High-quality proteins are an essential component of food and animal feed, but are also required as enzymes and for pharmaceutical applications, for example. In order to be able to produce them in sufficient quantities while conserving resources, new sources of protein must be developed. Various plants can be used for this purpose. At the 10^th BioSC Spotlight at RWTH Aachen University on 3 September 2024, more than 50 experts and interested parties came together to discuss the challenges from breeding and cultivation to processing and social acceptance.

After a warm Welcome of Ingar Jangzik, member of the biosc office, Nathan Ahlgrim from the Good Food Institute (GFI) gave a global overview of protein crops and food security, in the keynote entitled ‘Plants as a source of protein: Overview and Comparison’, pointing out potentials and bottlenecks in terms of availability and quality.

At the event, the lupin was examined in more detail as a specific example of a protein plant. Thomas Eckardt from the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Lupine e.V. began with an introduction to the various lupin species and the history of lupin breeding. In particular, the race of breeding against the pressure of rapid climate change and the growing world population represents a major challenge.

Marco Löhrer from Department of Molecular Plant Physiology at RWTH Aachen University and member of the BioSC added the positive effect of lupin cultivation for sustainable agriculture, for example by enriching crop rotation. He presented the BioSC project P³roLucas, which focuses on improving plant production through biostimulants. Furthermore, the additional occurrence of secondary plant substances, such as alkaloids, and their application potential are being analysed. Investigating the acceptance of alternative crops by farmers complements the research approach in this project.

Catherine Louet from Inveja, France, emphasised the nutritional value of alternative protein crops and painted a picture of the already commercial use of lupins and their products. Among protein crops, however, lupins are in great competition with soya, for example, and are therefore currently still a niche product, albeit with some advantages. However, regulatory and political hurdles make it difficult to enter the market on a broader scale, which is something that urgently needs to be worked on.

Stefan Schillberg from the Fraunhofer IME in Aachen and department of Biology, chair of Molecular Biotechnology, at RWTH Aachen University and member of the BioSC reported on the production of pharmaceutical proteins in plants. One example is the production of HIV antibodies in tobacco plants, a corresponding scale-up and subsequent purification. In this case high-quality products also justify relatively high production costs. Other approaches include the production of an epidermal growth factor in barley or animal pharmaceuticals in strawberries.

Adam Erdös from the IASP (Institute of Agricultural and Urban Ecological Projects) at the Humboldt University Berlin focussed on how plant proteins can be used to imitate animal products such as meat/fish and cheese. In particular, he focussed on the underlying process technology to imitate the corresponding structures. Substitute products are already on the market and are increasingly in demand. However, the production of alternative fish fillets, for example, still poses a challenge. Here, alternative protein sources such as peas or field beans are used and a fish-like structure is already achieved. Other characteristics, such as the yellow colour and gel-forming properties, are the focus in the production of analogue cheese.

Nils Horstmann from the GEA group demonstrated very impressively that centrifugation processes can also be scaled up for the extraction of protein isolates from plant materials. With the help of decanter centrifuges and centrifugal separators, a process chain adapted to the starting material can be set up to ensure a maximum protein yield of consistent quality.

A greenhouse tour at the end of the event provided came back to the promising protein plant lupin and gave the opportunity to take a closer look and ask questions directly to the scientists.

The 10th BioSC Spotlight was integrated into the BioSC SummerSchool ‘Alternative Proteins - Challenges and Chances’, which meant that the audience was particularly characterised by young scientists. Thanks to their great interest in direct dialogue with the presenters, they contributed to a very lively, informative and successful event.