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

Hebrew University scientists engineered safflower plants to produce beta-casein, a milk protein key to cheese melting, aiming for industrial-scale 'milking' of plants. The team, led by Prof. Oded Shoseyov, achieved beta-casein levels of about 1.26% of total soluble seed protein, surpassing previous reports. They cite sustainability concerns, noting livestock methane contributes to global warming, and project the dairy industry's value to grow from over $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion by 2035.

Scientists at Hebrew University have successfully engineered a plant to produce beta-casein, a key milk protein that gives cheese its melting properties. The research, led by Prof. Oded Shoseyov of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, aims to create plants that can be 'milked' at an industrial scale, potentially beating international competition. The team first engineered the laboratory plant Arabidopsis thaliana, then a drought-tolerant, oil-producing species, safflower, to manufacture the beta-casein. The best-performing plants produced beta-casein at levels of around 1.26% of total soluble seed protein, which is much higher than many previous reports of casein production in plants. Shoseyov highlighted sustainability concerns, noting that about 15% of global warming gases are emitted as methane by livestock. He also said the global dairy industry was worth more than $1 trillion last year and expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2035. The researchers discovered that the milk protein formed structures resembling those that store natural casein in milk, a surprising finding. Shoseyov described the process of 'milking the seeds' as easy and relatively cheap, involving pressing the seeds and separating the mixture into protein-rich cream and solids by centrifuge. The research involved Almog Ozeri, Mai Shamir, Miron Abramson, Barak Cohen, and Amir Rudich, with results published in Frontiers.