Researchers Revive Old Pea Varieties In Huge Seed Collection: ‘An Untapped Gold Mine For The Future’

Peas from Nordgen.

 CREDIT: Nordgen / University of Copenhagen

December 28, 2025 
By Eurasia Review


The demand for plant-based foods is increasing worldwide. Peas in particular are a burgeoning source of high protein content as a substitute for meat. With their small climate footprint, peas are sustainable to grow and provide a high yield. However, the pea varieties we grow today require intensive industrial processing.

“Today, we use very few pea varieties in agriculture, which are primarily produced for their properties as pig feed, but are not intended as protein in a plant-based burger. Just as an apple is not just an apple, a pea is not just a pea, even though it may seem that way in the supermarket,” says Associate Professor René Lametsch from the Department of Food Science.

In the quest to find suitable pea varieties, researchers from the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new AI method. They have unleashed it on the Nordic gene bank NordGen, which contains almost 2,000 different types of peas, in order to identify old pea varieties that are well suited as plant protein for humans.

“The gene banks contain an enormous variety that is largely untapped today. Our method makes it possible to utilise the plant resources in the gene bank and quickly find the most interesting types,” says René Lametsch.
Smooth or wrinkled? 51 promising pea varieties found

Using the new AI method, the researchers have found 51 old pea varieties that are no longer used in agriculture but appear to have promising properties as plant food, including high starch and protein content.

The method can automatically measure the shape, colour, size and surface of the seeds from ordinary photographs. The combination of image data and information about protein content makes it possible for the AI to select a small but
About NordGen

NordGen serves as the Nordic countries’ joint gene bank for plants and as a knowledge centre for genetic resources. The gene bank contains over 33,000 seed samples from approximately 450 plant species and 95 potato varieties, which are preserved as living cuttings. NordGen’s primary task is to ensure the conservation and promotion of the sustainable use of genetic resources in plants, livestock and forestry throughout the Nordic region representative sample of peas, which can then be analysed in depth.

“There are widely varying characteristics from variety to variety, especially in terms of starch and protein content, so it can make a lot of sense to revive some of the old varieties in our search for good ingredients for new types of plant-based foods,” says René Lametsch.

The study shows that the appearance of the seeds is closely related to their chemical composition. One feature in particular – how smooth or wrinkled the seed is – is closely linked to the type of starch the pea contains. This means that, for the first time, researchers can partially predict chemical properties based on images alone.

“We see a surprisingly large variation in the balance between the two key proteins in peas, legumin and vicilin – far greater than in today’s commercial varieties. This makes the gene bank’s old peas an untapped gold mine for the development of future plant-based foods,” concludes René Lametsch.

Ubiquitin Switch Reveals How Grapevines Survive The Cold

December 28, 2025 
By Eurasia Review



Cold temperatures can severely damage perennial crops such as grapevine, limiting growth, fruit quality, and regional distribution. Plants respond to cold through complex signaling networks that coordinate transcriptional activation, protein turnover, and oxidative stress detoxification. Central among these systems is the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, which selectively removes regulatory proteins to fine-tune stress responses. Transcription factors like MYB proteins and CBF regulators are essential for activating COR genes, but their stability is tightly controlled by E3 ubiquitin ligases. Yet, in grapevine, the mechanisms linking ubiquitination to cold-response transcriptional programs and ROS homeostasis remain unclear. Due to these challenges, deeper investigation into grapevine cold-tolerance mechanisms is urgently needed.

A research team from Ningxia University reported a new regulatory mechanism underlying grapevine cold tolerance in a study published in Horticulture Research. The researchers identified VaMIEL1, a RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, as a key negative regulator that promotes degradation of the transcription factor VaMYB4a under normal temperatures. Cold stress suppresses VaMIEL1 expression, allowing VaMYB4a to activate the CBF–COR pathway and antioxidant defenses. The study combines biochemical analysis, Arabidopsis genetics, and grapevine callus experiments to map this cold-response module.

The researchers first demonstrated that VaMIEL1 physically interacts with VaMYB4a through yeast two-hybrid, BiFC, and co-immunoprecipitation assays, with the C-terminal regulatory domain of VaMYB4a responsible for binding. Promoter analysis revealed a low-temperature-responsive element, and reporter assays confirmed that VaMIEL1 expression decreases dynamically during cold exposure. In Arabidopsis, overexpression of VaMIEL1 increased cold sensitivity, leading to elevated ROS accumulation, reduced proline levels, impaired antioxidant enzyme activity, and strong suppression of CBF and COR gene expression. Conversely, the AtMIEL1 loss-of-function mutant showed improved cold tolerance and enhanced redox balance.

In grapevine calli, VaMIEL1 overexpression caused browning, reduced biomass, high ROS buildup, and lower SOD/POD activity under cold conditions. RNAi silencing of VaMIEL1 produced the opposite effects, elevating antioxidant capacity and restoring expression of VaCBF1 and VaCBF3. In vitro and in vivo ubiquitination assays confirmed that VaMIEL1 directly ubiquitinates VaMYB4a, accelerating its proteasomal degradation. Co-expression experiments further demonstrated that VaMIEL1 partially suppresses VaMYB4a-mediated cold tolerance, highlighting their opposing roles in modulating the CBF–COR pathway. Together, these results reveal an integrated mechanism linking ubiquitination, transcriptional activation, and oxidative stress mitigation during cold adaptation.

“Our findings demonstrate that cold tolerance in grapevine is not governed by a single pathway but instead by a coordinated system integrating transcriptional control and redox balance,” said the study’s corresponding author. “By identifying VaMIEL1 as a key regulator that destabilizes VaMYB4a, we show how the plant fine-tunes CBF–COR signaling and antioxidant activity in response to cold. This dual regulatory role expands our understanding of how perennial species survive harsh environments and provides a promising molecular handle for future crop improvement.”

The newly uncovered VaMIEL1–VaMYB4a module provides a valuable framework for breeding and engineering cold-resistant grapevine cultivars. Targeted suppression of VaMIEL1 or enhancement of VaMYB4a stability could improve CBF–COR activation and ROS detoxification, supporting plant survival during early-season frosts or extreme climate events. Because many crops rely on similar MYB- and ubiquitination-based regulatory networks, the findings may extend beyond grapevine, offering potential applications in apples, pears, and other temperate fruit species. This work opens new avenues for developing climate-adaptive crops that can sustain yield and quality under increasing environmental variability.