Tapping into the medicinal potential of chicory
Humans have prized chicory varieties for centuries, enjoying it for its characteristic bitter taste – in witloof, for example – and also for its blue flowers. Root chicory is grown for inulin, a natural probiotic that stimulates the immune system. Yet there is far more potential to gain from this plant. Chicory naturally accumulates large amounts of terpenes, natural compounds plants use to defend themselves against herbivores or attract pollinators. Terpenes also possess a wide range of medicinal properties, making them a promising source for new medicines. The EU-funded CHIC project investigated the potential of advanced genome editing techniques to help chicory reach its full potential. The CHIC consortium worked to improve the quality of chicory and adapt it to produce both healthier inulin and sufficient amounts of medicinal terpenes. “Although many terpenes from other plants have medicinal properties, the medicinal properties from chicory terpenes were largely unknown,” says Dirk Bosch, group head of applied metabolic systems at Wageningen University & Research and CHIC project coordinator. The CHIC project showed that chicory can effectively produce not just healthy food fibres, but also terpenes with medicinal uses. “It can likely also produce terpenes for other applications, such as cosmetics, natural crop protectants and perhaps even building clocks for biopolymers,” explains Bosch. “A green, bio-based factory,” he adds.
Chicory meets CRISPR
It can take decades to develop a new plant variety by conventional plant breeding. CHIC sought to develop new varieties in a shorter time frame, using genome editing to transform chicory into a multipurpose crop able to produce dietary inulin and bioactive terpenes. Through the project, the CHIC consortium evaluated genome editing techniques such as different variations of CRISPR Cas, which functions like molecular scissors to make small changes in an organism’s genome. The project had three pillars: developing and implementing CRISPR protocols for chicory; investigating safety and the socio-economic and environmental impact of the new varieties; and finally communication with stakeholders and broad audiences.
Advancing chicory knowledge
Due to the limited time frame of the project, the team couldn’t grow enough genome-edited varieties at a sufficiently large scale to allow extensive biomedical experiments. However, analyses of the available material confirmed the accumulation of products with health properties either already well known or newly discovered through the project. ““Preliminary experiments with bioactive compounds from plants at the end of the project looked very promising,” notes Bosch. The CHIC project achieved a range of successful results. The team discovered promising new medicinal bioactivities of chicory compounds, and developed chicory varieties that make healthier inulin and medicinal terpenes. The work also furthered our knowledge of chicory biology, discovering for example how and in which tissues these compounds are made.
Public debates
The idea of gene editing in crops still creates some controversy, so CHIC held a range of public debates and workshops involving artists to inspire discussions and, together with project scientists, engage with the general public and in schools. CHIC social scientists organised dedicated stakeholder debates and symposia on local as well as European level. During the COVID pandemic the team also organised online events. “These interactive activities were really inspiring, and in the debates each of the different audiences voiced diverse reactions,” says Bosch.
Keywords
CHIC, chicory, terpenes, medicines, properties, public, debates, CRISPR, biology, compounds, genome
