The first step toward manufacturing proteins in ordinary plant crops is the SuperAA platform, which was announced by PoLoPo, a pioneer in molecular farming. Using patented metabolic engineering methods, the platform is currently being used in greenhouse-grown potatoes to produce the native protein patatin as well as the egg protein ovalbumin.
The potato plant is transformed into a micro-biofactory by the state-of-the-art SuperAA platform, which produces the target amino acids in the plant and stores them in the tuber. When tubers grow to a suitable size, they are collected, and their proteins are separated and powdered. The final powders will combine easily with the existing food processing lines and recipes.
Potatoes were the first crop chosen for PoLoPo because of their adaptability to a wide range of temperatures, low cost of growth, quick maturation, relatively big tuber storage capacity, high output per acre, and compatibility with current harvesting and processing technologies. In terms of PoLoPo’s business strategy, the potato provides industrial and existing farmers with a stable and affordable route to expand their molecular farming system while also providing efficiency, sustainability, and a lucrative economic prospect.
“The SuperAA platform uses plants as living factories, and leverages their natural productivity and storage organs to grow proteins that are identical to protein derived from a chicken’s egg,” said PoLoPo CEO Maya Sapir-Mir, PhD. “The high-scale production of proteins in plants via molecular farming has the potential to economically transform not only potato farming and processing, but broader agriculture and agtech, for a more resilient and sustainable food system.”
The SuperAA platform is currently being used to develop increased patatin and ovalbumin. Ovalbumin is widely used in packaged foods for its functional properties, including texture and stability, as well as for enhancing nutritional value and increasing shelf life. PoLoPo’s ovalbumin offers an affordable alternative to an industry reeling from increased egg prices, supply chain instability, and avian flu outbreaks. The global ovalbumin-powder market is expected to hit USD36bn by 2032 due to increasing consumer preference.
Patatin powder can be used as an allergen-free protein for a variety of products such as plant-based meat and dairy, baked goods, cereals, snacks, beverages, sports nutrition and nutraceuticals. A high-protein potato can also improve food security in regions impacted by malnutrition.
PoLoPo was co-founded by Sapir-Mir and Raya Liberman-Aloni, PhD, who serves as its CTO. Both worked in the biotech industry and agricultural R&D for more than a decade following PhD studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and post-doctoral work at the Volcani Institute, Israel’s leading agricultural R&D facility. In 2023, PoLoPo closed a pre-seed round of USD2.3m from leading food-tech investors, enabling it to rapidly develop its potato-to-protein pipeline. The company has won multiple innovation awards and honors including the Coller Startup Competition for Tel Aviv University students/alumni, startup with the most impact potential at FoodHack’s Demo Day, and MassChallenge Israel’s Better Plate Track.
Find out more at: https://www.polopo.tech