Researchers from DTU and Aarhus University will develop new production methods that utilise the ability of yeast, bacteria, and fungi to produce protein in the food of the future. New sources of protein are needed because global consumption of animal proteins is expected to increase by 70% by 2050, driven by a growing world population and increased demand for protein-rich foods. Today, animal-based foods account for almost 60% of the climate footprint and 80% of land use in food production, even though they contribute less than 20% of calories and less than 40% of proteins.
Research into new sources of protein is being conducted in the research project The Casein Mission, which is being carried out by researchers from both DTU and Aarhus University and led by Professor Peter Ruhdal Jensen from DTU Food.
"Precision fermentation of milk proteins has great potential, but if these protein ingredients are to seriously replace parts of animal production, we need to be able to produce them with the right functionality," says Peter Ruhdal Jensen.
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has granted DKK 48 million to the project, spread over the years 2025-2029. The project's name, The Casein Mission, refers to the fact that the research focuses on ways to produce casein, a group of proteins found in milk that accounts for about 80% of the protein in cow's milk. Casein is particularly known for its slow digestion. In the research project, the researchers will program microorganisms to produce casein by inserting DNA sequences from cows into microorganisms so that they begin to produce, for example, milk protein. The process can take place in a microbe, for example, like those which normally produce alcohol, but with a new DNA structure, the microorganism can be used to produce milk protein.
The international consortium behind the project has strong expertise in milk protein structure and function, known as micelle formation, which are small globular structures formed when casein proteins assemble, and the development of cell factories based on microorganisms – including recent advances in phosphorylation, which is a kind of on-off switch for the protein's function in the globular structure of the casein micelle. The consortium will contribute groundbreaking knowledge to the growing field of sustainable production and use of caseins in the foods of the future.
The Casein Mission is designed with several parallel microbial host lines for cell factory design to ensure the success of the project and optimise results. The project will also build networks and activities for universities, start-ups and industry, and establish a national research capacity in the field. It will form the basis for the development and commercialisation of sustainable casein-containing foods and ingredients.
