By Claire Williams
Courtesy of Beth Ann Luedeker
Few people have the dedication to work at something relentlessly for 22 years. Dr. Keerti Rathore, professor in the department of soil and crop sciences at Texas A&M University, the Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, is different. Since 1996, Rathore has been working to genetically modify cotton so the seeds will no longer be toxic to monogastric animals, which are animals with single-chambered stomachs. His discoveries have the potential to make a huge impact not only on the community, but on the world.
Rathore was born and raised in India as the son of a medical doctor. As a young boy, he saw firsthand the destructive effects of malnutrition, Rathore explains. This has played a consistent role in Rathore’s passion for his innovative discoveries, he says.
Before coming to Texas A&M, Rathore had never seen fields of cotton before. Because Texas is one of the leaders in cotton production, several faculty members encouraged Rathore to research cotton as a means to solving a real world problem. Rathore did just that.
Courtesy of Devendra Pandeya
Much to his dismay, researching the subject led Rathore to find just how much cottonseed is underutilized. Because of the toxicity of gossypol, an insecticide produced throughout a cotton plant, the cottonseeds are typically fed to cows with a much higher tolerance for gossypol. Although there is nothing inherently wrong with feeding cottonseeds to cows, it is highly inefficient, says Rathore. For every 20 pounds of protein fed to cows, one pound of beef protein is produced, he explains. Monogastric animals, such as pigs, salmon, and chicken, on the other hand, produce a much higher ratio of meat protein.
Gossypol-free cottonseeds are also fit for human nutrition. “There’s enough protein in cottonseeds to meet the basic protein requirement for more than 500 million people every year,” says Rathore. One cup of roasted cottonseed kernels contains the same amount of protein as ten eggs, he explains.
As a precursor to Rathore’s innovation, a cotton breeder discovered a mutant cotton plant in Arizona in 1954. This particular cotton did not contain any traces of gossypol, and is referred to as glandless cotton. There was one problem with this mutant cotton plant. With the absence of gossypol, the plant could not survive due to severe insect attacks.
This series of events led Rathore to realize the necessity of modifying cotton so it is still able to produce gossypol everywhere except within the seed.
The three tools needed for this procedure were the right kind of target gene to silence gossypol production, a promoter from cotton active only in the seed, and a powerful gene silencing technology, says Rathore.
Courtesy of Lacey Roberts
In 2006, Rathore published his discoveries. Since then, he has performed countless trials of modified cotton fields in Texas, Mississippi, and North Carolina for multiple years. Outside companies have analyzed the cotton product for fiber quality and seed composition. They found that the only change was the significant reduction of gossypol in the seed, Rathore says. After these trials, Rathore submitted the results of various biochemical and molecular tests and field trials to United States Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration.
“In October of 2018 we received deregulation from USDA,” Rathore says. “We are hoping to hear from the FDA in the next six months.”
Rathore and his team, made up of LeAnne Campbell and Devendra Pandeya, helped Texas A&M AgriLife Research become the fourth public institution to receive deregulation from the government on a genetically modified product. This means the USDA lifted the restrictions on growing this cotton in the U.S., allowing the farmers to cultivate these genetically modified cottonseeds.
The list of benefits in implementing genetically modified cotton is great, while the risk of harm remains small.
“People should be reassured by the government agencies,” Rathore explains. Because the process is so extensive, it will not receive approval if there is any risk of harm detected, he says.
“There is more than enough demand for this kind of product,” Rathore says. With the expansion of the middle class worldwide, there is an increase in the demand for meat and eggs. Using cotton as another source of animal feed could be highly beneficial, Rathore explains.
In addition to land animals, cottonseed has the potential to be a great resource for the aquaculture industry, as it is running short of feed supplies to produce farmed seafood, states Rathore.
Courtesy of Beth Ann Luedeker
Perhaps most importantly, toxin-free cottonseed provides opportunities for the human race. Not only could it be a real game-changer f
or human nutrition, but it could transform the farming industry.
“Farmers want these cottonseeds yesterday,” Rathore says. “They can see the benefits of it, especially the increase in the value of their crops.”
Cotton farmers would benefit from producing two valuable commodities from one crop, rather than having to undersell a significant portion of their yield as they currently do.
Rathore wants to get this technology in the farmers’ hands, but that may take some time. Texas A&M AgriLife administrators have been talking to several seed companies about the logistics of distributing these seeds to farmers. Once it’s in the hands of farmers across America, his next goal is to distribute these seeds across the world.
“If it’s adopted worldwide, it will certainly make a huge impact on human nutrition, especially in poor countries,” Rathore says. “It’s not going to solve everything, but it will help.”
