Research focus: Saponin biosynthesis
Chenopodium quinoa is a crop adapted to saline and drought conditions with seeds of high nutritional value. Quinoa accessions are categorized as either 'bitter' or 'sweet' based on their seed saponin content. Saponins are anti-nutritional secondary plant metabolites, which have to be removed before human consumption, with a high resource- and cost-intensive process.
'Sweet' quinoa accessions often share a SNP in the nucleotide sequence of the gene TSARL1 resulting in a premature stop-codon. TSARL1 is a transcription factor expected to play a major role in saponin biosynthesis with several binding domains across genes involved in the mevalonate pathway. The resulting downregulation of the saponin pathway, along with essential metabolites in the MVA pathway, in 'sweet' quinoa accessions raises the concern that the regulation of nutritionally beneficial secondary metabolites such as vitamin E, carotenoids, and phytosterols may be impacted.
To help understanding the trade-offs between ‘bitter’ and ‘sweet’ quinoa accessions, I dedicate my research towards unraveling the mechanisms of saponin biosynthesis and their impact on other secondary plant metabolites and nutrient bioavailability in quinoa seeds.
