Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a rich source of protein cultivated as an insurance crop in Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Its resilience to both drought and flooding makes it a promising crop for ensuring food security in a changing climate. The lack of genetic resources and the crop's association with the disease neurolathyrism have limited the cultivation of grass pea. Here, we present an annotated, long read-based assembly of the 6.5 Gbp L. sativus genome. Using this genome sequence, we have elucidated the biosynthetic pathway leading to the formation of the neurotoxin, β-L-oxalyl-2,3-diaminopropionic acid (β-L-ODAP). The final reaction of the pathway depends on an interaction between L. sativus acyl-activating enzyme 3 (LsAAE3) and a BAHD-acyltransferase (LsBOS) that form a metabolon activated by CoA to produce β-L-ODAP. This provides valuable insight into the best approaches for developing varieties which produce substantially less toxin.

Biosciences eastern and central Africa International Livestock Research Institute Hub ILRI campus Naivasha Road P O 30709 Nairobi 00100 Kenya

Department of Biological Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Department of Biology Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Earlham Institute Norwich Research Park Colney Lane Norwich NR4 7UZ UK

Future Food Beacon of Excellence University of Nottingham NG7 2RD Nottingham UK

Global Crop Diversity Trust Platz der Vereinten Nationen 7 53113 Bonn Germany

Institute of Plant Molecular Biology Biology Centre CAS Branisovska 31 Ceske Budejovice CZ 37005 Czech Republic

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas Avenue Hafiane Cherkaoui Rabat Morocco

John Innes Centre Norwich Research Park Colney Lane Norwich NR4 7UH UK

National Institute of Agricultural Botany 93 Laurence Weaver Road Cambridge CB3 0LE UK

Norwich Institute for Sustainable Development School of International Development University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ UK

Queensland University of Technology 2 George St Brisbane City QLD 4000 Australia

Research and Innovation Centre Fondazione Edmund Mach Via Edmund Mach 1 38098 San Michele all' Adige Italy

School of Life Sciences University of Nottingham University Park Nottingham NG7 2RD UK

School of Traditional Chinese Medicine Capital Medical University You An Men Beijing 100069 PR China

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Cambridge MA 02142 USA

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Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 25;14(1):5199. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40984-6. PubMed

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A chromosome-scale reference genome of grasspea (Lathyrus sativus)