DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL COVER CROP, COVERCRESS, AS A SUSTAINABLE PLANT-BASED PROTEIN SOURCE FOR FOOD APPLICATIONS

GOAL: The long-term goal of this project is to develop new plant-based source of functional protein for food applications from a novel oilseed crop based on field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense). This new crop, named CoverCress, will be used as a cover crop on up to 35M acres in US Midwest, protecting soil health and environment. It will produce over $3B of new value (from the oil and proteinaceous meal) on the land that otherwise would stay idle and undergo erosion between standard corn and soybean growing seasons.OBJECTIVES:The technical objectives of the proposal are:Demonstrate CoverCress as a viable product for the plant-based protein market.Extract CoverCress protein through standard commercial methodsBiochemically analyze the resultant product, and compare it to existing protein sources on the market and prior studies on pennycressIdentify strengths of CoverCress protein based on success criteriaObtain transgenic CoverCress lines with altered protein functionalityIdentify storage proteins in the CoverCress GenomeSilence 2S and 12S storage proteins genes in CoverCress via RNA interference