Researchers scramble proteins to crack egg allergy problems

To the relief of parents whose children suffer anaphylactic reactions to eggwhite, researchers are working on modifying egg proteins so hens start laying allergy-free eggs.

Egg white contains 40 proteins; four of these are major allergens. The researchers hope to switch off the allergens in these four proteins, creating a hypoallergenic egg that will produce chickens that will, in turn, lay allergy-free eggs.

“We are not producing genetically modified chickens as part of this research, we are simply modifying the proteins within the egg whites to produce chickens that lay allergy-free eggs,” said Adjunct Professor Tim Doran, Project Leader at CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory, himself the father of a child who suffers anaphylactic reactions to eggwhite.

According to Professor Doran, rather than the DNA of the chickens being modified, it is the proteins in the eggs. This is carried out using RNAi (RNA interference) technology that has previously been used by the CSIRO to modify crop traits.

“This is a completely novel approach in that previous egg-allergy research has cloned the eggwhite-allergen genes but no-one has gone as far as to make the proteins non-allergenic,” said Associate Professor Cenk Suphioglu from Deakin University’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences.

The modified eggs will have benefits outside of the food industry. Currently, people who are allergic to eggwhites cannot have the standard flu vaccine as it contains eggwhite.

The research should be complete within three years, allergy-free vaccines available within five and allergy-free eggs in supermarkets within five to 10 years.

Professor Doran said the research has the potential to change the lifestyles of families with egg white allergy sufferers, as they often have to prepare all their food in the home to avoid the possibility of food containing egg white.

The research is a collaboration between Deakin University, CSIRO and the Poultry Co-operative Research Centre.