Tsar-pea: Russia has found a way to grow legumes with improved properties

Peas will become more useful: "Sirius" scientists have found a way to breed new varieties of legumes with increased protein content and resistance to diseases and climatic stresses. This opens the way to more accurate and rapid crop breeding, which will be able to produce stable yields and provide a diet of vegetable protein even in adverse conditions. According to experts interviewed by "Izvestia", such varieties will reduce dependence on imported soy protein and help provide residents of regions with difficult weather conditions with nutritious and healthy products. However, it is necessary to confirm the results obtained in the laboratory in practice.

Legumes with improved properties

Scientists at "Sirius" University of Science and Technology have found genes that can affect the ability of pea cells to turn into a full-fledged plant after genetic modification. The researchers compared two varieties that differ greatly in their ability to regenerate, and found out which genes work differently in their cells. At the same time, scientists have improved a method that allows them to quickly find genetically modified pea cells. The results obtained will help to verify the role of the found genes and further develop technologies for creating new varieties of peas and other legumes, for example, richer in protein, resistant to diseases and adverse environmental conditions.

Peas (Pisum sativum) belong to crops that are difficult to transform, scientists explained to "Izvestia". One of the main problems is that its cells, after genetic transformation, are rarely able to form a full-fledged plant.

""To understand the molecular reasons for this limitation, the researchers identified seven pea lines capable of forming somatic embryos (pea embryos grown in the laboratory from ordinary non—germ cells of the plant), and selected two contrasting varieties for detailed comparison - "Dinga" and "Gloriosa." The first one is capable of regeneration — its tissues can repair the body from isolated cells, while the second one has not been found to have such a mechanism. Scientists have studied the activity of genes in the cells of these varieties at the stage when embryos begin to form from ordinary plant cells. The study allowed us to understand which genes work during this period and select potential regeneration regulators for further testing.

At the same time, the team improved the genetic transformation system itself. Scientists have shown that the RUBY visual marker makes it possible to detect transgenic tissues by their characteristic red staining without additional fluorescent equipment. We also selected the conditions under which the system works as efficiently as possible.

""This creates the basis for the search for key regeneration regulators that can be tested not only in peas, but also in other legumes,"" said Elina Potsenkovskaya, project leader, researcher at the Genetics department of the Scientific Center for Genetics and Life Sciences at Sirius University of Science and Technology.

A universal mechanism that would significantly improve the recovery of peas has not yet been discovered. However, the researchers now have an optimized transformation system and a set of the most promising candidates for experimental verification. In the future, this approach will help overcome the regeneration barrier in peas and other difficult—to-transform legumes and accelerate the production of varieties with the necessary properties, such as increased protein content, improved nutritional characteristics, and resistance to diseases and climatic stresses.

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The perspective of the method for the food industry

"Sirius" University's research is of great importance for Russian science. ""Identifying the ability of pea cells to turn into a full—fledged plant after genetic modification is one of the steps in creating new high-margin crops," "Izvestia"" head of the Smart Supply Chain segment of the FoodNet working group (Foodnet) NTI Sergey Kosogor.

— Russia has traditionally faced adverse weather events, some regions are in the zone of risky farming, and with climate change, our agriculture is increasingly faced with surprises, temperature fluctuations, freezing rains and ice, fungal diseases, and so on. In this regard, the creation of crops resistant to diseases and adverse environmental conditions will be in demand by our producers," the specialist noted.

The genetics of peas has long remained a difficult task: their cells are extremely reluctant to return to the state of the whole plant after editing. Scientists compared two varieties with contrasting regenerative ability and found regulatory genes that actually work as "switches" that determine whether a cell wakes up or remains just a cell in a test tube, explained molecular biologist Arina Kholkina.

"This changes the logic of selection: instead of blindly searching, specific targets appear, and the improved method of searching for altered cells acts like a flashlight in the dark, highlighting those that are worth working with without additional equipment," the expert noted.

According to her, the benefits of legumes with improved properties are confirmed by the market. Peas contain 20-30% protein with a full set of essential amino acids. In 2025, the volume of the Russian market of vegetable protein products amounted to about 180 thousand tons, and by 2030 it could reach 200 thousand tons, Arina Kholkina said. Therefore, new varieties rich in protein and resistant to diseases are in demand.: they reduce dependence on imported soy protein and make food more affordable and protein-rich.

The project was implemented as part of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation with parity funding under the "Sirius" state program for scientific and technological development of the federal territory. Scientists note that the data obtained in the laboratory has yet to be tested in practice.