Low glucosinolate pennycress meal and methods of making

Inventors

Ulmasov, Tim • Sedbrook, John C. • Marks, Michael David • Chopra, Ratan

Assignees

Illinois State University • CoverCress Inc • University of Minnesota System

Abstract

Pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) seed, seed lots, seed meal, and compositions with reduced glucosinolate content as well as plants that yield such seed, seed lots, seed meal, and compositions are provided. Methods of making and using the pennycress plants and/or seed that provide such seed, seed lots, seed meal, and compositions are also provided.

Core Innovation

The disclosure describes pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) seed lots and pennycress seed meal, including non-defatted and defatted seed meal, that exhibit a reduction in sinigrin content compared to control seed or control meal lacking the specified genetic changes. The low-sinigrin phenotype is attributed to suppression of endogenous glucosinolate biosynthesis and related processes, including transport, hydrolysis, and expression-regulator genes, through genetic changes that reduce expression and/or transcription factor activity in endogenous pennycress genes.

In particular, the disclosure provides pennycress seeds comprising loss-of-function mutations in endogenous pennycress genes encoding a polypeptide associated with SEQ ID NO: 161, or allelic variants having at least 95% sequence identity. Alternatively, the disclosure describes pennycress seeds comprising transgenes or genome rearrangements that suppress expression of the endogenous pennycress gene encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 161 or an allelic variant, and relates the suppressed pathways to gene sets spanning biosynthetic enzymes, transporters, regulators of glucosinolate hydrolysis, and transcription factor regulators.

The disclosure also documents representative mutant germplasms and associated genetic elements, and describes stacking of genome-editing targets, including approaches targeting transcription factor redundancy and transporter gene combinations. The resulting seeds and tissues are associated with reduced glucosinolate levels, including sinigrin, relative to control seeds, and the disclosure further describes preparation of non-defatted and defatted seed meal produced from seed lots with reduced sinigrin content compared to corresponding control meal.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim covers a genetically defined pennycress seed in which a specified endogenous gene is disrupted or suppressed, producing reduced sinigrin content versus a control seed. Across the dependents provided, the claim family refines the endogenous gene identity and adds quantitative and seed-lot composition constraints, and it narrows methods for producing non-defatted and defatted pennycress seed meal with reduced sinigrin relative to control.

Overall, the claims cover a pennycress seed with reduced sinigrin content achieved by a loss-of-function mutation or by a transgene or genome rearrangement that suppresses expression of an endogenous pennycress gene encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 161, or an allelic variant at a defined sequence identity threshold. The dependents further specify the endogenous gene sequence, a total glucosinolate range, optional seed-lot components, and methods to prepare non-defatted and defatted pennycress seed meal with reduced sinigrin relative to corresponding control meal.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications