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How the New Tools of Biotechnology Lead to Healthier Foods

Food companies such as Kentucky Fried Chicken¹ and Taco Bell² have recently announced switching their cooking oils to those without trans fats. It's no surprise to biotech researchers and farmers who have been preparing for this day for years.

The tools of biotechnology — genomics and molecular markers — have speeded the process by which soybean and canola varieties have been identified with more heart-healthy components in their oils. The products of a decade of research, Natreon³ canola oil and Treus soybean oil are now known in the food processing business for their low linolenic acid profiles which do not require the hydrogenation that leads to trans fats.

Even peanuts are undergoing changes to make them healthier. With two leading competitors, China and India, researching transgenic peanuts, the American Peanut Council announced in December 2006 that a consortium of university, government and industry researchers should develop biotech peanuts that could enhance flavour, nutrients and even remove the potential for allergic reactions⁴.

Many of these food ingredients are not technically genetically modified, explains Peter Gredig, a farm editor with Country Guide. In the December 2006 Seed and Biotech Issue, he writes, "Every plant breeder that we talked to in this issue made mention of biotech tools, such as genomics, molecular markers or gene shuffling, that have made their jobs easier and sped up the seed product development process by leaps and bounds…What has become obvious as we continue to cover advancements in plant breeding is even if you don't buy transgenic or GM seeds, you are still benefiting from biotech."

For example, low linolenic canola oil has been developed using traditional breeding methods, but some varieties might be combined with a biotech-improved, herbicide-tolerant trait. The same goes for Vistive soybeans, the low-linolenic soybeans that recently arrived in Canada. Farmers will grow these soybeans under identity-preserved contracts to ensure the crop goes directly to the food processor for specifically labeled trans fat-free products.

One of the most exciting developments is the $16 million Bioactive Oils Program in Alberta, headed by Dr. Randall Weselake, professor and Canada Research Chair in agricultural lipid biotechnology at the University of Alberta. "The saturated fat of canola oil ranges from six to seven per cent," he says. "Our goal is to increase the saturated fatty acids in canola to 15 to 20 per cent to allow processors to use Canadian-grown canola for baking products with reduced trans fatty acid content."

In a second facet of the Bioactive Oils Program, the goal is to develop flax seed lines with enhanced polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content. Dr. Elizabeth Nanak, program manager, explains, "Today the main source of PUFAs beneficial for human health is fish. Given concerns over the health of current fish stocks, we need to develop a sustainable land-based source of healthy PUFAs."

To understand how food crops may be modified in the future, here's a look at the tools used to commercialize new products. Take for example, RNA interference (RNAi) technology. An American plant biologist Rich Jorgensen was trying to deepen the purple colour of petunias with additional genes for purple pigment. To his surprise, the petunias appeared variegated and in some instances, white — the opposite of his expectations. He discovered that a rare double strand of ribonucleic acid (RNA), the messenger for the pigment-enhancing enzyme, silenced the gene for colour expression. The plant had responded as if it had been infected with a virus. It stopped making pigment which resulted in white flowers.⁵ Since this accidental discovery, RNAi lends hope for the potential to silence the allergenic proteins in soybeans and peanuts.

Marker assisted selection (MAS) is a common tool for researchers. Molecular markers are pieces of DNA that are linked to or are part of a gene associated with a desirable characteristic. Think of the process as a yellow highlighter in dense genetic text to trace beneficial genes in plants or animals without waiting for them to grow to maturity. This basic tool shaves years from costly and laborious field trials that may reveal many duds. It's a faster way to identify plants that should go to ultimate field trials.

Gene shuffling is another cutting-edge method designed to enhance plant characteristics. It is a highly sophisticated technique based on the simple principle of transforming genes with poor trait properties into genes with higher value. Pioneer Hi-Bred has the exclusive right to use gene shuffling for agricultural purposes. Gene shuffling is helping the company more rapidly identify and develop a number of next generation traits for a variety of purposes.

Thanks to these new tools, biotechnology is able to offer products which are hardier against pests and disease as well as healthier in nutrient profiles. As new technologies continue to be developed, there is no doubt that biotechnology's toolbox will continue to grow, offering news way of approaching old problems.

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