Numerous faba beans (dried). Credit: University of Reading
Genetic studies offer a boost to the “Beans IN Toast” job.
The genome of the faba bean, which boasts a massive 13 billion bases, going beyond the human genome by fourfold, has actually finally been sequenced. The research was recently released in the journal Nature. This impressive technical feat is of terrific value for the goal of reproducing beans with maximum nutritional content and sustainability of production.
A team of scientists from Europe and Australia, headed by the University of Reading in the UK, Aarhus University in Denmark, and the University of Helsinki in Finland, collaborated on this comprehensive sequencing effort.
The project to completely decipher the genome went on to check out its effectiveness by looking for genes involved in seed size. The group also took a look at the color of the hilum– the scar left when a bean separates from the pod– to see if they might discover the genes that determine this distinctive feature.
The genome of the faba bean, which boasts a massive 13 billion bases, going beyond the human genome by fourfold, has finally been sequenced. This amazing technical task is of terrific significance for the objective of breeding beans with optimum nutritional content and sustainability of production.
Faba beans are naturally high in fiber, protein, and iron– all nutrients that many individuals in the UK require more of. At a time when plant-based diet plans are an attractive prospect for those wishing to look after their world and their own health, it would make sense to go directly to the protein source: The humble faba bean.
Professor Donal OSullivan imagined in a faba bean field trial with small plants. Credit: University of Reading
Teacher Donal OSullivan led the University of Reading group. He said: “Having revealed that we can quickly identify genes controlling these visible seed qualities, work is currently underway to find and recognize exact hereditary differences that manage hidden seed characteristics that determine its nutritional value.”
” We wish to produce beans that are higher in essential amino acids as well as lower in antinutrients, such as phytate, which binds micronutrients and lowers absorption. Having the genome series will accelerate this process considerably.”
Faba beans (dried) with faba bean flour and bread fortified with faba bean. Credit: University of Reading
At the University of Reading, the improved prospects for dietary improvement feeds into a task to increase the amount of UK-grown pulses consumed, by incorporating faba bean flour into the ever-popular British white loaf. The “Raising the Pulse” job belongs to the publicly-funded UKRI Transforming UK Food Systems effort and will take advantage of what is basically now a genetic toolkit for breeding lines with advantageous traits.
Faba beans are naturally high in protein, iron, and fiber– all nutrients that many individuals in the UK require more of. They grow well in the UK however are mostly fed to animals to produce meat and milk. At a time when plant-based diet plans are an attractive prospect for those wanting to care for their world and their own health, it would make sense to go straight to the protein source: The humble faba bean.
Reference: “The huge diploid faba genome opens variation in an international protein crop” by Murukarthick Jayakodi, Agnieszka A. Golicz, Jonathan Kreplak, Lavinia I. Fechete, Deepti Angra, Petr Bednář, Elesandro Bornhofen, Hailin Zhang, Raphaël Boussageon, Sukhjiwan Kaur, Kwok Cheung, Jana Čížková, Heidrun Gundlach, Asis Hallab, Baptiste Imbert, Gabriel Keeble-Gagnère, Andrea Koblížková, Lucie Kobrlová, Petra Krejčí, Troels W. Mouritzen, Pavel Neumann, Marcin Nadzieja, Linda Kærgaard Nielsen, Petr Novák, Jihad Orabi, Sudharsan Padmarasu, Tom Robertson-Shersby-Harvie, Laura Ávila Robledillo, Andrea Schiemann, Jaakko Tanskanen, Petri Törönen, Ahmed O. Warsame, Alexander H. J. Wittenberg, Axel Himmelbach, Grégoire Aubert, Pierre-Emmanuel Courty, Jaroslav Doležel, Liisa U. Holm, Luc L. Janss, Hamid Khazaei, Jiří Macas, Martin Mascher, Petr Smýkal, Rod J. Snowdon, Nils Stein, Frederick L. Stoddard, Jens Stougaard, Nadim Tayeh, Ana M. Torres, Björn Usadel, Ingo Schubert, Donal Martin OSullivan, Alan H. Schulman and Stig Uggerhøj Andersen, 8 March 2023, Nature.DOI: 10.1038/ s41586-023-05791-5.
The study was funded by UK Research and Innovation.