Comparison Of Gene Families: Seed Storage And Other Seed Proteins

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an important source of protein and dietary fiber in human diets. Seed proteins, therefore, determine, at least in part, the nutritional value of common bean. From the very beginning of plant molecular biology, in the 1980s, common bean has been a prominent model plant to study seed storage proteins. The recent availability of several sequences for the common bean genome, coupled with seed transcriptomic and proteomic information, enables a comprehensive, in-depth view of seed protein genes in this organism. Comparisons between these sequences highlight interesting variation in lectin gene composition between the two centers of domestication. Alleles conferring storage protein deficiency may be used to improve the levels of essential sulfur amino acids and therefore protein quality. Some of the seed proteins represent anti-nutritionals, including some lectins, trypsin inhibitors, and lipoxygenases, and represent targets to be potentially removed from the genome. Other proteins have potential as bioproducts due to their biological activity against fungi or insects, including defensin D1 and albumin-1.