Gene editing a possible solution to nut and wheat allergies, say researchers

28 Jan 2021 --- Researchers from the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) have found a way to make wheat and peanuts less allergenic. Their investigation also revealed how crop breeding techniques and genetic engineering can impact allergens.

Using a technology called CRISPR, which stands for “clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” it is possible to make highly precise alterations to crop DNA and lower their allergenic properties. CSSA says the findings could have profound implications for the nutrition industry – particularly the gluten-free market.

Allergies a global problem 
Sachin Rustgi, lead researcher on the project, points to estimations that around 110 million individuals globally and about 3.3 million individuals in the US have Celiac disease, another two million individuals suffer from gluten allergies. 

“Additionally,  a much larger group of individuals, up to 6 percent of the US population, suffer from non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS).”

“Likewise, the prevalence of peanut allergies has increased from 0.6 percent of the US population reported in 1999 to 1.4 percent reported in 2008,” he continues. 

CRISPR technology has made rapid advances recently, allowing for more accurate gene editing.Abstinence not a solution
These foodborne disorders triggered via proteins in wheat and peanut could be prevented by avoiding these grains, Rustgi notes, but this is not as simple as it sounds, he argues. 

“It is difficult to practice as accidental exposures are possible and are the leading cause of hospitalizations to many with genetic predispositions. Avoiding wheat and peanuts is also not an easy choice for many due to geographical, cultural or economic reasons.”

Moreover, where abstaining from peanuts and wheat is an option, it can lead to other health complications. In the long term, it impacts gut health by influencing the composition of gut microflora that thrives on the fibers in the cereal-based diet. 

“This can lead to multiple deficiencies of micronutrients and an increase in patients’ body mass indices due to the carbohydrate-rich composition of the gluten-free diets,” Rustgi states. 

Therefore, finding a functional solution is highly important, he urges.

Gene editing and cross-breeding 
One of two approaches investigated by Rustgi’s team involves altering the DNA of crops to produce less allergenic product varieties. 

CRISPR allows researchers to target gluten genes and mutate them. 

Once the genes have been altered in this way, cells no longer “read” the genes and produce significantly lower gluten levels. A similar approach could also work in peanuts, say the researchers. 

A second method being trialed at the CSSA is selective breeding for wheat and peanut crops by finding varieties of each that are less allergenic than traditional varieties. 

Finding, cross-breeding and making these varieties commercially available at an industrial scale is their goal. 

“With peanuts, the major objective is to develop reduced-immunogenicity lines by knocking out the major allergens that could minimize the impact of accidental exposure to peanuts in genetically predisposed individuals,” Rustgi remarks. 

“Under the protection of a vaccine, these genotypes might serve as a low dose of antigen to boost individuals’ tolerance for peanuts.”

Edited

By Louis Gore-Langton