• Universitat de València

• Rubén Casatejada Anchel

Food of plant origin is considered as healthy, and can help preventing diseases. However, it lacks sufficient protein content to maintain a balanced human diet. Crops, especially cereals, are naturally low in protein. Climate change negatively affects this already low content, as it was observed that an increment of CO₂ concentration increases the starch content in plants, while the protein one diminishes. The obtaining of products of plant origin with improved nutritional characteristics, especially those with a greater protein content, is a priority objective of the European Union. This is motivated both by the idea of sustainable development as well as by the health benefits of these products, as an excessive consumption of animal products (especially red and processed meats) can have a negative impact. Genetically modified plants that have been developed up until now have not achieved sufficiently satisfactory results.

Researchers of the Universitat de València present a new procedure for obtaining plants with a high nutritional value through the activation of a serine biosynthesis pathway (phosphorylated pathway), which is crucial for the control of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur flows. Through genetic engineering, the researchers have overexpressed genes that codify enzymes of the phosphorylated pathway of serine biosynthesis in plants, in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana and in corn. The results obtained by the researchers prove that this invention leads the plant metabolism towards a higher content of some essential amino acids and, at the same time, increases the production of proteins and carbohydrates in general (and not only of a single specific protein or amino acid).

The increase of plants’ nutritional value through the increment of their protein or carbohydrate content is of industrial interest, particularly for the food and agriculture industry. Plant products with high protein or carbohydrate content can be the basis for developing new food with added nutritional value, enriched in different metabolites depending on the needs.

This invention prevents the effect of climate change on the nutritional quality of crops and increases the production of protein with low economic and environmental costs. It could also reduce the consumption of animal source protein by humans and livestock. A benefit worth highlighting is that it can increase the production of protein and starch in plants growing in conditions of high CO₂ concentration.

• Patent granted