Milk from seeds: Israeli scientists produce key dairy protein from safflower plant

Researchers at the Hebrew University have achieved a significant milestone by engineering safflower plants to produce beta-casein, a vital protein found in milk that gives cheese its characteristic melting properties. This innovation holds the potential to revolutionize the dairy industry by enabling the industrial-scale production of milk proteins directly from plants.

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Milk is not produced sustainably.

Professor Oded Shoseyov, who led the research, highlighted the environmental unsustainability of current dairy farming practices, noting that livestock contribute significantly to global warming through methane emissions. He explained that by transferring genes responsible for milk proteins to more efficient organisms like plants, significant reductions in resource consumption and emissions can be achieved. The global dairy market, valued at over $1 trillion, is projected to grow substantially, making sustainable alternatives increasingly important.

The research team initially experimented with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana before successfully engineering the drought-tolerant safflower species. They were surprised to find that the beta-casein formed structures similar to those naturally found in milk, rather than the expected storage compartments within the seeds. The most effective plants yielded beta-casein at approximately 1.26% of their total soluble seed protein, a level considered high compared to previous plant-based protein production efforts.

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Some 15 percent of global warming gases are emitted as methane by livestock.

Extracting the protein, termed "milking the seeds," is described as a simple and cost-effective process. The seeds are pressed, and the resulting mixture is separated into protein-rich cream and solids using a centrifuge. This method bypasses the need for cows entirely, offering a potentially cheaper and more environmentally friendly way to produce dairy proteins. The research involved Almog Ozeri, Mai Shamir, Miron Abramson, Barak Cohen, and Amir Rudich, with their findings published in the journal Frontiers.

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Today, with genetic modification, you can take the genes coded for milk proteins and transfer them to another organism that’s more efficient, saving a lot in terms of resource input and emissions.