Norwich, United Kingdom
August 13, 2015
Scientists at the John Innes Centre have developed peas that will help animals absorb more protein from their diet. The study is published in PLOS ONE.
The new peas will cut costs for farmers because less of the novel peas will give the same or higher nutritional benefit than standard peas.
Pea and other legume seeds contain several inhibitors that stop proteins being absorbed fully from the diet of humans, poultry and livestock. Dr Claire Domoney’s group at the John Innes Centre used non-GM methods to develop peas that don’t have these inhibitors.
As well as helping animals get more from feed, better protein digestion decreases the nitrogen content of livestock manure. Excess nitrogen in waste can pollute nearby watercourses.
Previous nutritional studies with broiler chickens have shown that high amounts of the inhibitors can reduce protein availability by up to 10%. Dr Domoney’s group will follow up their proof of concept study with feed nutritionists who will measure the difference the improved peas make to animal digestion.
The novel types of pea will offer advantage to UK breeders and growers targeting markets outside the UK, where the concentration of these inhibitors in seeds is measured not just for feed formulations but also as part of the registration process for new varieties.
The new peas are not expected to have a different taste, as the proteins that have been removed are not linked to the development of flavour. Neither are they expected to cost more than conventional peas that are currently available.
Breeders, including Limagrain and Wherry & Sons, are already showing interest in the new peas. As non-GM methods were used, Dr Domoney expects widespread adoption of the variant pea lines and that the novel peas could reach the market within five years.
Mr Peter Smith, Arable Crops Director at Wherry & Sons Ltd, said: ‘The value of genetics and targeted research in pulse crops aids the UK industry in achieving specific needs. The removal of inhibitors in peas is an example of one of many traits which should enable the industry to move forward with a nutritionally improved crop benefiting throughout the food chain. As pulses potentially become grown on a wider scale in the UK we must remain focused on producing a better product in comparison to imported pulses and protein crops.’
Dr Domoney said: ‘These inhibitors have been a long-standing problem in feed manufacture. The discovery of a wild pea, a Pisum elatius line which lacks a protein defined as an ‘anti-nutrient’, is a clear example of the value of diverse germplasm collections. Being able to generate and/or discover genetic variation for traits of interest to growers is essential for improving crops. In our case, the wild pea mutant has been crossed readily with the cultivated species, Pisum sativum, providing a headstart for breeders.’
This research was funded by Defra Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network, EU Grain Legumes Integrated Project and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The JIC pea germplasm collection is part-funded by Defra.
The paper ‘Eliminating anti-nutritional plant food proteins: the case of seed protease inhibitors in pea’ is available at: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134634
About John Innes Centre
Our mission is to generate knowledge of plants and microbes through innovative research, to train scientists for the future, to apply our knowledge of nature’s diversity to benefit agriculture, the environment, human health and wellbeing, and engage with policy makers and the public.
To achieve these goals we establish pioneering long-term research objectives in plant and microbial science, with a focus on genetics. These objectives include promoting the translation of research through partnerships to develop improved crops and to make new products from microbes and plants for human health and other applications. We also create new approaches, technologies and resources that enable research advances and help industry to make new products. The knowledge, resources and trained researchers we generate help global societies address important challenges including providing sufficient and affordable food, making new products for human health and industrial applications, and developing sustainable bio-based manufacturing.
This provides a fertile environment for training the next generation of plant and microbial scientists, many of whom go on to careers in industry and academia, around the world.
The John Innes Centre is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). In 2013-2014 the John Innes Centre received a total of £31.4M from BBSRC.
About BBSRC
BBSRC invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.
Funded by Government, and with an annual budget of around £509M in 2014-2015 (£459M on research and capital grants and £50.5M for training and fellowships), we support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and supporting people to have healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
For more information about BBSRC, our science and our impact see: www.bbsrc.ac.uk.
For more information about BBSRC strategically funded institutes see: www.bbsrc.ac.uk/institutes.
About the EU Grain Legumes Integrated Project
Grain Legumes Integrated Project (GLIP) is a completed large multinational project, co-funded by the European Commission FP6 Framework Programme. Its goal was to develop new strategies to enhance the use of grain legumes crops in food for human consumption and animal feed in Europe and beyond.
Grain legumes such as peas, chickpeas, beans and lupins have a significant role to play in European agriculture because of their value as an important source of vegetable protein for human and animal alike and their beneficial impact on the environment. However, the use of these crops in European farming systems is relatively limited compared with the rest of the world because of problems with nutrition, disease, drought and plant morphology.
The principle objective of the project was to mobilise and integrate the European research effort on grain legumes to address these major agricultural constraints affecting the production of GL crops in Europe. Emphasis was placed on using state-of-the-art methodologies including genomics and bioinformatics, together with transcriptomics and metabolomics.
GLIP promoted a truly integrated approach to addressing the problems of growing grain legumes in Europe and beyond.
About Defra PCGIN
The Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network (PCGIN) is a platform that serves the process of legume crop improvement in the UK. It establishes the route by which scientific resources, results and knowledge are delivered to breeders, producers and end users, providing a link between these groups and the research base to achieve added value for pulse crops. It provides resources, expertise and understanding that are drawn upon by both public and commercial sectors in breeding, analysis, and in the definition and improvement of product quality relating to both commercial and public goods. It promotes and executes the translation of genomic research tools to crop improvement, consistent with both the needs of UK industry, and Defra objectives relating to sustainable agriculture. Furthermore, it provides links with, and involvement in, European pulse crop research programmes.
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