THERE IS URGENT NEED TO DIVERSIFY METHODS FOR PROTEIN PRODUCTION SO THAT OUR FUTURE FOOD SYSTEM WILL BE RESILIENT TO DISRUPTIONS DUE TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY, NATURAL DISASTERS, AND FUTURE EPIDEMICS. ONE POTENTIAL EMERGING APPROACH USES TISSUE CULTURE METHODS TO ENABLE CULTURED MEAT. THE VISION OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP CULTURED MEAT WITH PROPERTIES THAT CAN BE TAILORED FOR DEFINED FLAVOR AND NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES, FROM A LEAN, LOW-CHOLESTEROL FILET MIGNON TO A MARBLED RIB-EYE RICH IN OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS. CRITICAL FOR THIS VISION ARE PHYSICAL SCAFFOLDS THAT MIMIC THE NATURAL GROWTH ENVIRONMENT OF MUSCLE AND FAT CELLS. SCAFFOLDS IMPACT CELL BEHAVIORS CRITICAL FOR THE EFFICIENT PRODUCTION OF PALATABLE CULTURED MEAT: THE STIFFNESS OF SCAFFOLDS CAN REGULATE CELL GROWTH, AND ALSO THE QUALITY OF MUSCLE AND FAT TISSUE, WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR MEAT SENSORY AND NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES, INCLUDING TEXTURE AND MOUTHFEEL. THE ROWAT LAB HAS BEEN WORKING TO DEVELOP EDIBLE 'MICROCARRIER' SCAFFOLDS THAT SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF CULTURED MUSCLE AND FAT TISSUE IN A LARGE VESSEL OR BIOREACTOR THAT HAS POTENTIAL TO SCALE UP TISSUE CULTURE THAT IS REQUIRED FOR FOOD PRODUCTION. THE GOAL OF THIS SPECIFIC PROJECT IS TO PRODUCE A CULTURED MEAT BURGER WITH DEFINED FAT CONTENT TO MEET DIFFERENT CONSUMER NEEDS, AND TO IDENTIFY SUPPLEMENTS THAT ENABLE US TO TUNE THE LIPID COMPOSITION OF CULTURED MEAT TOWARDS ACHIEVING NUTRITIOUS AND FLAVORFUL CULTURED MEAT. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ARE: OBJECTIVE 1) DEVELOP EDIBLE MICROCARRIER SCAFFOLDS TO SUPPORT CULTURED MUSCLE MICROTISSUE; OBJECTIVE 2) DEVELOP EDIBLE MICROCARRIER SCAFFOLDS TO SUPPORT CULTURED FAT MICROTISSUE WITH DESIRED LIPID CONTENT; OBJECTIVE 3) PRODUCE CULTURED GROUND BEEF WITH DESIRED QUALITIES USING EDIBLE MICROCARRIER SCAFFOLDS. FINDINGS WILL ESTABLISH PROOF-OF-CONCEPT CULTURED BEEF IN THE FORM OF A GROUND BEEF PATTY OR 'BURGER' THAT HAS DESIRED SENSORY AND NUTRITIONAL QUALITIES. THE RESULTS OF THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO DEVELOP AN INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FOR CULTURED MEAT, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON EDIBLE MICROCARRIER SCAFFOLDS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE OPTIMAL TEXTURE AND NUTRIENT PROPERTIES FOR CULTURED BEEF WITH TUNABLE FAT CONTENT. BY USING OUR EDIBLE MICROCARRIER SCAFFOLDS THAT HAVE TUNABLE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, THERE IS POTENTIAL TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF MUSCLE AND ADIPOSE MICROTISSUE PRODUCTION FOR CULTURED MEAT APPLICATIONS. WE WILL ALSO DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK TO CULTURE A GROUND BEEF PRODUCT THAT HAS IMPROVED TEXTURE AND NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES BY TUNING THE COMPOSITION AND CONTENT OF LIPIDS. MORE BROADLY, OUR FINDINGS SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURED MEAT AS A FEASIBLE METHOD FOR PROTEIN PRODUCTION, WHICH CAN ULTIMATELY SUPPORT THE INCREASED RESILIENCY OF FUTURE FOOD SYSTEMS.