‘MOO’VE OVER, COWS: Israeli Scientists Find a New Way to Make Real Milk Protein

Israeli scientists at Hebrew University have engineered the safflower plant to produce beta-casein, a milk protein that gives cheese its melting properties and can also curdle and emulsify, a breakthrough they believe will revolutionize the world of alternatives to cow’s milk.

Prof. Oded Shoseyov of the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment headed the research team, and the results were published by Frontiers, an open-access research publisher.

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“Milk is not produced sustainably,” he said.

“Some 15 percent of global warming gases are emitted as methane by livestock,” he added. “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.”

This new technology could allow manufacturers to grow enough plants to “milk” them on an industrial scale, potentially outperforming the competition. It will also obviate the need to get these proteins from cows, which will cut down on gases that contribute to global warming.

Originally, the scientists engineered a plant called Arabidopsis thaliana before turning their attention to the safflower plant, whose advantages lie in its tolerance of drought and its ability to produce oil.

When they engineered the safflower seeds, the scientists made an unexpected discovery. They expected the beta-casein to end up in a particular storage compartment of the plant. Instead, the casein formed structures similar to the organization of casein in milk. This meant that the plant was doing more than just producing and storing the milk protein; the protein was also organizing itself the same way that it’s organized in milk.

The researchers then found that the amount of beta casein they could extract was 1.26 percent of the total amount of soluble protein. While that sounds like a small amount, it’s much larger than previous efforts. The seeds can be “milked” by pressing them and separating the extract into protein-rich cream and solids in a centrifuge.

What the researchers have discovered is that they can engineer safflower to produce beta-casein, an essential milk protein. The plants can produce a much higher amount than previously achieved. And they can extract and separate these amounts into the desired components easily and cheaply.