Edge of Ag News

Soy Challenge winner named

The United Soybean Board, in partnership with The Yield Lab Institute, recently named Satavie the winner of the 2023 Soy Innovation Challenge. The challenge called on entrepreneurs, innovators, startups and research teams to bring new ways to advance soybean-meal use and demand in existing markets.

Satavie was selected from about 80 applicants for its approach to extract concentrated soy protein from soybean meal. The company's method provides increased digestibility, improved nutrient absorption, and increased feed-conversion rates for swine, poultry and aquaculture feed. Satavie received $100,000 from the United Soybean Board and $5,000 of in-kind technical services and credits from Amazon Web Services.

The organizations also selected three finalists, which received a cash prize, mentoring and resources to help advance their ideas in the areas of technical, business and financial impact.

POLARISqb uses quantum computing and artificial intelligence in drug design. The company is developing a peptide that makes soymeal feed digestible and nutritious for livestock without relying on costly extraction methods.

SoyKitty creates companion-animal products. Its non-toxic cat litter is made predominantly from soybean byproducts for environmentally conscious cat owners.

Ichthus Unlimited provides solutions for the aquaculture industry. It's working to develop soy-based animal-feed binders to replace costly alternatives.

Visit unitedsoybean.org and theyieldlabinstitute.org for more information.

Avian influenza affects seagulls

The number of highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in poultry has decreased in Europe. But seagulls continue to be heavily affected by the virus, according to the latest report on avian influenza by the European Food Safety Authority, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and the European Union Reference Laboratory.

Poultry outbreaks occurred less frequently in March and April compared to the previous reporting period of December 2022 to March 2023, and also compared to spring 2022. Cases in wild birds in March and April decreased compared to the previous reporting period, but increased compared to spring 2022.

The virus showed signs of being well adapted to wild birds, heavily affecting black-headed gulls and increasing the mortality of threatened wild species such as the peregrine falcon.

The virus continued to expand in the Americas and is expected to reach the Antarctic in the near future. Infections were detected in six new mammal species for the first time, including marine mammals and mustelids. Two cases were reported in cats in the United States and one case in a dog in Canada. Visit efsa.europa.eu – search for "avian influenza overview" – for more information.

Allergen-free eggs created

Researchers in Japan recently created a gene-edited allergen-free chicken egg called the OVM-knockout. It may be safe for people who are allergic to egg whites. The researchers used genome editing to produce the egg without the protein ovomucoid. It accounts for about 11 percent of all the protein in egg whites.

Chicken-egg allergies are most common in children. Most children outgrow the allergy by age 16. But some carry the allergy into adulthood and people with egg-white allergies are unable to receive certain flu vaccines.

To produce the OVM-knockout eggs, the researchers first needed to detect and eliminate the ovomucoid protein in egg whites. They engineered transcription activator-like effector nucleases – TALENs – to target a piece of ribonucleic acid – RNA – called exon 1. It codes for specific proteins. The eggs produced from the technique were tested to ensure there was no ovomucoid protein, mutant ovomucoid protein, or other off-target effects.

Eggs laid by homozygous OVM-knockout hens showed no evident abnormalities, and the albumen contained neither the mature OVM nor the OVM-truncated variant, according to Ryo Ezaki, assistant professor at the Hiroshima University-Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Marine worms can synthesize phytosterols

Phytosterols are good for one's health, but humans and other animals are unable to make them themselves. To acquire phytosterols humans often consume supplements or a Mediterranean diet with several plant-based foods. Researchers from Germany's Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology recently found that tiny gutless worms from the Mediterranean can synthesize phytosterols on their own. The study provides evidence that many other animals also have genes needed to make their own phytosterols.

Cholesterol and phytosterol are fatty compounds essential for many biological processes such as the functioning of cell membranes. Until recently it has been assumed that phytosterols are characteristic for plants and cholesterol for animals, and that typically only plants can make phytosterols.

But the researchers found that a small marine worm called Olavius algarvensis, which lives in seagrass beds in the Mediterranean, has more phytosterol than cholesterol. The researchers sequenced the worm's deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid. They conducted protein and metabolite analyses and imaging of sterols to reveal the worm makes the phytosterols, and that the main phytosterol they make is sitosterol. Their study is the first to show that a metazoan animal can synthesize phytosterols. Visit mpi-bremen.de for more information.

GMO resources offered

Feed Your Mind, an agricultural biotechnology education and outreach initiative, recently was updated with new educational materials that add to an existing collection of resources about genetically modified organisms. Featured on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's website, Feed Your Mind is designed to inform consumers about the impacts of growing genetically modified crops and the techniques used to develop them.

Two new videos feature scientists, farmers and federal experts who discuss genetically modified organisms and their purpose, regulation and impact around the world. Visit FDA.gov/FeedYourMind for more information.

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