Page 152 - Plant Canada 2024 Proceeding

PLANT CANADA 2024

cause problems. Few monitoring activities for Phytophthora and other organisms were evaluated to
understand the limitations of the technology in biosurveillance. Hence, we aim to provide a framework
combining sampling tools with HTS-based methods, appropriate bioinformatic pipelines, and qPCR
assays for the early detection of emerging and invasive alien species and determination of sample type of
samples that can be used for prescreening of pathogens' presence and prevalence. Evaluation of such
methods will help improve early warning, promote public awareness, and support our regulatory activities.

*[O100] PROFILING ENVIRONMENTAL AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN CONDENSED TANNINS
AND METABOLITES OF BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL (LOTUS CORNICULATUS L.) CULTIVARS. Solihu
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Kayode Sakariyahu , Tim McDowell , Justin Renaud , Yousef Papadopoulos , Kathleen Glover ,
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Rebecca Brown , Mike Peel , Heathcliffe Riday , Susanne Kohalmi , and Abdelali Hannoufa . London
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Research and Development Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, ON; Department of
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Biology, Western University, London, ON; Kenville Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and
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Agri-Food Canada, Kentville, NS; Univ. Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USDA-ARS, Logan; UT; and
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6 USDA-ARS, Madison, WI
Correspondence to: abdelali.hannoufa@agr.gc.ca

Lotus corniculatus L., also known as birdsfoot trefoil (BFT), is a perennial non-bloating temperate forage
widely grown due to its accumulation of high levels of condensed tannins (CT) in foliage. BFT has also
shown the ability to limit the burden of parasitic nematodes in ruminants. While numerous ruminant health
benefits have been associated with the consumption of BFT, the high variations in condensed tannins in
this plant species present a significant challenge for its use in cattle feeding due to antinutritional
attributes that can occur when CT levels are elevated. Several studies have examined the effects of
environmental conditions on CT accumulation in BFT under controlled conditions; however, the variations
in CT levels and other plant metabolites in BFT cultivars in response to environmental and seasonal
factors under field conditions remain largely unexplored. Here, we combine conventional CT
quantification and metabolome profiling with high-resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry
(LCMS) to understand the environmental and genetic factors that impact both CT and metabolite profiles.
Eight BFT cultivars grown in Kentville, Canada, Rhode Island, and Utah in the United States were
investigated, revealing significant variations in soluble CT content and as well as metabolite composition.
We observed pronounced fluctuations in CT levels among the cultivars, and geographic location, with
those grown in Kentville having the highest CT levels. Geographic location was found to be the most
influential factor in the CT levels. Our LCMS metabolomic analyses identified a suite of metabolites
including isoflavonoids and lipid subclasses. Targeted metabolomic analysis revealed the presence of (-)-
epicatechin monomer, dimeric procyanidin B2, and trimeric procyanidin C1 in the BFT samples. Similar to
the CT levels, geographical location was the determinant factor in the metabolome profile however,
specific metabolites that are building blocks of CTs were only moderately correlated with CT levels across
all locations. An integrated transcriptomic and metabolomics study is underway to identify the molecular
basis of the observed genotype-specific variations and environmental effects on CT and other metabolites
in BFT cultivars. These results and further molecular genetic analysis will provide valuable insights into
the plasticity of CT production in response to environmental cues, offering opportunities for targeted
breeding and management strategies to enhance the nutritional quality and resilience of birdsfoot trefoil
for improved animal health and reduced methane emission in animals.

[O101] METABOLIC ENGINEERING-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTOME REPROGRAMMING ENHANCES
OIL COMPOSITION IN OAT (AVENA SATIVA L.). Zhou Zhou , Rajvinder Kaur , Thomas Donoso , Jae-
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Bom Ohm , Rajeev Gupta , Mark Lefsrud , and Jaswinder Singh . Department of Plant Science, McGill
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University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada; Department of Bioresource Engineering,
McGill University, Ste Anne de Bellevue, QC, H9X 3V9, Canada; and Cereal Crops Research Unit,
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Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center, USDA ARS, Fargo, North Dakota, 58102, USA
Correspondence to: jaswinder.singh@mcgill.ca; zhou.zhou2@mcgill.ca

The endeavor to elevate the nutritional value of oat (Avena sativa) by altering the oil composition and
content position it as an optimal crop for fostering human health and animal feed. However, optimization
of oil traits on oat through conventional breeding is challenging due to its quantitative nature and
complexity of the oat genome. We introduced two constructs containing three key genes integral to lipid
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