Periodic Reporting for period 1 - UnleashLupin (Unleashing the potential of narrow leaf lupin as locally grown protein crop)
Reporting period: 2020-03-02 to 2022-03-01
The major barrier preventing lupin from becoming a more widely cultivated grain crop is the accumulation of toxic specialised metabolites in the grain—the quinolizidine alkaloids. While modern lupin cultivars have been bred to accumulate substantially lower alkaloid levels than their wild counterparts, grain alkaloid levels vary seasonally, often exceeding the threshold for use in industry. Moreover, modern lupin cultivars are more susceptible to herbivores, which is not surprising considering the proposed role of the alkaloids in plant defense. Although little is known about how alkaloids are synthesised, it is accepted that they are synthesised in vegetative tissues and must be transported throughout the plant via the phloem to accumulate in the grain.
The main objective of this UnleashLupin was to identify and characterise transporters involved in the long-distance transport of the alkaloids into the seeds of narrow-leafed lupin. Upon achieving this objective, ‘transport engineering’ of these alkaloids was to be initiated, by knocking out selected transporters to block alkaloid accumulation in the seeds while preserving alkaloid accumulation (and insect deterrence) elsewhere in the plant. This project has achieved most of its objectives and milestones for the period.
To further characterise alkaloid transport in lupin, cell-specific RNA-seq data sets were generated from lupin tissues to identify where exactly these transporters were expressed and how this compares to where the alkaloid biosynthesis takes place. From this information, we could identify those genes with alkaloid transporter activity that were also likely to be facilitating the long-distance transport of alkaloids throughout the lupin plant (as opposed to short-distance). These cell-specific RNA-seq data sets are in preparation to be published so they may be exploited by other lupin researchers.
To carry out ‘transport engineering’ of these alkaloids, a mutagenized population was developed and screened to find lines with mutations in those genes likely to be involved in the long-distance transport of the alkaloids. Several lines harboring mutations in the transporters have been obtained, and their alkaloid phenotype is soon to be assessed. Project results concerning the discovery and characterization of alkaloid transporters will be published upon assessment of the mutant lines.