Our project attempts to address:
Hidden hunger, a condition in which people eat enough calories but lack the micronutrients needed for health, it affects more than 3 billion people around the world. Our team is attempting to mitigate this problem by optimizing promoters in soybeans for vitamin A. It is estimated that 250,000 to 500,000 children go blind every year from Vitamin A Deficiency. Food fortification is a major way to combat vitamin A deficiency. Currently, golden rice, a rice that has been genetically engineered to synthesize more vitamin A, is used to combat this. Soy beans require less water to grow. They also contain more oil than rice which increases the amount of vitamin A that the human body is able to use from the food. Soybeans are also higher in protein than rice.
In addition, our project does not require gene insertion from another species, meaning that it is not a genetically modified organism (GMO). This reduces concerns over potential allergic reactions to allergens that were introduced from other species as well as concerns over how the environment may be affected. Public perception also plays a role in the success of humanitarian projects. The general public’s perception of GMOs is generally negative, with many people believing that GMOs are unnatural.
In the future, our promoters could be applied to other vitamin synthesis pathways in soybeans such as vitamin E and folate to increase production of these vitamins and tackle hidden hunger.