Progress on allergen-free peanut research

Tuesday, 05 December 2006 19:53

As research efforts continue to strive for peanuts with reduced allergenicity, a new peanut gene, called Ara h 3-im, has recently been identified.

This gene codes for protein sequences that are not recognised by IgE antibodies isolated from peanut allergic patients.  While further work is required to validate the results, these initial findings imply the proteins are no longer able to invoke an allergic reaction. This opens up the opportunity to genetically modify or breed mutationally a peanut with the normal allergenic protein Ara h 3 replaced by the novel non-allergen Ara h 3-im.  Although about 20 peanut allergens have been reported, this research represents a step in the right direction for peanut allergic consumers.  Full details of the research can be found in Plant Science (published on-line ahead of print) I.-H. Kang & M. Gallo  ‘Cloning and characterization of a novel peanut allergen Ara h 3 isoform displaying potentially decreased allergenicity’.