Project : USDA ARS

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Research Project: Human Nutrition through Food Systems

Location: Responsive Agricultural Food Systems Research Unit

2025 Annual Report

Objectives
Objective 1: Develop innovative data strategies to advance precision nutrition; link and analyze large and diverse datasets using cutting edge Data Science/Data Engineering approaches such as AI and machine learning; and more clearly define the requirements for and the role of human nutrition in public health, focusing on subgroups and underserved populations. Objective 2: Conduct multi-disciplinary research to understand the complex interactions within the food system and their impacts on human health.

Approach
Research will be focused on how precision nutrition can refine dietary needs more carefully for the U.S. population and how the food environment can supply those needs. Diet-related chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and some cardiovascular diseases and cancers are major public health concerns in the United States. Six in 10 Americans have a diet-related chronic health condition. In addition, more than 70 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, which increases risk for diabetes, some cardiovascular diseases, and cancers. Moreover, racial, and ethnic minority groups, as well as those living at lower socioeconomic levels, are disproportionately affected by diet-related chronic diseases. There is a need to investigate the mechanisms by which diet and physical activity can influence chronic diseases so that effective diet-, activity-, and science-based policy solutions to these problems can be developed. There is also a need to understand the complex interactions within the food system and their impacts on human health.

Progress Report
This report documents research conducted by the Responsive Agricultural Food Systems Research Unit. The unit is focused on prevention of nutrition-associated chronic disease via innovations in the food-nutrition environment and to align production agricultural systems with human, environmental and economic health outcomes. In FY25, recruitment of key ARS personnel (research leader and scientist) has continued, and new analytical, molecular and bioinformatics laboratories were established within the Institute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture (IHA). Collaborations with Texas A&M University and IHA are continuing in key areas including nutritional improvement of specific food crops, healthy living and responsive agriculture. In collaboration with the cooperator, 30 projects focused on responsive agriculture, precision nutrition and chronic disease prevention were initiated across the Texas A&M System.

Accomplishments
1. Microbes assist plants in tolerating mercury-contaminated soils. Mercury, a toxic heavy metal can harm the health of humans and animals when consumed through the diet. ARS scientists in College Station, Texas, investigated special soil bacteria called rhizobia that live with legumes (like beans) and help them grow. The bacteria were investigated for their potential to prevent mercury from moving from the soil into the edible parts of plants. Researchers studied rhizobia from a mercury-polluted site and found some were very tolerant to mercury and discovered that mercury- tolerant rhizobia have a specific set of genes called the Mer operon. This ‘genetic toolkit’ helps the bacteria quickly detoxify mercury, reducing the stress on their cells. Scientists were able to confer mercury tolerance to less tolerant bacteria, by transferring the Mer operon. In addition, when host plants were inoculated with the Mer operon strain of bacteria in the presence of mercury stress, the plants made more nodules with more iron, an essential nutrient for nodule development and plant health, and the plants had higher biomass than plants inoculated with bacteria without the Mer operon. This finding is potentially significant as these bacteria could be used to help clean up mercury-contaminated soil and make plants safer to eat.

2. A novel pathway contributing to beneficial effects of exercise on the liver. Cardiorespiratory fitness is an important predictor of overall health outcomes including lower risk of liver diseases. ARS scientists in College Station, Texas, along with scientists at the University of Kansas Medical Center, examined how fitness and exercise impact liver health, specifically it’s ability to process bile acids (BAs), which help digest fats. Utilizing rats that were bred to have either low or high cardiorespiratory fitness the investigators found that naturally fit rats made more bile acids in their livers. The findings suggest that being active helps the liver process fats better. To see if this was crucial, they removed a gene that makes bile acids in some mice. Despite exercise, these mice were unable to resolve fatty liver. The studies uncover a novel pathway of protecting the liver from fat buildup through making more bile acids through exercise. The studies suggest important links between being active and better health outcomes such a lower metabolic and fatty liver disease.

3. Improving micronutrient profiles of sorghum. Plants need essential nutrients, called micronutrients, to grow well and produce good yields. Too little or too much of these nutrients can harm the plant. ARS scientists Unit in College Station, Texas, investigated sorghum, an important crop, to understand how it responds to different levels of iron and zinc. The researchers examined sorghum under conditions with limited or excess iron and zinc and analyzed changes in the plant genes and how much micronutrients the plant took up using mass spectrometry. Low iron and high zinc levels had the biggest impact on the plant's growth and gene activity. Researchers observed novel strategies in sorghum typical of other types of plants in managing zinc and iron levels. They also showed that how sorghum handles iron and zinc is closely linked, and similar gene networks are at play in both its roots and leaves. These findings provide valuable information for scientists to develop better sorghum varieties that can more efficiently take up these crucial micronutrients, ultimately leading to healthier crops.

4. Peeking inside cells with advanced X-rays. Scientists often use two special X-ray techniques to study cells without destroying them: X-ray computed tomography (XCT), which visualizes cell structures, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) imaging, which reveals where different chemical elements are located. Combining these two techniques on the same cell has been tricky because of sample preparation and potential damage from the X-rays. ARS scientists in College Station, Texas, along with researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory found a clever way to overcome these challenges. They developed a process that involves carefully preparing single cells to be more resistant to X-ray damage, precisely targeting and labeling them for both types of X-ray scans, and then using computers to combine the images. This new method allows researchers to study the cell's internal structures, like organelles, at the same time they map out the distribution of various chemical elements within that exact same cell. This breakthrough opens up exciting new possibilities for studying cells such as plant seeds in much more detail.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Responsive Agricultural Food Systems Research Unit: College Station, TX