News in brief: Scientists are working on developing safe versions of the poisonous grass pea, a protein-rich and drought-resistant plant that causes irreversible paralysis. By using gene editing or selective breeding, they aim to create non-toxic varieties that could provide valuable nutrition and help combat climate change in regions where the grass pea grows.
A group of scientists studying the grass pea say they could soon be able to make safe versions of the poisonous plant. Known as Lathryus Sativus, the crop is noted for being rich in protein. However, although hardy and nutritious, it contains a poison that could trigger irreversible paralysis when humans it.
Gene editing or selective breeding hold promise of a non-toxic variety of the protein-rich and drought-resistant plant, report on the research project says. Project scientist Dr. Anne Edwards of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, says that this variant could be valuable to our undernourished and overheated planet.
The grass pea grows in some of the worldâs most inhospitable and arid regions. Farmers grow them only as an insurance crops, to provide short-term food supply, when other crops have failed. Poisoning, however, consumers in places like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Ethiopia and Algeria still suffer consequences of the poison.
The scientists have uncovered how the plant produces its poison and expect to create versions that are safe for consumption in the near future. They have found a way to use gene-editing or standard breeding techniques to change this process. Without its toxic effects, the plant can plays a crucial role in a world facing climate emergency issues.
When eaten as part of a balanced diet, the grass pea is safe. Eating it alone can cause lathyrism, a neurological disorder that causes lower limbs paralysis.
According to Edwards, the plants is also useful in making fertiliser as it converts nitrogen in the air into ammonium compounds using bacteria in its deep growing roots. It then releases the ammonium compounds into the soil and help it improves its quality.
Dr. Peter Emmrich from the Norwich Institute for Sustainable Development, who is one of the scientists working to develop safe varieties of the grass pea, also highlights the plant’s high drought resistance, which is especially important because of climate change.
