Team:Austin UTexas/HP/Silver
Human Practices Silver
For the silver medal requirement, we considered various factors relating to the impact of kombucha and our research on the community.
Kombucha is a fermented beverage consumed around the world for its supposed health benefits. The drink originated in East Asia in 220 BCE and spread to places such as Japan, Europe, and Africa1. In recent years, it has gained popularity and today can be found globally. Though commonly home brewed, kombucha is also manufactured on a commercial scale. This wide audience of consumers means that research focused on better understanding kombucha and its microbiome can have a huge impact.
Kombucha’s purported health benefits are some of the main factors contributing to this rapid rise in popularity. There are a multitude claims that kombucha can prevent types of cancer and other diseases, improve liver function, and help the immune system1. These supposed health benefits are not well supported despite increasing scientific interest in kombucha. Many of these studies have used nonhuman subjects, leading to questions regarding relevance of their findings to human health. Research has, however, demonstrated kombucha’s antimicrobial properties against different strains of bacteria due to the presence of the organic acids1.
Regardless of the validity of the health claims surrounding kombucha, the microbiome that ferments the beverage provides a rich framework for modification with synthetic biology to create a designer beverage. By either adding different strains of bacteria or altering the genes present in the strains of bacteria, a variety of improvement may be possible. Possibilities our team has considered include lowering the amount of ethanol produced in the fermentation, improving flavor with biosynthesized brazzein, or visualizing the pH changes in the beverage with pH-sensitive promoter-reporter constructs.
Despite little concern among the scientific community regarding the safety of genetically modified foods, many kombucha consumers in the health and wellness community remain apprehensive of genetic modification. Though widespread public acceptance of genetically modified organisms is unlikely in the near future, modifying the kombucha microbiome with naturally occurring strains of bacteria could still allow some degree of customization without alienating potential consumers. Because of increasing public interest in kombucha, further research on the drink may someday provide a platform for a discussion of the benefits of synthetic biology with those who remain skeptical of the safety of genetically modified foods.
Genetically modifying kombucha would also require considerations of intellectual property rights for the altered beverage. Kombucha is easy to brew at home if a bit of store bought kombucha is added. The commercially produced kombucha would contain all of the microbes needed for the fermentation process. However, genetically modified microbes could be patented to limit this possibility. There is a lot of debate regarding how much patent protection GMO companies should receive. The purpose of patenting genetically modified organisms is to give companies a time period to exclusively develop their products2. This promotes innovation and makes companies more likely to invest in genetic engineering. However this is often at the expense of the public.
For instance Monsanto, an agrochemical and biotechnology company, has biological patents on its genetically modified seeds3. Although there is tremendous controversy and backlash surrounding the company, Monsanto is justified in having these rights because the genetic modification is considered a technology. On various occasions, Monsanto has been in the center of the GMO debate. It has also filed lawsuits against farmers for illegally using their seeds. Because of the competitive nature of the kombucha industry, a similar issue may arise with genetically modifying the drink. This could detract from "do-it-yourself" nature of the drink.
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References
- Jayabalan, R., Malbaša, R. V., Lončar, E. S., Vitas, J. S. and Sathishkumar, M. (2014), A Review on Kombucha Tea—Microbiology, Composition, Fermentation, Beneficial Effects, Toxicity, and Tea Fungus. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 13: 538–550. doi:10.1111/1541-4337.12073
- Harvard University Science in the News
- Monsanto Company
