Metabolite profiling

Collaborative project BIMOTEC - Optimization of buckwheat using modern breeding methods for food production and added value of bio-based raw materials

Buckwheat is an underutilized pseudo-cereal that is increasingly valued as a healthy, gluten-free component of the modern diet. The grains and leaves of this crop are rich in industrially valuable secondary metabolites that have health-promoting properties and can be used in a number of different ways in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

The aim of the BIMOTEC initiative is to strengthen buckwheat cultivation in Germany by creating optimized conditions for breeding local varieties for secondary crop cultivation. Thereby not only increasing yields for farmers, but also promoting agrobiodiversity.

Researchers are pursuing an innovative "dual-use" approach combining the use of buckwheat grains for food production with the processing of residual biomass. The leaves and seed hulls provide valuable secondary plant metabolites, while the lignocellulose from the stems can be used as a raw material. One focus, which is carried out by Fraunhofer IME among others, is the quantification and utilization of industrially relevant metabolites and other bioeconomically valuable ingredients. Various methods are applied to develop climate-resistant local varieties. Phenotyping, genotyping and metabolite profiling are used to analyze relevant characteristics of different buckwheat accessions and varieties in greenhouse and field experiments, such as their response to drought and cultivation on marginal soils.
The derived markers will support buckwheat breeding by enabling the targeted combination of positive/valuable/desirable traits from different accessions and varieties. BIMOTEC quantifies grain yield and quality of buckwheat in field trials and practical cultivation. The data collected will be used to improve an agronomic growth model that is important for both breeding and farming practice. In addition, genome editing technologies will be used as a basis for future breeding activities. One breeding goal is to develop a more compact habitus with stable yields.

Breeding buckwheat as a dual-use crop offers great potential for establishing innovative value chains and promoting sustainable agriculture.

Partners

Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH - IBG-2: Institute of Plant Sciences (Koordinator), IBG-4: Institute of Bioinformatics

Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK)

University of Hohenheim, Institute of Crop Science, Agronomy

Phytowelt GreenTechnologies GmbH

 

Polyterpenoide

 

Naturkautschuk aus Löwenzahn