Food & Agriculture

In my first blog on Brassica oleracea, I introduced that variants of these crops are rich in vitamins, dietary fiber, and many minerals. Among minerals, iron content is an essential micronutrient for crops and humans, which plays a crucial role in various biological processes necessary for growth and development. Here, I will discuss the importance of iron in crops and how to enhance the iron content, especially in maize, by gene regulation. 

Brassica oleracea is widely cultivated worldwide and is one of the most important categories of vegetable crops. It is a species that encompasses a wide range of cultivated vegetables including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi, etc. These vegetables, though are all belong to Brassica oleracea, appear very differently.

We learned a bit in my previous blog about precision fermentation and how we can use the power of engineering microorganisms to craft the products we want from simple ingredients like fruits and vegetables! In this follow-up story we are going to step into the world of cutting-edge innovation as we talk with a groundbreaking company that is paving its way in this field: TurtleTree!

Let’s travel through time, looking at the history and future of a field where food and science meet, fermentation! Fermentation uses microorganisms that act like tiny chefs to convert simple ingredients into delicious flavors. Fermentation has given us everything from tangy yogurt to fluffy bread. Yet, as technology leaps forward, we are entering a new chapter: precision fermentation. This innovative approach merges the ancient art of fermentation with cutting-edge science, allowing us to engineer microorganisms to craft new products that were once unimaginable.

In an unmarked space in the Eastern suburbs of Davis, a biotechnology startup and its group of researchers are participating in advancing the future of sustainable food.

This is the second entry of a two-part blog.

This is the first entry of a two-part blog.

by Tawni Bull

by Tawni Bull