andrewducker | Interesting Links for 13-05-2022

Why are we not using genetic engineering to make new fruit out of currently inedible precursors? We have such a small sample of possible fruit space, and it would be way less risky than buggering about with things that currently by and large work. If you accidentally make a toxic gualtheria berry it doesn't matter because we weren't eating them anyway, but if you can stop them tasting of hospital disinfectant and make them six times bigger they might be great.

I suspect that people are, but without notable success so far.

It would help just to add human required nutrition to easily grown existing plants. I mean, why not add B12 to strawberries (which grow almost anywhere). The genetic code exists only in bacteria anyway, so it should be a very convenient target for CRISPR tech.

Yes! Getting a plant source of enough B12 going would be a really really worthy cause.

Better also do it with something drought-tolerant! (I have just planted strawberries, and the instruction leaflet reminds me that the fruit is 80-90% water).

FYI, it has effectively not rained here in Vorpommern (N Germany) for 2 months, perhaps more. Only humidity + cold nights giving us dew has kept any plant life going at all! Now nights are warmer... but fear not; I have 12 days holiday soon, so it's BOUND to rain then :-).

You mean like the genetically engineered vitamin A in golden rice?

Was gonna mention that. That was in the 60s or so? I can't recall if golden rice has the "active" vitamin A rather than the carotene found in other plants - which the body converts to Vitamin A. Vit A is fat-soluble, requires fat to make use of, so if I were to tweak that in plants, I'd use a nut or seed (or maybe oats - they are relatively high in fat for a grain). But rice was chosen for the obvious (half the world lives on it) reasons!

The guy in the room next to me in 1st year at Uni ended up in hospital with vitamin A deficiency after less than 3 months eating only potatoes!

B12 is a special case. Humans WILL die of pernicious anaemia without it (though only after years if stores in the body are adequate) and it is only found in animal/fungal,bacterial sources. Some people can't absorb it well from food which can lead to deficiency even in an "adequate" diet. So it would be so cool to get that in quantity from a plant.

Though the easy "2 birds with one stone" is to keep chickens (which eat ANYTHING) and eat their eggs - which have A,B12 and the necessary fat. Just keep them out of your actual crops!

Nice! I skimmed this document. Farmers had good questions, like is this an upland variety that can be grown without irrigation? I didn't see an answer to that question. I was just being curious.
https://www.goldenrice.org/PDFs/GR_FR_Story%20Board.pdf

I've tried the upland Blue Bonnet variety here in Minnesota. I'm sure it sprouted, but I've always lost track of it amongst the several other grasses that grow here, so I've never actually harvested any to eat. :(

Interesting Links for 13-05-2022

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject