Hebrew University scientists have successfully engineered a plant to produce beta-casein. The researchers first engineered the laboratory plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and then a drought-tolerant, oil-producing species, safflower, to manufacture the beta-casein.

While engineering the seeds, the team was surprised to discover that instead of reaching the expected storage compartment, the milk protein formed structures resembling those that store natural casein in milk. The best-performing plants produced beta casein at levels of around 1.26% of total soluble seed protein, which is much higher than many previous reports of casein production in plants.

Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1872014/full

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