Editor's Choice: Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered a way to alleviate the problems posed by fried potatoes stored in cold conditions by delving into the biology of plants.A team of scientists led by Michigan State University professors Jiming Jiang and D**id Douches has discovered the key mechanisms behind the darkening of refrigerated potatoes and potential health problems, a breakthrough in the snack industry.
Their findings, published Feb. 20 in the journal Plant Cell, offer hope for the development of potato varieties that can be stored at low temperatures that can produce healthier and tastier chips and fries.
These snacks have a multi-billion dollar market value in the United States. Michigan is a major producer of potato chips in the United States, with the potato industry worth 2$400 million.
But farmers can't grow potatoes year-round, and snack producers need a constant supply of fresh potatoes to meet their needs. Refrigerating potatoes ensures that chip and fries producers get what they need, but low temperatures can also trigger a process known as cold-induced sweetening (CIS), which converts starch into sugar.
Processing sugary tubers can turn fries and chips black. It also produces acrylamide, a carcinogenic compound formed during high-temperature processing, which has been linked to health problems, including an increased risk of cancer.
While there are techniques to reduce sugar in refrigerated tubers, these can increase costs and affect the flavor of the final product. As a result, Jiang and his colleagues began to look at the root of the problem and study potatoes that were not affected by CIS.
We have identified the specific genes responsible for CIS and, more importantly, we have discovered the regulatory elements that turn on CIS at low temperatures," Jiang explained, "By studying how this gene turns on and off, we open up the possibility of developing natural anti-CIS potatoes and, therefore, no toxic compounds are produced." ”
Dr. Jiang has been engaged in potato research for more than 20 years and is committed to solving this problem.
To address one of the potato industry's most pressing issues, Jiang began his work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to minimize acrylamide in potato chips and fries. There, Jiang and his team published a paper in 2010 identifying key genes for potato CIS. After moving to Michigan State University in 2017, Jiang and his team have been working to determine which elements of this gene can be modified to stop the cold-induced sweetening process.
Jiang's research team included collaborators from Michigan State University and other research universities who combined gene expression analysis, protein identification, and enhancer mapping to identify the regulatory elements that control the CIS gene.
Michigan State's collaborative research environment and facilities, including a world-class potato breeding program led by D**e Douches, played an important role in this research, and our next step is to use this knowledge to breed cis-resistant potato strains in Dr. Duges' greenhouse through gene editing or other breeding techniques. ”
The researchers put into practice a technique developed by Jiang that uses gene editing to block CIS.
"All of our equipment is on campus, so research can be done efficiently," Douches said. "Through our collaboration, we were able to produce a discovery that paved the way for targeted genetic modification methods to create hardy potato varieties. ”
The potential benefits of this study go beyond just improving the quality of snacks. Reducing the formation of acrylamide in potatoes may have an impact on other processed starchy foods. Additionally, hardy potatoes can provide greater flexibility in storage and transportation, potentially reducing food waste and costs.
Jiang believes that this new type of CIS resistant potato could be commercialized in the near future.
"This finding represents a significant advance in our understanding of potato development and its impact on food quality and health," Professor Jiang emphasized. "It has the potential to affect every bag of chips in the world. ”
*：the plant cell
Disclaimer: Kangjia Nianhua is committed to the dissemination of health knowledge, the content is edited according to public information, and the copyright belongs to the original author;If there is any infringement, please leave a message to delete. The article is intended to introduce advances in health sciences and is not intended as a programIf you need precise health guidance, please go to a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment.