Genetic diversity of Lathyrus sp collected from different geographical regions.

BACKGROUND: The demand for grass peas (Lathyrus sativus L.) had increased as high nutritional safe food, but most of the accessions of South Asia and Africa had low grain harvest. Therefore, this study had been undertaken to collect grass pea germplasm for boosting yields and quality improvement. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study, 400 accessions of grass pea from different geographical regions had characterized by using 56 Simple Sequences Repeat (SSRs) markers. In total 253 alleles were detected, the maximum and minimum polymorphic information content (PIC) indices were 0.70 and 0.34 found in markers G17922 and G18078, correspondingly. The germplasm was split into two main and one sub-group by cluster assay, by SSR assay, and three populations by model-based population structure analysis (Pop1, Pop2 and admixed). Neighbors joining tree assay showed the tested germplasm highly diverse in structure. Three-dimensional principal components analysis (PCA) and two dimensional principles coordinate analysis (PCoA) exhibited two main and one admixed group (P1, P2 and P1P2). In addition, FST population value of pairwise mean and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed high population structure across all pairs of populations on an average 0.1710 advocating all population structure categories varied significantly. The average predictable heterozygosity distant was 0.4472-0.4542 in same cluster for the individuals. CONCLUSION: Discovery from this study revealed SSR markers based polymorphic bands showed in the diversified grasspea germplasm which might be utilized as genetic resource of a breeding scheme and prospective uses for mapping analyses of recombinant inbred lines (RIL).

Role of abscisic acid in modulating drought acclimation, agronomic characteristics and ß-N-oxalyl-L-α,ß-diaminopropionic acid (ß-ODAP) accumulation in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.).

BACKGROUND: ß-N-oxalyl-l-α,ß-diaminopropionic acid (ß-ODAP) is a physiological indicator in response to drying soil. However, how abscisic acid (ABA) modulates ß-ODAP accumulation and its related agronomic characteristics in drought stressed grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) continue to be unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of ABA addition on drought tolerance, agronomic characteristics and ß-ODAP content in grass pea under drought stress. RESULTS: Exogenous ABA significantly promoted ABA levels by 19.3% and 18.3% under moderate and severe drought stress, respectively, compared to CK (without ABA, used as control check treatment). ABA addition activated earlier trigger of non-hydraulic root-sourced signal at 69.1% field capacity (FC) (65.5% FC in CK) and accordingly prolonged its operation period to 45.6% FC (49.0% FC in CK). This phenomenon was mechanically associated with the physiological mediation of ABA, where its addition significantly promoted the activities of leaf superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase enzymes and the biosynthesis of leaf proline, simultaneously lowering the accumulation of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide under moderate and severe stresses. Interestingly, ABA application significantly increased seed ß-ODAP content by 21.7% and 21.3% under moderate and severe drought stress, but did not change leaf ß-ODAP content. Furthermore, ABA application produced similar shoot biomass and grain yield as control groups. CONCLUSION: Exogenous ABA improved the drought adaptability of grass pea and promoted the synthesis of ß-ODAP in seeds but not in leaves. Our findings provide novel insights into the agronomic role of ABA in relation to ß-ODAP enrichment in grass pea subjected to drought stress. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Identification, characterization, and validation of NBS-encoding genes in grass pea.

Grass pea is a promising crop with the potential to provide food and fodder, but its genomics has not been adequately explored. Identifying genes for desirable traits, such as drought tolerance and disease resistance, is critical for improving the plant. Grass pea currently lacks known R-genes, including the nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) gene family, which plays a key role in protecting the plant from biotic and abiotic stresses. In our study, we used the recently published grass pea genome and available transcriptomic data to identify 274 NBS-LRR genes. The evolutionary relationships between the classified genes on the reported plants and LsNBS revealed that 124 genes have TNL domains, while 150 genes have CNL domains. All genes contained exons, ranging from 1 to 7. Ten conserved motifs with lengths ranging from 16 to 30 amino acids were identified. We found TIR-domain-containing genes in 132 LsNBSs, with 63 TIR-1 and 69 TIR-2, and RX-CCLike in 84 LsNBSs. We also identified several popular motifs, including P-loop, Uup, kinase-GTPase, ABC, ChvD, CDC6, Rnase_H, Smc, CDC48, and SpoVK. According to the gene enrichment analysis, the identified genes undergo several biological processes such as plant defense, innate immunity, hydrolase activity, and DNA binding. In the upstream regions, 103 transcription factors were identified that govern the transcription of nearby genes affecting the plant excretion of salicylic acid, methyl jasmonate, ethylene, and abscisic acid. According to RNA-Seq expression analysis, 85% of the encoded genes have high expression levels. Nine LsNBS genes were selected for qPCR under salt stress conditions. The majority of the genes showed upregulation at 50 and 200 µM NaCl. However, LsNBS-D18, LsNBS-D204, and LsNBS-D180 showed reduced or drastic downregulation compared to their respective expression levels, providing further insights into the potential functions of LsNBSs under salt stress conditions. They provide valuable insights into the potential functions of LsNBSs under salt stress conditions. Our findings also shed light on the evolution and classification of NBS-LRR genes in legumes, highlighting the potential of grass pea. Further research could focus on the functional analysis of these genes, and their potential use in breeding programs to improve the salinity, drought, and disease resistance of this important crop.

Construction of A GBS-Based High-Density Genetic Map and Flower Color-Related Loci Mapping in Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.).

Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.), a legume crop with excellent resistance to a broad array of environmental stressors, has, to this point, been poorly genetically characterized. High-density genetic linkage maps are critical for draft genome assembly, quantitative trait loci (QTLs) analysis, and gene mining. The lack of a high-density genetic linkage map has limited both genomic studies and selective breeding in grasspea. Here, we developed a high-density genetic linkage map of grasspea using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) to sequence 154 grasspea plants, comprising 2 parents and 152 F2 progeny. In all, 307.74 Gb of data was produced, including 2,108,910,938 paired-end reads, as well as 3536 SNPs mapped to seven linkage groups (LG1-LG7). With an average length of 996.52 cM per LG, the overall genetic distance was 6975.68 cM. Both the χ2 test and QTL analysis, based on the Kruskal-Wallis (KW) test and interval mapping (IM) analysis, revealed the monogenic inheritance of flower color in grasspea, with the responsible QTL located between 308.437 cM and 311.346 cM in LG4. The results can aid grasspea genome assembly and accelerate the selective breeding of new grasspea germplasm resources.

Reduction of ß-ODAP and IP6 contents in Lathyrus sativus L. seed by high hydrostatic pressure.

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) seeds contain an endogenous neurotoxic non-proteinogenic amino acid, ß-N-oxalyl-l-α,ß-diaminopropionic acid (ß-ODAP), a major limiting factor-for their human consumption. Furthermore, phytate (IP6), a well-known antinutrient is present in concentration capable of hindering bioavailability of iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and other micronutrients from the seeds. Due to the reported capability of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) to reduce the content of certain antinutritional/toxic agents in seeds and grains, the impact of HHP on the reduction of ß-ODAP and IP6 were investigated. The contents of ß-ODAP of accessions from different regions in Ethiopia were found to be in the range of 51.94 to 806.52 mg/100 g. Accession (GF1- Alemu, AK) exhibiting the highest ß-ODAP content was selected for HHP treatment in soaked and batter forms using Central Composite Face Centered Design of experiments. The best HHP conditions in respect to ß-ODAP reduction were also applied to the accession (GP-240038) with the lowest ß-ODAP-content, a genetically improved variety (Wassie) and a variety from Germany (GR). The HHP treatment at 600 MPa for 25 min of seeds soaked for 6 h and 12 h exhibited the maximum reduction of ß-ODAP (232.11 mg/100 g) and IP6 (21.11 mg/100 g) respectively. The combined incremental effect of pressure and soaking time resulted in a more significant (p ≤ .001) reduction in both compounds than the interaction of pressure with holding time (p ≤ .05). A reduction of ß-ODAP from 36.00 to 71.22% by soaked-HHP treatment was observed. ß-ODAP reductions were always higher for soaked compared to batter grass pea seeds. IP6 contents after HHP treatment ranged from 33.65 mg/100 g to nill. It can be concluded that pressure, soaking and holding time as well as the grass pea seed accession/variety had great impact on molecular structure changes, enhancement of enzyme activity and reduction in ß-ODAP and IP6 content.

Calidad nutricional y evaluación biológica de la harina de arveja chata (Lathyrus sativus L) cocida en ratas / Nutritional quality and biological evaluation of cooked chata pea (Lathyrus sativus L) flour in rats

Introducción: En el mundo existen varias especies de leguminosas locales que no se exportan ni se cultivan por falta de conocimiento, a pesar de que son de buen aporte de proteínas, extracto libre de nitrógeno, fibra y bajo contenido de grasa. La arveja chata (Lathyrus sativus L.) reconocida por su alto contenido de proteínas de origen vegetal, podría contribuir a la seguridad alimentaria, a la biodiversidad de las leguminosas, a la reducción de la pobreza y del hambre.Objetivo: Determinar la calidad nutricional y evaluación biológica de la harina de arveja chata (Lathyrus sativus L.) cocida en ratas.Materiales y métodos: Se utilizó la arveja chata (Lathyrus sativus L.), que se cultiva y consume en Ancash - Perú, se realizó análisis fisicoquímicos para determinar la calidad nutricional a la harina y parámetros de evaluación biológica en 50 ratas de 28 días de edad.Resultados y discusiones: Su composición proximal tuvo una humedad de 9,28 %; proteína cruda de 23,48 %; grasa de 1,82 %; fibra de 5,64 %; cenizas de 2,74 %; extracto libre de nitrógeno de 57,04 % y 338,46 kcal. Asimismo, no se encontraron diferencias significativas (p >0,05) en los parámetros de evaluación biológica, lo que muestra que los datos se ajustan a una distribución normal, se obtuvo una digestibilidad aparente de 75,09 %, valor biológico de 69,03 %, ratio de proteína neta (NPR) de 2,25 y ratio de eficiencia proteica (PER) de 1,57.Conclusiones: Se concluyó que la arveja chata (Lathyrus sativus L.) cocida es una buena alternativa alimenticia de origen vegetal y cuando se consume con cereales y/o semillas, se obtiene una proteína completa.(AU)

Introduction: In the world there are several local legumespecies that are not exported or cultivated due to lack ofknowledge, despite the fact that they are of good protein, ni-trogen free extract, fiber and low fat content. The chata pea(Lathyrus sativus L.), recognized for their high protein contentof vegetable origin, could contribute to food security, legumebiodiversity, and the reduction of poverty and hunger.Objective: To determine the nutritional quality and biolog-ical evaluation of cooked chata pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) flourin rats.Materials & methods: The pea (Lathyrus sativus L.),which is grown and consumed in Ancash - Peru, was used,physicochemical analysis was performed to determine the nu-tritional quality of the flour and biological evaluation parame-ters in 50 rats from 28 days of age.Results and discussions: Its proximal composition had ahumidity of 9,28 %; protein of 23,48 %; fat of 1,82 %; fiber of 5,64 %; ash of 2,74 %; nitrogen free extract of 57,04 %and 338,46 kcal. Also, no significant differences (p>0,05)were found in the biological evaluation parameters, showingthat the data fit a normal distribution, apparent digestibility of75,09 %, biological value of 69,03 %, net protein ratio (NPR)of 2,25 and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of 1,57. Conclusions: It was concluded that cooked chata pea(Lathyrus sativus L.) flour is a good food alternative of veg-etable origin and when consumed with cereals and/or seeds,a complete protein is obtained.(AU)

Homoarginine, ß-ODAP, and asparagine contents of grass pea landraces cultivated in Turkey.

The seeds of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.), a drought tolerant crop, were analysed for quantitative determination of the free amino acids ß-N-oxalyl-l-α,ß-diaminopropionic acid (ß-ODAP), homoarginine and asparagine by a simple and fast capillary electrophoretic method. In boric acid (80mM, pH 8.0) running buffer system, not only were α and ß-ODAP successfully separated, but also an efficient sample stacking was achieved during hydrodynamic sample introduction. The validated method was used for quantification of ß-ODAP, homoarginine and asparagine in seed extracts of 52 Lathyrus local landraces from various regions of Turkey and one released cultivar. The concentration ranges of amino acids were found as 0.21-1.27% (w/w) for homoarginine, 0.10-0.87% (w/w) for ß-ODAP and 0.006-0.47% (w/w) for asparagine. A positive correlation between homoarginine and ß-ODAP quantities in seeds of 53 Lathyrus local landraces was shown to exist (r(2)=0.649).