Researchers decode quinoa genome, allowing them to learn why it thrives in harsh environments – ABC Online

An international team of researchers has successfully mapped the entire quinoa genome, which will help breed varieties that could thrive on Australia's marginal cropping land.

The study was led by Australian scientist Mark Tester, of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

The team of 33 researchers, from institutions around the world, produced a complete picture of the ancient plant's genome, publishing their work in the journal Nature.

Australian researchers played a key role in the project, drawing heavily on their knowledge of salt-tolerant plants and genes.

The University of Melbourne's Metabolomics Institute was tasked with finding whereabouts in the seed the bitter-tasting saponin compounds were located.

Quinoa is native to South America where it was once a staple crop, but it fell out of favour when Spanish colonists arrived.

University of Melbourne's Professor Ute Roessner said the team was attracted to the plant because of its nutritional qualities and its ability to grow for millennia in some of the world's harshest environmental conditions.

"Quinoa is a highly nutritious grain, full of essential amino acids [and is] a nice balance of lipids and proteins, low GI and gluten-free," she said.

"Is is highly salt-tolerant and it grows in very low quality soils, which makes it interesting from an Australian perspective."

With the genome sequenced, researchers can now start selective breeding programs with one of the first goals likely to be removing the saponin compounds from the seed.

"These are the least nutritional parts of the quinoa plant," Dr Roessner said.

"There's already been some success in producing 'sweet quinoa' and within the paper we've identified the saponin genes.

"Knowing the genome will also help us breed varieties that can stand up the range of pests and diseases the plants face when growing in Australia."

Quinoa growing at the Ord River Irrigation Area trial site (file photo).

(ABC Rural: Tom Edwards)

Quinoa growing at the Ord River Irrigation Area trial site (file photo).

Australia's largest grower and processor of quinoa, Ashley Wiese of Narrogin in Western Australia's Great Southern region said growing quinoa in Australia had been extremely challenging.

"It's extremely drought tolerant, and salt tolerant, but its's a very weak seedling that doesn't compete well," Mr Wiese said.

Most of the weed and pest controls available to cereal grain farmers will not work on quinoa, so more resistant varieties would boost yields."

Processors must also wash away the saponin from the seed, and varieties free of the bitter tasting compound would save time, energy and money.

"Quinoa shouldn't be a rich person's food, it's just a better quality replacement for rice," Mr Wiese said.

"Part of the reason it is so expensive is that it's a risky crop to grow, and the saponin coating is expensive to remove but it's a two-edged sword, because that coating protects the plants from pests."

Science communicator Chris Smith told RN Breakfast any research that helped increase production of the quinoa would help efforts to protect food security, because of its ability to grow on marginal land.

"It grows pretty much anywhere, particularly on those poor soils where people are hungry, so they can produce nutritious food without putting huge amounts of energy and labour into growing it," he said.

Quinoa can grow in the harshest of environments.

(ABC Rural: Eliza Wood)

Quinoa can grow in the harshest of environments.

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Researchers decode quinoa genome, allowing them to learn why it thrives in harsh environments - ABC Online