Broccoli, blueberries and bananas are already tagged “super foods,” meaning they are more nutritious than most other fruits and vegetables. Yet, under the microscopes at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis, scientists are finding ways to boost their benefits.

The NCRC is a public-private research center where scientists from Dole Foods, General Mills, Monsanto, Sensory Spectrum and 10 academic and healthcare organizations share in the mission to transform science at the intersection of human health, agriculture and nutrition. Research into specific foods and their phytochemical composition is one specific area of research that falls under the broader scientific goals of the campus.

Phytochemicals are bioactive compounds inside plants. They are not considered essential nutrients for humans, but research is proving that they have immense health benefits in terms of preventing and potentially treating diseases.

Broccoli – The Mega-Vegetable

Broccoli is one of the vegetables under investigation at North Carolina State University’s Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI), which is located at the NCRC. Broccoli is a mega-vegetable with numerous healthy compounds like sulforaphane, indole 3 carbonols, carotenoids, flavonoids, quercetin, folic acid and vitamins E, K and C. Eating broccoli regularly is known to help prevent certain cancers and diabetes as well as pulmonary and heart disease.

Broccoli is also a member of the brassica family that includes mustard greens, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Brassicas contain brassinosteroid homobrassinolide, a plant steroid that regulates growth, development and protein synthesis. When this plant steroid is ingested, Dr. Slavko Komarnytsky and Dr. Debora Esposito, both with PHHI, have found in an animal model that there is a positive effect on building muscle mass. (View the article.)

Dr. Allan Brown, applied molecular geneticist with PHHI, has found that broccoli has one problem. Varieties can have a four to 10-fold difference in the levels of any one of these healthy compounds. Brown is solving this problem by developing a new broccoli variety with stable levels of all of its compounds so that consumers can be assured they receive the maximum health benefit when they eat the vegetable, and farmers will have a new crop to grow. (View the article.)

Blueberries – Good to Eat, Good to Farm

Blueberries are another “super food” PHHI is researching. Blueberries are high in vitamin C, fiber, manganese and antioxidants that neutralize the free radicals in the human body that are linked to aging and the development of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other age-related illnesses. Brown and PHHI Director Dr. Mary Ann Lila lead a multi-institutional consortium that is the first to sequence the blueberry genome. This is important because understanding the genome improves the likelihood of new medical applications and nutritionally-enhanced varieties being developed that can benefit consumers and North Carolina’s blueberry industry, the sixth largest in the United States. (View the article.)

Read the complete article on the N.C. Research Campus website.

Utilizing state-of-the-art lab facilities at the N.C. Research Campus, Lila and her team are identifying the specific compounds in plants that are responsible for certain health benefits (e.g. the anthocyanins found in blueberries can help counteract some chronic diseases). She’s investigating how these plant compounds function and can best be utilized as part of an arsenal of plant-based medicines.

Take a sneak peak into the “LilaLab” and the questions and goals that drive the research.

View videos highlighting other PHHI scientists and their research programs:

• Dr. Allan Brown
• Dr. Slavko Komarnytsky
• Dr. Xu “Sirius” Li
• Dr. Jeremy Pattison
• Dr. Penelope Perkins-Veazie

View the video to learn more about this program that highlights what scientists do in the realm of agricultural research while involving students in production-based educational programming. Project coordinators believe they have created a model for schools across the state and nation.

Though a Golden LEAF Foundation grant, the project paired plant breeding research with culinary industry and consumer preferences; introduced chefs-of-tomorrow to N.C. agriculture and farmers; and increased consumer awareness and consumption of N.C. strawberries.

View more project videos that highlight Dr. Jeremy Pattison’s research and Chef Mark Allison and The Produce Lady preparing culinary dishes with strawberries.

(Read the Full Feature Story)

Video Full Text:

Blueberries are one of the food crops under the microscope at the N.C. State University Plants for Human Health Institute. Located at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, the institute has led the way to sequence the blueberry genome. Dr. Allan Brown, a molecular geneticist with the institute and a member of the department of horticultural science, served as the lead researcher.

The blueberry genome project, funded by the University of North Carolina General Administration, is one of the first major collaborative efforts of scientists at the North Carolina Research Campus. A genome contains an organism’s hereditary information, encoded in DNA. A plant’s DNA contains important clues that have the potential to help solve health problems, such as preventing or curing diseases. The sequenced genome provides a blueprint that is useful for health and medical researchers as well as plant breeders. It is expected to yield new discoveries.

The core team, led by Dr. Brown, includes bioinformatics experts Mark Burke with the David H. Murdock Research Institute, known as DHMRI; Dr. Cory Brouwer with the UNC Charlotte Bioinformatics Research Center; and Dr. Michael Wang, with the DHMRI Genomics Laboratory. The project demonstrates how on-site collaboration of researchers working across disciplines can lead to significant scientific advances. This group and their lab members have met weekly to map strategy and keep the project on track.

The DHMRI Genomics Laboratory played a central role in the sequencing process by using specialized equipment and protocol to decipher the DNA and generate raw data. Let’s take a look in the lab.

It all starts with a one milliliter test tube containing DNA. The USDA Agricultural Research Service lab in Beltsville, Maryland, supplied the DNA from a parent plant that is related to the Northern Highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum.

The first step is to physically shear a long strand of DNA; this process is called fragmentation. Researchers then construct a library of fragmented pieces. They add an adaptor piece of known DNA to the ends of the fragments. They then load millions of DNA fragments into 8 channels in a flowcell. Each fragment is amplified by replication to generate a thousand copies. This is a strategy to improve accuracy in sequencing.

There are two methods for sequencing. Both were used for the blueberry genome project. “Short read sequencing” generates data for fragments that consist of 300 base pairs – the building blocks of DNA. The lab equipment reads the nucleotide on a single strand and attaches the complement nucleotides simultaneously, labeling the A’s, T’s, C’s and G’s with a different color dye.

“Long read sequencing” uses fragments that are 800 base pairs in length. The fragments are attached to beads placed in an oil bubble. More than a million copies are made on the bead. The double strand is denatured and nucleotides are added one at a time. The result is four layers of information that are then sandwiched together. The blueberry has about 500 million base pairs coding for more than 25,000 genes.

The raw data generated by the genomics lab is transferred to the bioinformaticists for sequence assembly using specialized computer software.

Using a hybrid approach, Brown’s team likens the sequence assembly process to putting a puzzle together. The longer fragments were used to build a ‘scaffold’ by overlapping matched segments, similar to putting together a puzzle frame. The shorter fragments were then used to fill in the distinguishable objects of the puzzle; a process referred to as “backfilling.” The final puzzle pieces, those of similar color or pattern, are akin to the repetitive DNA. They may seem like filler, but they are important to get a complete picture.

Researchers expect the sequenced blueberry genome to boost the North Carolina blueberry industry. This industry is valued at $58.2 million annually. North Carolina ranks 6th in the nation in blueberry production. Future improved varieties – developed with the help of the recently sequenced blueberry genome – have the potential to bolster yield and revenue for North Carolina farmers. Breeding efforts will be more efficient with the availability of the sequenced genome and the newly identified molecular markers.

In addition to the economic value, it’s the berry’s value to health that has scientists at the North Carolina Research Campus excited about publishing the first blueberry genome sequence. Blueberries are rich in health-promoting phytonutrients that reduce the symptoms of several chronic diseases. For example, Dr. Mary Ann Lila, director of the N.C. State Plants for Human Health Institute, studies bioactive compounds in many fruits and vegetables, including blueberries. The sequenced genome will help her hone in on the health-protective properties of blueberries.

The sequencing of the genome has revealed helpful information to several areas of research. One unexpected finding was the genetic similarities between blueberry and grape. Both fruits are revered for their anthocyanin content. Anthocyanins are pigments responsible for the red, blue and purple color of the fruit, which Dr. Lila studies for their health-protective properties.

Another blueberry breakthrough resulting from the sequence will help plant breeders. The team at the North Carolina Research Campus has identified more than 20,000 molecular markers that will be added to the genetic linkage map for blueberry. Molecular markers are short sequences of DNA that serve as “road signs,” or reference points, along the genetic linkage map.

The science also helps cultivate the next generation of scientists. Students at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, analyzed the data in a biology course under the direction of Dr. Malcolm Campbell. At the end of the semester, the students presented their findings to the lead scientists from the Research Campus. A local high school science teacher, April Baucom, spent the summer interning with Dr. Brown. Her experiences in the lab and in the blueberry field will help her share the world of scientific discovery with her students.

Sequencing the blueberry genome is a major step toward understanding the genetic information of the blueberry. It is expected to yield new discoveries in both medical and agricultural research. The results of the sequencing and annotation are accessible to scientists and plant breeders worldwide through the website, www.vaccinium.org.

Visit the N.C. Strawberry Project section

Find more information on the Blackberry & Raspberry Growers Information Portal.