Common Vetch: A Drought Tolerant, High Protein Neglected Leguminous Crop With Potential as a Sustainable Food Source

Nguyen, Vy; Riley, Samuel; Nagel, Stuart; Fisk, Ian; Searle, Iain R.

doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.00818

Common Vetch: A Drought Tolerant, High Protein Neglected Leguminous Crop With Potential as a Sustainable Food Source

Nguyen, Vy; Riley, Samuel; Nagel, Stuart; Fisk, Ian; Searle, Iain R.

Authors

Vy Nguyen

Samuel Riley

Stuart Nagel

Professor IAN FISK IAN.FISK@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Flavour Science

Iain R. Searle

Abstract

© Copyright © 2020 Nguyen, Riley, Nagel, Fisk and Searle. Global demand for protein is predicted to increase by 50% by 2050. To meet the increasing demand whilst ensuring sustainability, protein sources that generate low-greenhouse gas emissions are required, and protein-rich legume seeds have the potential to make a significant contribution. Legumes like common vetch (Vicia sativa) that grow in marginal cropping zones and are drought tolerant and resilient to changeable annual weather patterns, will be in high demand as the climate changes. In common vetch, the inability to eliminate the γ-glutamyl-β-cyano-alanine (GBCA) toxin present in the seed has hindered its utility as a human and animal food for many decades, leaving this highly resilient species an “orphan” legume. However, the availability of the vetch genome and transcriptome data together with the application of CRISPR-Cas genome editing technologies lay the foundations to eliminate the GBCA toxin constraint. In the near future, we anticipate that a zero-toxin vetch variety will become a significant contributor to global protein demand.

Citation

Nguyen, V., Riley, S., Nagel, S., Fisk, I., & Searle, I. R. (2020). Common Vetch: A Drought Tolerant, High Protein Neglected Leguminous Crop With Potential as a Sustainable Food Source. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11, Article 818. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00818

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	May 21, 2020
Online Publication Date	Jun 19, 2020
Publication Date	Jun 19, 2020
Deposit Date	Nov 18, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Nov 18, 2020
Journal	Frontiers in Plant Science
Electronic ISSN	1664-462X
Publisher	Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	11
Article Number	818
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00818
Keywords	Plant Science
Public URL	https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5051306
Publisher URL	https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.00818/full