UK: Blue peas stripped of neurotoxicity to create new cultivars

British scientists are doing this to find an alternative to soybeans that grow poorly in local conditions. Blue or grass pea Lathyrus sativus, aka cicerchia and Indian pea, can become a new crop after selective editing. “The ancient blue sweet pea or grass pea, well known in India, has all the virtues of a weed – resistant to climate change, poor soils, unpretentious and rarely attacked by pests because it contains a toxin. This toxin is also dangerous for humans, which has left grass peas on the board of farmed crops until now, writes Gaynor Selby in an article published by Food Ingredients First. – Researchers at the John Innes Center will use gene editing and modern breeding techniques to transform the potentially poisonous pea into a protein-rich, drought-tolerant and safe version for food and beverage production. Non-toxic grass peas could be grown in many other regions of the world where conditions are unfavorable and farmers are trying to save on fertilizers and ...