{"id":3462,"date":"2026-02-18T05:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/?p=3462"},"modified":"2026-03-06T21:13:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T21:13:34","slug":"saponin-free-peas-by-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/saponin-free-peas-by-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"[Research Roundup] Breeding Saponin-Free Peas Through Gene Editing by PeaCE"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3462\" class=\"elementor elementor-3462\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5ccae960 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5ccae960\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1749bda9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1749bda9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">Dry pea seeds are rich in plant protein and dietary\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW113753192 BCX0\">fibre<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">, but their use in foods is limited by the bitter saponins they\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">contain<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">In this study, r<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">esearchers, including a member of the\u00a0<\/span><strong><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW113753192 BCX0\">PeaCE<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">\u00a0team, use\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">a CRISPR<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW113753192 BCX0\">\u00a0gene editing technology to develop saponin\u2011free peas.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW113753192 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h3>Keywords<\/h3><ul><li>CRISPR\/Cas9<\/li><li>Dry peas<\/li><li>Gene editing \/ Genome editing<\/li><li>Saponin<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f5726d1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f5726d1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1k7-2EfeSD-JwJ3Lt800884s-fIpksZ1A\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/peaCE-Hodgins-et-al-2024-1024x576.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-3425\" alt=\"visual abstract of a saponin-free peas research\" srcset=\"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/peaCE-Hodgins-et-al-2024-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/peaCE-Hodgins-et-al-2024-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/peaCE-Hodgins-et-al-2024-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/peaCE-Hodgins-et-al-2024-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/peaCE-Hodgins-et-al-2024-18x10.png 18w, https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/peaCE-Hodgins-et-al-2024.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Click to view this visual abstract as a PDF<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7ffe716 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7ffe716\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>Research Highlights<\/h3><ul><li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Pea seeds are nutritious but contain saponins, which create a bitter taste and limit their use<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">CRISPR* technology (a gene-editing technology that lets scientists make precise changes to DNA) targets the PsBAS1 gene, reducing saponins by 99.8%<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Saponin-free peas have reduced bitterness and the potential for better-tasting varieties<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h3>Editorial Reflections<\/h3><p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW98800668 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW98800668 BCX0\">A key takeaway from this study is the successful development of saponin\u2011free peas through precise gene editing. This breakthrough suggests that similar approaches could potentially be applied to other saponin\u2011rich crops, improving\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW98800668 BCX0\">flavours<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW98800668 BCX0\">\u00a0and expanding their use in nutritious, protein\u2011rich foods.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW98800668 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">PeaCE\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">project aims to improve the resilience of pulse crops, like field peas, which naturally fix nitrogen and have a lower carbon footprint. Using advanced genetic tools, the team is developing peas with greater drought and disease resistance to encourage wider adoption in crop rotations and substantially reduce GHG emissions. A contributing author from the team is:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"5\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/tom-warkentin-0426b711\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Tom Warkentin<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0\u2013 Pea Breeding Lead, University of Saskatchewan\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279,&quot;335559991&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Food for Thought:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Read the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/pld3.563\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">full article here<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0Looking ahead, if saponin\u2011free peas became widely available, would you choose them as a consumer? Why or why not?\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h3>References<\/h3><p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW141274873 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW141274873 BCX0\">Hodgins, C. L., Salama, E. M., Kumar, R., Zhao, Y., Roth, S. A., Cheung, I. Z., Chen, J.,\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW141274873 BCX0\">Arganosa<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW141274873 BCX0\">, G. C., Warkentin, T. D., Bhowmik, P., Ham, B.\u2011K., &amp; Ro, D.\u2011K. (2024). Creating saponin\u2011free yellow pea seeds by CRISPR\/Cas9\u2011enabled mutagenesis on \u03b2\u2011amyrin synthase. Plant Direct, 8(1), e563.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><a class=\"Hyperlink SCXW141274873 BCX0\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/pld3.563\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"TextRun Underlined SCXW141274873 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW141274873 BCX0\" data-ccp-charstyle=\"Hyperlink\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/pld3.563<\/span><\/span><\/a><span class=\"TextRun SCXW141274873 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW141274873 BCX0\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW141274873 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-df8a30c elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"df8a30c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a448d2c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a448d2c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">About the Climate-Smart Agri-Food Network<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:360,&quot;335559739&quot;:80}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3><p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Funded by Genome Canada through the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/genomecanada.ca\/challenge-areas\/climate-smart-agriculture-and-food-systems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Climate\u2011Smart Agriculture and Food Systems<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0portfolio, the Network brings together nine Interdisciplinary Challenge Teams (ICTs) and two hubs \u2014 the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/ag-act-agricultural-genomics-action-centre\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Agricultural Genomics Action Centre (AG\u2011ACt)<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/cs-dcc-climate-smart-data-collaboration-centre\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Climate\u2011Smart Data Collaboration Centre (CS\u2011DCC)<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0\u2014 to advance climate\u2011smart agriculture through genomic innovations.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dry pea seeds are rich in plant protein and dietary\u00a0fibre, but their use in foods is limited by the bitter saponins they\u00a0contain.\u00a0In this study, researchers, including a member of the\u00a0PeaCE\u00a0team, use\u00a0a CRISPR\u00a0gene editing technology to develop saponin\u2011free peas.\u00a0 Keywords CRISPR\/Cas9 Dry peas Gene editing \/ Genome editing Saponin Click to view this visual abstract as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3462"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3662,"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3462\/revisions\/3662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatesmartagrifood.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}