A study published in Frontiers in Science looks at growing myoglobin protein fibres in plant chloroplasts.
Prof Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro, Academic Lead in Engineering Biology for Sustainability and Director of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein, Imperial College London, said:
“This an important advance on earlier plant and algal research. Demonstrating stable myoglobin production in plant chloroplasts, including in an edible crop, raises the possibility of using plants as scalable, low-input production platforms alongside microbial fermentation.
“In the longer term, this could diversify how and where these ingredients are produced. Its wider potential will depend on improving haem incorporation so myoglobin can deliver the colour, flavour and cooking properties expected in meat alternatives. Further research must confirm food functionality and safety, field performance, processing requirements, and clear economic and environmental benefits at scale.”
Prof Derek Stewart, National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) Co-Director, James Hutton Institute, said:
“These are interesting steps in the progression of alternative protein. The paper is an exciting step forward proving the concept that plants can be used to make myoglobin, a key meat protein, in a stable and scalable way. It is especially encouraging that the protein could be recovered in a form that was properly folded and bound to heme, which matters for meat-like colour and flavour.
“There are some limitations in the study with holo-myoglobin formation reported as incomplete, heme occupancy was only about 35%, and the study relied heavily on one tobacco line, so robustness and food-functionality remain uncertain. Also, tobacco as an expression system does raise concerns in that it innately produces bioactive alkaloids that would undoubtedly prove problematic in terms of myoglobin extraction and impacts on food safety.
“Nevertheless, these first steps map out a long journey to impact and commercialisation; one that NAPIC cis best positioned to help with.”
* ‘Sustainable production of myoglobin meat protein in plant chloroplasts’ by Alexia Groff et al. was published in Frontiers in Plant Science at 05:00 UK time on Thursday 6 August 2026.
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1876707
Declared interests
Prof Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro: “Two authors are part of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein community at Imperial, Rodrigo was not involved in this study and this project was not supported by the Centre.”
Prof Derek Stewart: “No interests to declare.”
