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Modified wheat for gluten-free bread
NEWS & TECHNOLOGY
SUPERSTOCK
Fingers are slow to get to grips with glass
Modified wheat for gluten-free bread Michael Le Page
systems respond incorrectly to gluten, which damages the gut lining and can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting, malnutrition, brain damage and even gut cancers. Not all gluten proteins trigger this response, though: the main culprit is a group called gliadins. So Francisco Barro’s team at the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture in Cordoba, Spain, set about getting rid of them. They used a genetic modification technique to remove 90 per cent of the gliadins in wheat. They did this by adding
PEOPLE forced to avoid gluten could soon have their bread (and cake) and eat it. Now there are strains of wheat that do not produce the forms of gluten that trigger a dangerous immune reaction in as many as 1 in 100 people. Because the new strains still contain some kinds of gluten, though, the wheat can still be used to bake bread. “It’s regarded as being pretty good, certainly better than anything on the gluten-free shelves,” says Jan Chojecki of “It cannot be used for PBL-Ventures in the UK, who is making large sliced loafs, working with investors in North but is good enough for America to market products baguettes and rolls” made with this wheat. Gluten is the general term for all the proteins in wheat and genes that trigger a process related cereals. During baking, called RNA interference, which these proteins link up to form stops specific proteins being elastic chains, which is what made. But because the gliadin holds breads and cakes together genes themselves remain intact, as they rise. in theory, there is a risk that the But some people have an wheat could start making the autoimmune condition called crucial proteins again. coeliac disease. Their immune So Barro’s team next tried using 12 | NewScientist | 30 September 2017
YOUR fingers take time to engage in full contact with a touchscreen. In some cases, even 30 seconds or more after placing a dry finger on the glass, your skin is still adjusting. This can lead to problems using fingerprints to access phones and getting screens to respond to your touch. Michael Adams and Brygida Dzidek at the University of Birmingham, UK, and their team had two volunteers press a washed and dried index finger against a glass surface with increasing –Daily bread: if gluten’s not for you– force. After 2 seconds, very little of the fingerprint was actually in direct contact with the glass (PNAS, CRISPR gene-editing to get rid 10.1073/pnas.1706233114). After of the genes entirely. This is a a while, more of the fingerprint made huge task because there are no contact. In most cases, the entire fewer than 45 copies of the gene fingerprint was visible on the glass for the main gliadin protein that after about 30 seconds. causes problems. Nevertheless, The keratin in the outer layer Barro’s team report that they of our skin is inflexible when dry. have already managed to This means that when you first knock out 35 of the 45 genes push a finger against the screen of (Plant Biotechnology Journal, a smartphone, only the high points doi.org/cdfd). of your fingerprint come into contact More genes need to be with it. But fingertips start to sweat disabled before the CRISPR strain quickly. The skin absorbs the is ready for testing, but it should moisture, making the keratin more be worth all the effort: the team flexible, allowing your finger to make have already shown that the GM wheat strain makes an acceptable full contact. “Most of us have ignored the effect of time when doing our own bread. It cannot be used for research on fingerprints,” says Roland making large sliced loafs, but is Ennos at the University of Hull, UK. good enough for baguettes and Next-generation touchscreens rolls, says Chojecki. are already being designed to use “Some people will be very happy with this,” says Sarah Sleet, ultrasonic vibrations that give the illusion that smooth glass has texture. head of patients’ group Coeliac The screen can be made to feel UK, not least because sticking to smoother or rougher by varying the a gluten-free diet is difficult. frequency of vibration when you However, others may not want to eat genetically modified foods, touch particular parts of it. The vibrations decrease the friction or to take the risk that some between skin and screen for a immune-triggering components smoother glide, but they also mean remain in the wheat, Sleet says. a finger has only an intermittent Small trials of the GM wheat involving 10 and 20 people contact with the glass. This could lead to responsiveness with coeliac disease are already problems, so Adams says developers being carried out in Mexico and may have to take his findings into Spain. “All I can say is that the account and make allowances for results are very encouraging,” finger friction changes. Colin Barras n says Chojecki. n
SUPERSTOCK
Fingers are slow to get to grips with glass
Modified wheat for gluten-free bread Michael Le Page
systems respond incorrectly to gluten, which damages the gut lining and can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting, malnutrition, brain damage and even gut cancers. Not all gluten proteins trigger this response, though: the main culprit is a group called gliadins. So Francisco Barro’s team at the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture in Cordoba, Spain, set about getting rid of them. They used a genetic modification technique to remove 90 per cent of the gliadins in wheat. They did this by adding
PEOPLE forced to avoid gluten could soon have their bread (and cake) and eat it. Now there are strains of wheat that do not produce the forms of gluten that trigger a dangerous immune reaction in as many as 1 in 100 people. Because the new strains still contain some kinds of gluten, though, the wheat can still be used to bake bread. “It’s regarded as being pretty good, certainly better than anything on the gluten-free shelves,” says Jan Chojecki of “It cannot be used for PBL-Ventures in the UK, who is making large sliced loafs, working with investors in North but is good enough for America to market products baguettes and rolls” made with this wheat. Gluten is the general term for all the proteins in wheat and genes that trigger a process related cereals. During baking, called RNA interference, which these proteins link up to form stops specific proteins being elastic chains, which is what made. But because the gliadin holds breads and cakes together genes themselves remain intact, as they rise. in theory, there is a risk that the But some people have an wheat could start making the autoimmune condition called crucial proteins again. coeliac disease. Their immune So Barro’s team next tried using 12 | NewScientist | 30 September 2017
YOUR fingers take time to engage in full contact with a touchscreen. In some cases, even 30 seconds or more after placing a dry finger on the glass, your skin is still adjusting. This can lead to problems using fingerprints to access phones and getting screens to respond to your touch. Michael Adams and Brygida Dzidek at the University of Birmingham, UK, and their team had two volunteers press a washed and dried index finger against a glass surface with increasing –Daily bread: if gluten’s not for you– force. After 2 seconds, very little of the fingerprint was actually in direct contact with the glass (PNAS, CRISPR gene-editing to get rid 10.1073/pnas.1706233114). After of the genes entirely. This is a a while, more of the fingerprint made huge task because there are no contact. In most cases, the entire fewer than 45 copies of the gene fingerprint was visible on the glass for the main gliadin protein that after about 30 seconds. causes problems. Nevertheless, The keratin in the outer layer Barro’s team report that they of our skin is inflexible when dry. have already managed to This means that when you first knock out 35 of the 45 genes push a finger against the screen of (Plant Biotechnology Journal, a smartphone, only the high points doi.org/cdfd). of your fingerprint come into contact More genes need to be with it. But fingertips start to sweat disabled before the CRISPR strain quickly. The skin absorbs the is ready for testing, but it should moisture, making the keratin more be worth all the effort: the team flexible, allowing your finger to make have already shown that the GM wheat strain makes an acceptable full contact. “Most of us have ignored the effect of time when doing our own bread. It cannot be used for research on fingerprints,” says Roland making large sliced loafs, but is Ennos at the University of Hull, UK. good enough for baguettes and Next-generation touchscreens rolls, says Chojecki. are already being designed to use “Some people will be very happy with this,” says Sarah Sleet, ultrasonic vibrations that give the illusion that smooth glass has texture. head of patients’ group Coeliac The screen can be made to feel UK, not least because sticking to smoother or rougher by varying the a gluten-free diet is difficult. frequency of vibration when you However, others may not want to eat genetically modified foods, touch particular parts of it. The vibrations decrease the friction or to take the risk that some between skin and screen for a immune-triggering components smoother glide, but they also mean remain in the wheat, Sleet says. a finger has only an intermittent Small trials of the GM wheat involving 10 and 20 people contact with the glass. This could lead to responsiveness with coeliac disease are already problems, so Adams says developers being carried out in Mexico and may have to take his findings into Spain. “All I can say is that the account and make allowances for results are very encouraging,” finger friction changes. Colin Barras n says Chojecki. n