18-9 Japan permits marketing of genome-edited fish
In the red sea bream, 14 bases of the myostatin gene suppressing muscle hyperplasia were deleted, using CRISPR/Cas technology. The average amount of the edible portion was increased about 1.2 times, and the ratio of weight gain to ingested feed improved by 14%. Since the bone volume is reduced by about 31%, it is thought that the energy to make bones goes to the muscles. Pertinent research was done at Kinki University and Kyoto University, and commercialization is by Regional Fish https://regional.fish/en/, started by crowd-funding. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries confirmed that the fish is not subject to the Cartagena Law, and the the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare confirmed that the fish conform to the Food Sanitation Law. Within a crowdfunding campaign, three types of red sea bream food are presently offered, with prices ranging from 10,000 yen to 15,000 yen for single items and 30,000 yen (77 – 230 €) for a three-item assortment. In addition to red sea bream, Regional Fish Co. plans to develop and market new varieties of marine products such as fish and crustaceans improved by genome editing.
This is the second report of genome-edited foods in Japan, following tomatoes with increased GABA content after deleting a decarboxylase gene, developed and marketed by Sanatech Seed, a startup from the University of Tsukuba.
Nikkei Biotech news release, September 21, 2021
18-9 Japan permits marketing of genome-edited fish
In the red sea bream, 14 bases of the myostatin gene suppressing muscle hyperplasia were deleted, using CRISPR/Cas technology. The average amount of the edible portion was increased about 1.2 times, and the ratio of weight gain to ingested feed improved by 14%. Since...
12-9 Moonshot program for human well-being
In the attached article published in Nachrichten aus der Chemie| 69 | September 2021 | p. 55 – 57 (in English), a brief summary of the program and some current highlights are provided (see downloads). Moonshot-program-Japan-092021Download
7-9 Ministry of Agriculture inks major programs on biotech
Within its biotech-related 74 billion Yen (about 570 million €) budget for FY2022, the ministry aims to strengthen production capacity and improve sustainability of the domestic agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries. Topics include: low-temperature storage...
27-8 Secure storage of genome analysis data by quantum cryptography
Toshiba and others explore a system to store personal genetic data from projects of the Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo) using a combination of quantum cryptography communication technology and secret distribution technology. The consortium has...
27-8 Grillus, a startup on edible crickets for human nutrition
Grillus is a startup from the University of Tokushima that produces edible crickets and sells cricket-derived as „circular food“. Basic technology consists of mass production of a highly uniform albino strain of the Dipterocarpus cricket, which has been maintained at...
26-8 Japanese consortium achieves solar hydrogen production on 100 m2 scale
A consortium of ARPChem, Fujifilm, TOTO, Mitsubishi Chemicals and the University of Tokyo, supported by NEDO, has installed and operated, since August 2019, a demonstrator for photocatalytic water splitting and succeeded in separating and recovering high-purity „solar...
16-8 Promising ventures in Japan: The University Venture Award 2021
Japan’s Science and Technology Agency JST and NEDO, project house of the Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry, offer an annual award to startups, financially supported by companies. The 2021 prize was awarded to Heartseed Co. https://heartseed.jp Heartseed, a...
15-7 Japan plans for „dramatic expansion of fuel cell technology“
The program supported by METIs project house NEDO looks for an implementation in 2030 and beyond, but has organized another industry-academia consortia to improve fundamental technologies related to SOFC and PEFC fuel cells. It runs from FY2020 - FY2024 (planned),...
14-7 Novo Nordisk takes license from Heartseed Japan for iPS-derived cardiomyocytes
Heartseed has granted Novo the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and sell HS-001, regenerated cardiomyocytes derived from heterologous iPS cells in the world except Japan. In Japan, Heartseed will continue to develop the product independently, while retaining...
7-7 Japan’s NEDO adopts 14 projects for the bio-production of useful chemicals
The project titles and the responsible project coordinators are 1. Demonstrator for agrochemical active natural products produced by filamentous fungi with improved productivity Meiji Seika Pharma Co. 2. Demonstrator for implementation of infection control...
6-7 NEDO tests Net Zero energy building in Yamagata
With Japan Groundwater Development Co., and General Heat Pump Industry Co. as contractors, NEDO had built a demonstration facility as „ZEB" (zero-emission building) in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, to verify the ZEB adaptability of a total heat supply system...
2-7 University of Tokyo team edits chloroplast genome of a plant using procedures not subject to Cartagena law regulation
Shinichi Arimura and colleagues have used a TALEN tool for genome editing developed in Japan. The gene encoding a citidine deaminase (CD) is linked to the TALEN domain, and a gene encoding for delivery to the chloroplast is ligated. Using this method, single...