Selektion auf Methioninreichtum des Samenproteins bei heimischen Leguminosen

Summary

While grain legumes can be regarded as highly valuable protein source for animal nutrition, certain drawbacks inhibit their use as sole foodstuff for livestock. The nutrient quality is reduced by low concentrations of tryptophan and sulfur amino acids. In the past substantial breeding effort has been invested in the reduction of antinutritional components and disease resistance while the protein quality has not been a focal point. To improve the protein quality the elevation of the low sulfur amino acid content is of prominent importance especially for organic production where high methionine feed components are rare. The present work tries to establish a method to select methionine enriched grain legumes for further breeding steps. Agronomical important European grain legume species were investigated (Lupinus angustifolius L., Pisum sativum L. and Vicia Faba L.). Plants grown from chemically mutagenized seeds were screened according to leaf chlorophyll content, radicle growth in a phytotoxic ethionine solution and seed S-contents. Results indicate usefulness of the screening procedure for L. angustifolius (increase of methionine content by up to 20%) and partly for P. sativum, while not for V. faba.