NEW TECH FOODS

Lucas van der Zee, scientist and co-founder of the Plant Cell Institute, talks to New Tech Foods about how the evolution of plant cell culture has reached this exciting turning point and why collaboration is essential for sustained industry success.

Over the past several decades, microbotanics, also known as plant cell culture, has steadily evolved from an academic curiosity into a robust industrial platform. Microbotanics is the production of biomass or secondary metabolites by growing plant cells – or isolated plant organs – in bioreactors.

Early pioneers laid the groundwork by demonstrating that plant cells, when grown in controlled environments, can produce high-value compounds. Initially, the focus was on harnessing these capabilities to produce medicinal and nutraceutical ingredients. Today, however, emerging innovations in cell culture technology are fuelling a second wave of enterprises that aim to revolutionise broader markets like food, nutrition, cosmetics and materials.

The first wave: herbal remedies and pharma

The journey of plant cell culture began with the ambition to mimic nature’s own biosynthetic factories in a controlled, scalable setting. Early work demonstrated that plant cell cultures could yield valuable secondary metabolites at levels that sometimes exceeded what traditional agriculture could produce. These early ventures capitalised on the growing consumer preference for natural products, leveraging plant-based systems to offer ingredients with fewer regulatory hurdles than their synthetic counterparts.

One of the breakthrough examples was the production of ginseng saponins. Traditional cultivation of ginseng is a long and labour-intensive process, often requiring several years of growth under field conditions. By contrast, companies such as CBN Biotech achieved significant breakthroughs by optimising cell culture conditions to produce high concentrations of these valuable compounds. For instance, using bioreactor and process optimisation techniques, CBN Biotech reached a total saponin content that was more than double that of field-grown ginseng. Their scaled-up production in 10 m³ bioreactors now yields roughly 45 tonnes of fresh biomass per year. Phyton Biotech successfully scaled up production of the cancer drug paclitaxel and deploys bioreactors with volumes up to 75 m³ – a testament to the feasibility of using plant cell cultures for producing at scale.

These early successes not only validated the technical feasibility of plant cell cultures but also paved the way for further investment and innovation in the field. The pioneering work in this era set important benchmarks that have since driven the evolution of the technology towards broader applications.

Ecological and climate pressures: a catalyst for change

In recent years, the global food landscape has been dramatically reshaped by environmental and societal pressures. Extreme weather conditions, including severe droughts, unseasonal heavy rains, and other climate-related disruptions, have significantly impacted the production of key agricultural commodities, like coffee. Rising prices and supply shortages are clear indicators of how vulnerable traditional farming practices can become in the face of climate change.

Beyond coffee, ecological shifts and climate pressures have also impacted other essential crops, from cocoa to various tropical staples. Changing weather patterns, coupled with deforestation and the loss of pollinators, are increasingly limiting the productivity of conventional agriculture. These challenges have created an urgent need for alternative production methods that are both resilient and sustainable.

The second wave: expanding to food, nutrition, cosmetics and materials

In response to these mounting challenges, a new wave of companies is emerging that seeks to harness plant cell culture technology for a broader range of applications. This second wave is not limited to the production of high-value products; it also encompasses innovative approaches to food production and even the manufacture of sustainable materials.

In the food sector, companies are now applying plant cell culture techniques to develop, for example, cocoa and coffee products. By cultivating plant cells under controlled conditions, these companies can create ingredients and extracts that offer consistent quality and precision-defined molecular profiles. This innovation is especially valuable in light of supply chain disruptions and the volatile pricing of traditional crops. In addition, leveraging plant cell culture can help stabilise production volumes, offering a buffer against the uncertainties of climate change

Outside the realm of food, plant cell culture is also making inroads into material production. Pioneering efforts in in-vitro cotton production, for instance, are opening new avenues for sustainable textile manufacturing. Similarly, advances in the production of high-end tropical wood materials through cell culture are demonstrating the technology’s potential to replace or complement traditional sources. These developments point to a future where plant cell culture could play a pivotal role in reducing our reliance on environmentally sensitive agricultural practices.

Driving down costs: two transformative trends

Aside from ecological pressure, two major trends are transforming the potential of microbotanics.

1. Low-Tech Bioreactor Systems:

The initial generation of plant cell culture operations relied on sophisticated bioreactor designs adapted from the biomedical industry. While these systems provided excellent control over the culture environment, they were often complex and costly to scale. Today, companies are increasingly adopting simplified, low-tech bioreactor designs that are both cost-effective and highly scalable. These new systems should provide sufficient control over cultivation conditions without the overhead associated with high-end equipment, thereby democratising access to plant cell culture technology for a broader range of enterprises.

2. Advances in Molecular Biology and Multi-Omics Technologies:

Parallel to improvements in bioreactor design, there has been a rapid expansion in our understanding of plant molecular biology. Innovations in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and AI are now being integrated into plant cell culture processes. This enhanced understanding allows researchers and engineers to optimise cell lines for improved yield, cell density, genetic stability and target product synthesis. By fine-tuning the genetic and metabolic pathways within plant cells, production processes can achieve higher efficiency and consistency, making plant cell culture an increasingly competitive alternative to traditional farming methods.

Together, these trends are not only driving down production costs but are also enabling the scaling up of plant cell culture operations, which is essential for their broader adoption in both food and materials industries.

Collaboration: the key to long-term success

Despite these promising developments, I believe the future success of plant cell culture technology depends on a collaborative approach. The complex science of plant cell biology and the engineering challenges of bioreactor design require the collective expertise of researchers, engineers and industry stakeholders. No single entity can address all the challenges in isolation. Sharing research, best practices and technological innovations is critical for overcoming obstacles, such as scale-up issues, genetic stability and cost efficiency.

The Plant Cell Institute facilitates this kind of knowledge sharing. It brings together experts from academia and industry to collaborate on innovative solutions that address both current challenges and future opportunities. Their online communications and monthly community calls help to drive collective progress, ensuring that advancements in plant cell culture technology benefit the entire sector and contribute to global food security and sustainability.