AI-powered protein: Vivici and Ginkgo forge alliance to innovate alt-dairy with precision fermentation

28 Nov 2023 --- Vivici has partnered with Ginkgo Bioworks to advance the production of sustainable, nutritious, novel dairy protein made via precision fermentation. Through this collaboration, Vivici will leverage Ginkgo Bioworks’ capabilities in strain engineering, optimization and performance to develop and commercialize the next generation of functional alternative protein.

Ginkgo Bioworks, as a platform for cell programing and biosecurity, will use its Protein Production Services and generative AI platform to provide Vivici with the best candidate strains. Vivici, in turn, will utilize these strains to expand its current array of proteins, thereby aiding innovative specialized nutrition companies in delivering eco-friendly nutrition to consumers.

Stephan van Sint Fiet, CEO at Vivici, tells Food Ingredients First: “Ginkgo has excellent capabilities and is one of the leading companies in creating biodiversity, also with the aid of AI, and selecting for candidates with the right performance by means of high-end robotics screening.”

“Ginkgo Bioworks is our partner of choice to develop and deliver optimized strains to produce a wider range of dairy proteins. Vivici will receive these strains for evaluation and then production, bringing new alternative dairy proteins to customers.”

Challenges in precision fermentation
Van Sint Fiet highlights specific challenges in the production of dairy proteins through precision fermentation. These challenges include the expression efficiency of the genes encoding the protein, post-translational modifications of the proteins such as phosphorylation and glycosylations and excretion of the protein.Ginkgo intends screen for strains, validate and grow the most promising hits and transfer the top performing strains to Vivici for evaluation (Image credit: Ginkgo Bioworks). 

He details: “Ginkgo’s technology and AI-driven approach will allow us to generate optimized precision fermentation production systems to efficiently and predictively produce individual proteins that have the desired traits to meet our customer’s needs. The characteristics of these protein products can be vastly improved versus what is available from dairy.”

Earlier this fall, Ginkgo Bioworks expanded its collaboration to tackle alt-dairy functionality with precision fermentation. “We believe our speed and experience with dairy protein development, ultra high throughput screening and fermentation scale-up can enable Vivici to successfully expand their current protein portfolio and bring new solutions to market,” says Kevin Madden, senior VP of commercialization at Ginkgo Bioworks.

Health, sustainability and innovation
According to NIH, around 70% of the world’s adult population has limited expression of lactase enzyme with a wide variation among different regions and countries. A large number of Africans, Asians and Native Americans are unable to digest significant amounts of lactose because of a genetically inadequate amount of the enzyme lactase. Vivici employs precision fermentation techniques to produce animal-free dairy proteins with microorganisms (Image credit: Vivici). 

Some studies suggest that individuals who exclude dairy from their diet may face risks to their bone health and increased rates of diabetes and hypertension due to lower calcium intake. Consequently, people are turning to alternatives such as lactose-free milk, cheese and bread, driven by a heightened awareness of health concerns. The growth of these alternatives is strongly influenced by the urbanization of lifestyles and the expansion of the middle class. 

“The alternative protein industry will continue to evolve rapidly over the coming years, and Vivici and Ginkgo are going to work together closely on this mission,” says Van Sint Fiet.

“Precision fermentation is ideally placed to produce nutritious and sustainable alternative proteins at commercially viable prices.”

Vivici is set to launch its nature-equivalent whey protein beta-lactoglobulin product in early 2024.

By Sichong Wang