On June 27, in a joint venture with NTT, Regional Fish Institute Ltd., which farms and sells genome-edited fish, launched a new company, NTT Green & Food, Co., Ltd. For the time being, the company will continue to farm heat-tolerant flounder in the Kyushu area, expecting to do so at 20 sites in ten years' time, and saying it will do so using epigenome breeding to develop flounder.

This epigenome breeding has expanded beyond fish to include fruit trees, vegetables, oysters, and more. Epigenome breeding involves growing crops, fish, and others developed by epigenome editing, not by manipulating DNA, but by modifying the DNA and the histone proteins wrapped around it. Modifications include methylation and acetylation. For example, methyl groups are attached to or separated from the cytosine bases that make up DNA, thus controlling the function of genes. When a methyl group is attached, the gene stops working, and when demethylation occurs, it starts working again. This is now performed intentionally.

Because it does not directly break DNA strands, as genome editing does, epigenome editing is currently unregulated. But the method of manipulation is exactly the same as genome editing, using CRISPR-Cas. At present, the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Ajinomoto, and the Iwate Biotechnology Research Center are jointly developing flowering plants, vegetables, fruits, and others using the technology. NARO, using rice, is also separately conducting research on a "super-rapid rice development method."
(NTT 2023/6/27 and others)

ES (embryonic stem) cells and iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells are being developed with the aim of developing raw materials for cultured meat. These cells are called pluripotent cells due to their ability to differentiate into any type of cell. The idea is to cause cells to differentiate into muscle, blood vessels, fat and other cells and combine these to make things like steak. Thus far, this has been established mainly in mice, but the establishment of this technology for cattle and other animals is being pushed forward.

Recently, Hyperion FoodTech Co. in Nara City established bovine ES cells from fertilized eggs of domestic cattle. The company plans to develop cultured meat jointly with other companies and to provide ES cells themselves for a fee. Kyoto University, the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Research and others have jointly established iPS cells from bovine somatic cells. The Hokkaido Research Organization, Agricultural Research Department, Animal Research Center has also established bovine embryonic stem cells and used the cells to produce offspring.
(Hyperion FoodTech 2023/7/3 and others)