Microcarriers are widely used to culture adherent mammalian cells in the pharmaceutical industry where the product is usually a high value protein. However, the extension of this technology into cell cultured meat (CCM) production where adherent muscle precursor cells are the product necessitates a microcarrier that does more than just support a high cell density. Ideally, the microcarrier used in CCM production would contain no animal derived components, have a low cost of production, would be food-safe, edible, and contribute to the sensory and organoleptic properties of the final meat product. Gelatin, a denatured form of collagen commonly found in many food products as a gelling agent is a promising biomaterial that fits this profile. However, it is currently produced at large-scale from the skins and bones of pigs and cows and is quite heterogeneous in terms of fragment length and extent of hydroxylation. In this study we present a process for producing a non-animal derived chicken gelatin by transiently expressing chicken collagen fragments in the plant Nicotiana benthamiana. By producing gelatin recombinantly in a plant host, the shortcomings of commercially available gelatin are addressed and the recombinantly produced plant gelatin is comprised of a single fragment length. This allows for systematic screening of various fragment lengths to tune properties such as melting temperature and stiffness with the added benefit of reduced batch-to-batch variability. The unique ability to quickly scale up whole plant production at a relatively low capital and operating cost will also be advantageous in the CCM field where price parity with conventionally farmed meat has yet to be achieved.

Transient expression of varying gelatin fragment lengths in Nicotiana benthamiana to synthesize microcarriers for cell cultured meat production

ACS Spring 2022

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