Micronutrient composition and microbial community analysis across diverse landraces of the Ethiopian orphan crop enset

Abstract

Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is a major starch staple and food security crop for 20 million people. Despite substantial diversity in morphology, genetics, agronomy and utilization across its range, nutritional characteristics have only been reported in relatively few landraces. Here, we survey nutritional composition in 22 landraces from three enset growing regions. We present mineral characterization of enset corm tissue, free amino acid characterization of raw and processed (fermented) tissues and genomic analysis of the microbial community associated with fermentation. We show that compared to regionally important tubers and cereals, enset is high in calcium, iron, potassium and zinc and low in sodium. We report changes in free amino acid composition due to processing, and establish that the bacteria generaAcetobacter,LactobacillusandBifidobacterium, predominate during fermentation. Nutritional and microbial variation presents opportunities to select for improved composition, quality or safety with potentially significant impacts in food security and public health.

Unlocking plant resources to support food security and promote sustainable agriculture

“…Many of these varieties and species, along with a wealth of traditional knowledge about their use and cultivation, are being lost at an alarming rate (Díaz et al., 2020). Access to NUS is also important because domesticated legumes (Fernández‐Marín et al, 2014), cereals (Hebelstrup, 2017), other crops that contribute to food security (Tamrat et al., 2020), and fungi (Stojković et al., 2013) can vary in their nutritional, antioxidant, and other chemical content. This has potential implications for human health, which could be positive or negative, as for example on the diversity of the human intestinal microbiome (e.g., Albenberg & Wu, 2014).…”

The genotypic and genetic diversity of enset (Ensete ventricosum) landraces used in traditional medicine is similar to the diversity found in starchy landraces

“…In the comparison of different medicinal plant species, Ensete ventricosum ranked rst by the local people [11]. Micronutrient composition analysis of enset landraces indicates that high arginine content could be one reason for their medicinal properties, as it is associated with collagen formation, tissue repair and wound healing via proline, and it may also stimulate collagen synthesis as a precursor of nitric oxide [12].…”

Reproductive biology of wild and domesticated Ensete ventricosum: Further evidence for maintenance of sexual reproductive capacity in a vegetatively propagated perennial crop

“…There was also a similar, but non-354 significant trend for domesticated seeds to have a smaller endosperm area, whilst seed volume 355 showed no such pattern (Figure 3). Less dense seeds could be explained by reduced resource 356 provisioning, however this seems unlikely to be due to reduced maternal resource acquisition in an 357 agricultural context where enset receives substantial fertiliser (manure) input and cultural practices 358 aim to delay maturation to maximise energy accumulation (Borrell et al, 2020). An alternative 359 explanation is that highly fertile agricultural systems have relaxed selection on energy investment in 360 seeds, meaning that seeds with reduced resources may still be sufficiently fit for establishment, 361 though we are cautious against over interpreting these data.…”