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Can Researchers Use Gene-Editing to Make Gluten-Safe Wheat?
Jefferson Adams posted an article in Celiac Disease & Gluten Intolerance Research
Celiac.com 02/11/2019 - Researchers have shown that CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology can be used to remove epitopes from gliadin protein in gluten. These molecules trigger the adverse immune response seen in people with celiac disease. However, will Europe’s strict GM rules prevent this discovery from being used to create new gluten-free products for people with celiac disease? Researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) in the UK, have shown that CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology can be used to remove epitopes from gliadin protein in gluten. Gluten contains an assortment glutenin and gliadin proteins. Most of these gliadins and many of the glutenins contain immunogenic epitopes that trigger an immune response in celiacs, but others do not trigger such a reaction. As part of her PhD thesis, scientific researcher, Aurlie Jouanin, has shown that CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology can be used to remove certain epitopes that trigger celiac reactions. The research team did not remove all gliadin proteins from their wheat samples, which means that the wheat plants in this case were not safe for celiacs, but Jouanin found a way to spot both the genes that changed, and the ones that still required modification. Jouanin’s research suggest that it’s possible to remove just the gliadin epitopes that can trigger celiac disease. If just the offending epitopes can be removed, or altered, then the gluten proteins will not trigger the adverse immune response common in people with celiac disease, then it would be possible to make all kinds of products containing this safe gluten. Moreover, by allowing select, non-offending gliadins to remain in the bread, the result would likely be bread that is both safe for celiacs to eat, and which also has improved characteristics that are associated with traditional non-gluten-free bread. The result could be a win-win for people with celiac disease who are looking for improved gluten-free and gluten-safe great products. According to Bianca Rootsaert, director of the Dutch Coeliac Association, “gluten-free wheat would be a great improvement in the quality of life of celiac patients.” What do you think? Would you be excited to try products made from wheat that had been treated to remove celiac-triggering gluten proteins? Share your thought below. -
Celiac.com Article: Can Researchers Use Gene-Editing to Make Gluten-Safe Wheat?
Jefferson Adams posted a topic in Related Disorders & Celiac Research
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A cousin who was diagnosed with Celiac was visiting her family in Greece. In her case she can get either VERY uncomfortable to pretty sick when she has gluten. She had not visited Greece since the diagnosis. Family uses locally grown semolinaorganic, non GMO grain for their pasta. A small bite then, more then a meal and she was shocked that she did not have a reaction to it. I don’t pretend that everyone could do this since gluten is involved, but this is someone I know, and I think there is more to all of this then we think. The more I hear about staying organic and non GMO (generally) the more I think I need to stay that way as much as possible, in everything I eat.
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Can Scientists Find Acceptance for GMO Gluten-Free Wheat?
Jefferson Adams posted an article in Gluten-Free Grains and Flours
Celiac.com 01/08/2018 - Imagine gluten-free wheat. Well, actually you don't have to imagine it, because a group of scientists has used a gene-editing technique called CRISPR/Cas9 to cut selected genes from a wheat genome, and presto, gluten-free wheat is a thing. As people in numerous countries debate genetically modified crops, some countries, including France and Germany, have passed laws to prohibit their cultivation. Remember, we're not talking about hybridization here, which is based on natural selection and works by interbreeding plant strains. Researchers have used hybridization to develop strains of wheat that are low in gluten, but so far no one has made a strain that is entirely free of gluten. In this case, we're talking about genetic modification; changing the basic genetic structure of the plant. The greatest objections around GMO practices have been focused on the insertion of DNA from one species into another species, says Francisco Barro, a plant biotechnologist at the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture in Spain. To steer clear of this genetic process, Barro and his team used the gene-editing technique CRISPR/Cas9 to remove certain genes from a wheat genome. Their team focused on alpha-gliadins, gluten proteins that are thought to be the trigger for immune system reactions in people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. To accomplish their goal of removing the culprit gene(s), the research team used the scissorlike Cas9 protein to cut out 35 of the 45 alpha-gliadin genes. Lab tests showed that the new wheat strain reduced the immune response by 85 percent, the team reported. Far from being any kind of decisive breakthrough though, this is just one “really important step in maybe producing something that is going to be incredibly useful,” says Wendy Harwood, a crop geneticist at the John Innes Center in England. Meanwhile, Barro says his team is working on targeting more gluten-triggered genes to develop a completely safe strain of wheat for celiac patients. Source: Scientific American
