(463e) Tackling Obesity Without Sugar Or Sugar Substitutes: The Production of a Taste-Bud Modifying Protein in Edible Plants

Due to the obesity epidemic in the United States and the rapid increase in the incidence of type-2 diabetes, there is major emphasis on the production of calorie-free and sugar-free foods, preferably without using synthetic sugar substitutes. Since sweetness is as much a matter of the presence of a sweet substance as it is the matter of its perception by taste buds, modifying taste buds could be used as an alternative to changing one’s perception of sweetness rather than meeting its needs. Proteins like Miraculin possess such taste-bud modifying properties that make them of particular interest for this application. This protein modifies the taste buds by making acidic foods taste sweet. Due to the low bioavailability and short shelf life of the plant that produces Miraculin, Richadella dulcifica, the large-scale use of the protein has proven to be very cost-prohibitive. In order to make the protein more accessible and using it without purification, the gene that encodes for Miraculin has been cloned and the protein has been produced in transgenic plants.  Our research is aimed at optimizing the production of Miraculin in routinely consumed plants (e.g. cucumber or tomato) by targeting production of the protein to the edible portions of the plant (e.g. fruits) using a tissue/organ specific promoter sequences and to test in vitro models for evaluating the functionality of this protein. The idea would be to eat something like a cucumber slice before enjoying a drink or eat the dessert made from limejuice.