Plant Bioengineering

Most of our food comes from only a dozen of plants, making our food system highly vulnerable to plant pests, diseases and climate change. In nature, there are thousands of plants with potential to be part of a future diverse and resilient agriculture, but many of them contain unpleasant compounds. In our research, we are developing the wild plant Chenopodium album as a new crop. Its seeds have high protein content and were eaten in Denmark during prehistorical times, but contain bitter and anti-nutritional chemical compounds called saponins. We have established a unique collection of C. album from all over Denmark and characterized their protein and saponin contents. We combine knowledge and state-of-the-art technologies on plant molecular, agricultural and food sciences to understand and ultimately control the levels and structures of anti-nutritional saponins in this wild species while selecting for high protein content and optimal growth yields. Altogether, our research will serve as a proof-of-concept to demonstrate the potential of domesticating local wild plant species to diversify our food sources and support the green transition in our food system.

Interested in joining us?

Please contact Pablo at pdcardenas@plen.ku.dk.