VC1 catalyzes a key step in the biosynthesis of vicine from GTP in faba bean
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract Faba bean is a widely adapted and high-yielding legume cultivated for its protein-rich seeds 1 . However, the seeds accumulate the anti-nutritional pyrimidine glucosides vicine and convicine, which can cause haemolytic anaemia—favism—in the 400 million individuals genetically predisposed by a deficiency in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase 2 . Here, we identify the first enzyme associated with vicine and convicine biosynthesis, which we name VC1. We show that VC1 co-locates with the major QTL for vicine and convicine content and that the expression of VC1 correlates highly with vicine content across tissues. We also show that low-vicine varieties express a version of VC1 carrying a small, frame-shift insertion, and that overexpression of wild-type VC1 leads to an increase in vicine levels. VC1 encodes a functional GTP cyclohydrolase II, an enzyme normally involved in riboflavin biosynthesis from the purine GTP. Through feeding studies, we demonstrate that GTP is a precursor of vicine both in faba bean and in the distantly related plant bitter gourd. Our results reveal an unexpected biosynthetic origin for vicine and convicine and pave the way for the development of faba bean cultivars that are free from these anti-nutrients, providing a safe and sustainable source of dietary protein.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".