Looks can be deceiving. This smart fungus could beat meat at its own game.

The popular fungus-based meat mimic behind vegan products like Quorn has just received an upgrade: researchers have tweaked its genes to make this fungus produce vast amounts more protein, using considerably reduced resources. The newly-formulated fungus—aka mycoprotein—not only has a vastly smaller footprint than meat, but is also less impactful than cultured meat. Called Fusarium venenatum, the popular ingredient is known for having high protein levels and a similar texture to animal protein, achieved by fermenting the spindly, filamentous fungi in a glucose-rich medium.

However, for all its successes, there are two ways the researchers on the new study felt this foodstuff could be improved: its thick cell structure, which is hard on human digestion; and its surprising resource intensity (cultivation requires large amounts of sugar and electricity). Using the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR/Cas9, the researchers knocked out two genes in particular, which are associated with enzymes that control aspects of the fungi’s metabolism, and also its chitin levels, a key ingredient in building tough cell walls.

With those genes and their associated enzymes out of the picture, the researchers observed as their theory become reality: their engineered mycoprotein began to grow differently, depending on less glucose for its development, and packing less chitin into its cells. That was proof of principle that the researchers could engineer a new, more digestible, less hungry fungus strain, which they called FCPD. In fact when they compared their modified strain with the regular mycoprotein, they found it consumed 44% less glucose during fermentation, yet increased the protein production rate by a striking 88.4%.

.IRPP_ruby , .IRPP_ruby .postImageUrl , .IRPP_ruby .centered-text-area {height: auto;position: relative;}.IRPP_ruby , .IRPP_ruby:hover , .IRPP_ruby:visited , .IRPP_ruby:active {border:0!important;}.IRPP_ruby .clearfix:after {content: "";display: table;clear: both;}.IRPP_ruby {display: block;transition: background-color 250ms;webkit-transition: background-color 250ms;width: 100%;opacity: 1;transition: opacity 250ms;webkit-transition: opacity 250ms;background-color: #eaeaea;}.IRPP_ruby:active , .IRPP_ruby:hover {opacity: 1;transition: opacity 250ms;webkit-transition: opacity 250ms;background-color: inherit;}.IRPP_ruby .postImageUrl {background-position: center;background-size: cover;float: left;margin: 0;padding: 0;width: 31.59%;position: absolute;top: 0;bottom: 0;}.IRPP_ruby .centered-text-area {float: right;width: 65.65%;padding:0;margin:0;}.IRPP_ruby .centered-text {display: table;height: 130px;left: 0;top: 0;padding:0;margin:0;padding-top: 20px;padding-bottom: 20px;}.IRPP_ruby .IRPP_ruby-content {display: table-cell;margin: 0;padding: 0 74px 0 0px;position: relative;vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;}.IRPP_ruby .ctaText {border-bottom: 0 solid #fff;color: #0099cc;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;letter-spacing: normal;margin: 0;padding: 0;font-family:'Arial';}.IRPP_ruby .postTitle {color: #000000;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;letter-spacing: normal;margin: 0;padding: 0;font-family:'Arial';}.IRPP_ruby .ctaButton {background: url(https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts-pro/assets/images/next-arrow.png)no-repeat;background-color: #afb4b6;background-position: center;display: inline-block;height: 100%;width: 54px;margin-left: 10px;position: absolute;bottom:0;right: 0;top: 0;}.IRPP_ruby:after {content: "";display: block;clear: both;}Recommended Reading:What drives consumers to more sustainable meat? Ironically, it isn’t telling them it's sustainable. The overall effect on the footprint of this new foodstuff was striking. In a lifecycle analysis on their new strain, the researchers counted the impact of sugar production and electricity for the feedstock and fermentation process, among other things.

For robust results, they carried out this lifecycle analysis using data from six countries including China, Poland, Finland, and the UK, to account for the varied impacts of coal-, natural gas-, and renewables-based electricity production in each place. The findings left the environmental superiority of their modified fungus in no doubt, they say: compared to regular mycoprotein, theirs reduced greenhouse gas emissions by up to 61%.

A kilo-to-kilo comparison of their mycoprotein with chicken meat showed lower impacts across almost every metric, requiring 70% less land and reducing the possibility of water pollution by 78%. Even compared to lab-grown meat, the modified mycoprotein surpassed it on almost every measure—using less fossil fuels and land, producing less greenhouse gas and polluting potential.

While the fungus was engineered, it didn’t involve DNA transfer, so it may not face the same regulatory hurdles that other modified food products do in regions like the European Union. This positions it mycoprotein among the best meat alternatives—although it can’t beat plant-based meat alternatives like pea protein quite yet. Pea protein had lower environmental effects across all impact categories compared to chicken, cell-cultured meat, and mycoprotein, including the new, more resource-efficient strain.

But what the mycoprotein lacks there, it makes up for by being much closer in texture and taste to the real thing—the factor that might ultimately tempt more people away from meat. “Dual enhancement of mycoprotein nutrition and sustainability via CRISPR-mediated metabolic engineering of Fusarium venenatum.” Trends in Biotechnology.

Image: Xiao Liu