| TECHNOLOGY |
Within Beachy's lab, Schubert is using genetic engineering to enhance the content and bioavailability of folate in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Folate is found naturally in green leafy vegetables and legumes, and a deficiency during pregnancy can lead to neural tube defects. Neural tube defects cause damage to a fetus' brain and spinal cord, but are relatively rare in the U.S. and other industrial countries where dietary supplementation and fortification of packaged foods with folic acid is common. Beachy and Schubert hope to create folate-fortified rice for growth in developing countries, where folate supplements or folate-fortified foods are not available and the rate of neural tube defects is more than 10 times that in the U.S.
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