Newsroom
Scientists have engineered lettuce to produce an animal muscle protein, although nobody is serving steak-flavored salad just yet.
Researchers at Imperial College London inserted the genetic instructions for myoglobin into lettuce plants. Myoglobin is the iron-rich protein that gives meat much of its red color and distinctive savory flavor.
The idea is not to turn lettuce into a burger. Instead, scientists hope the protein could eventually be extracted from the leaves, purified, and added to plant-based meat products to make them look and taste more convincing.
The team used a laboratory tool known as a “gene gun” to deliver genes copied from pigs and cattle into chloroplasts, the parts of plant cells responsible for photosynthesis.
The altered lettuce successfully produced myoglobin and passed the new gene on to the next generation of plants. It also produced at least three times more of the protein than plants modified through a more conventional part of their DNA.
Despite the unusual breakthrough, real meat still contains considerably more myoglobin. Researchers must also prove that their plant-made version works properly in food, is safe to eat, and can be produced affordably on a large scale.
The lettuce will not be appearing in supermarket salad bags anytime soon. Any food made from it would first need extensive testing and regulatory approval.
Still, the experiment could eventually help manufacturers produce plant-based burgers with a meatier color and flavor while using less land and water than livestock farming.
So, no, your Caesar salad has not secretly become pork. But one day, a field of lettuce could help make your meat-free burger taste a little less like vegetables.
