Investigating Genetic Diversity and Correlations Between Mineral Concentration and Neurotoxin (β-ODAP) Content in the...

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a nutritious legume crop well-adapted to fragile agro-ecosystems that can survive under challenging climatic conditions. The cultivation of grass pea faces stigma primarily due to the presence of β-N-Oxalyl-L-α, β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP), which is associated with a risk of inducing neurolathyrism upon prolonged consumption of its grains as a staple diet. The grass pea improvement program of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) aims to reduce β-ODAP content to a safe level along with improving yield potential and nutritional quality of grass pea. In this study, 183 germplasm accessions representing 13 different Lathyrus species and 11 L. sativus breeding lines were evaluated for β-ODAP content based on Rao protocol and mineral concentration using ICP-OES. Significant variability was observed among the accessions for the studied traits. The results showed low β-ODAP content and high mineral concentration in 25 accessions of crop wild relatives, which included L. cicera, L. ochrus, and L. cassius, with one accession IG65277 of L. cassius, in addition to two lines, IG117034 and ACC1335, of L. sativus having very low β-ODAP content. Furthermore, some accessions of L. pseudocicera, L. aphaca, L. cicera, L. marmoratus, L. gorgoni, and L. tingitanus also showed low β-ODAP content. The results showed significant positive correlations among different trait combinations, viz., K and P (r = 0.193 ***), K and Fe (r = 0.177 ***), Mn and Fe (r = 0.210 ***), Mn and Se (r = 0.137 ***), β-ODAP and Mg (r = 0.158 **), and β-ODAP and Ca (r = 0.140 **). L. cicera, L. ochrus, and L. cassius were identified as a great source for improving the mineral concentration and reducing β-ODAP content in the cultivated grass pea.