Combating anti-nutritional compounds in food crops: a multifaceted approach to understanding and quantifying Calystegine accumulation in potato plants

Please, briefly introduce your project. What motivated you to focus on this specific research topic, and why do you think it is particularly relevant today?

Potato is a vital staple crop providing essential nutrition and food security, but its quality is affected by the accumulation of natural toxic defense compounds, particularly glycoalkaloids (SGAs) and calystegines (CAs). While SGAs are well-studied, CAs were only recently discovered. These anti-nutritional alkaloids, found in potatoes and other Solanaceous foods, can disrupt carbohydrate metabolism and nutrient absorption in humans. Despite their impact on nutritional quality, CA biosynthesis remains poorly understood. Our previous findings revealed varying CA levels among potato cultivars, but the genetic factors behind these differences are unknown. This knowledge gap, along with growing food security concerns, motivated our investigation into CA biosynthesis mechanisms in potatoes. By using an integrated approach combining transcriptomics, metabolomics, and CRISPR/Cas9, our project aims to deepen our understanding of CA metabolism. Understanding these pathways will help identify and develop potato varieties with reduced anti-nutritional compounds, ultimately improving food quality and safety.

Can you describe the innovative aspects of your project and the potential impact it could have on breeding research?

Recently discovered, CAs pose new challenges for potato metabolism research and food safety. Comprehensive studies on CA biosynthesis remain scarce and have mainly focused on the medicinal plant Atropa belladonna. This research project uses potato as a model system to: provide new insights into the CA biosynthesis and regulation; identify key genes responsible for cultivar-specific CA variation; and generate the first CA gene-edited potato plants using CRISPR/Cas9. Another key innovation is the development of a highly sensitive method for CA quantification, even at low levels. The knowledge, tools, and materials generated will advance the CA metabolism research and will help modern breeding programs to develop potatoes with improved nutritional profiles. Additionally, this project will provide the basis for studying the interplay between CA and SGA synthesis, to analyse whether CA or SGA reduction interferes with each other. Ultimately, our findings will contribute to the breeding of safer, more nutritious potato varieties.

How did the collaboration between faculties contribute to the design of your project and what unique opportunities does it bring?

Interfaculty collaboration is undoubtedly a pillar for the design, development, and future success of this project. Each research group brings unique expertise and tools in analytical chemistry, potato metabolism studies, and potato gene editing – capabilities that would have been impossible or prohibitively expensive for any group to develop alone. This project has helped to strengthen and extend the existing collaborations between our three research groups. Working with experts from different fields provides invaluable insights, access to specialised techniques and even opportunities to learn new methods. We believe that the knowledge generated, the results obtained, and the methods developed through this research will create new opportunities to secure future funding from different funding calls such as FORMAS, Novo Nordisk or VR among others. In addition, strengthening these collaborations will open doors for other future research initiatives, creating opportunities to explore new scientific questions and joint funding applications.

Any final word or recommendation for future applicants?

Future applicants should see this call as an opportunity to both advance in their research and to build strong collaborations. For small research groups, collaborations are essential to generate robust results and to conduct studies involving multidisciplinary approaches. This call offers a unique opportunity to support such collaborations from different expertise. When preparing your application, start early and ensure that your research question is well-defined with clear and feasible objectives. It is important to highlight existing knowledge gaps, the project's potential impact on research and breeding programs, and clearly outline expected deliverables for a comprehensive proposal. Seeking feedback from colleagues with experience who can act as peer reviewers is always a good idea. Finally, perseverance and patience are key for any researcher. Each application, successful or not, helps refine research ideas and improve future proposals and funding opportunities.