revealing a novel pathway for producing animal proteins in crops. This unexpected behavior highlights the complexity of biological systems, Shoseyov noted.

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The protein absolutely behaves like real dairy -casein – even better.

This discovery addresses growing global demand for dairy products while mitigating the environmental impact of livestock farming, such as greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water consumption. Plant molecular farming, using crops as protein factories, is seen as a promising alternative, but creating complex milk proteins has been a significant challenge until now.

The team engineered seeds from Arabidopsis, a common weed, to produce bovine -casein fused with oleosin, a protein that binds to plant oil bodies. By testing different cellular locations, they aimed to find the most efficient accumulation site. The results, however, defied their expectations, suggesting that biological systems operate with a sophistication not fully understood by researchers.

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Biological systems are far more sophisticated.