Herbivores can ingest and store plant-synthesized toxic compounds in their bodies, and sequester those compounds for their own benefits. The broad bean, Vicia faba L., contains a high quantity of L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which is toxic to many insects. However, the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, can feed on V. faba normally, whereas many other aphid species could not. In this stu...

The aim of the present work was to explore the suitability of two kinds of bean with typical protein quality and different starch structure to produce moulded specimens by compression. In this work we analysed the possibility of forming new plastic materials from two kinds of bean preparations; with different protein content, in the presence or absence of inherent cellulose material and other b...

The multicolored Asian ladybeetle, Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), was introduced into Western Europe in the late 1990s. Since the late 2000s, this species has been commonly considered one of the most abundant aphid predators in most Western European countries. In spite of the large amount of research on H. axyridis, information concerning its relative abundance in agroeco...

Arcelin is a novel seed protein first found in several accessions of the wild Mexican bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. var aborigeneus (8). It is closely related to bean lectin, both at the amino acid and nucleotide levels (5). There are five allelic variants of arcelin (4, 6). The Arc 1 (Table I, Fig. 1) protein migrates as two bands on polyacrylamide gels with Mr of 35,000 to 38,000. These two ban...

In total, 339 faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and 100 pea (Pisum sativum L.) accessions were screened for their ability to resist Callosobruchus chinensis L. in free choice laboratory tests. Four, 15, and 43 faba bean varieties were highly resistant, resistant, and moderately resistant to C. chinensis, respectively. Three immune, three highly resistant, and six resistant accessions were discovered am...

The evolutionary maintenance of sex, despite competition from asexual reproduction, has long intrigued the evolutionary biologists owing to its numerous apparent short-term costs. In aphids, winter climate is expected to determine the maintenance of sexual lineages in the high latitude zones owing to their exclusive ability to produce frost-resistant eggs. However, diverse reproductive modes ma...

PREMISE OF STUDY Although there is increasing recognition of the effects of plant intraspecific diversity on consumers, the mechanisms by which such effects cascade-up to higher trophic levels remain elusive. METHODS We evaluated the effects of plant (lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus) intraspecific diversity on a suite of insect herbivores (leaf-chewers, aphids, and seed-eating beetles) and their...

Soybean rust (SBR), caused by the fungus Phakopsora pachyrhizi, has been reported in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars and elite lines that were infected under controlled and natural field conditions in South Africa, the United States, Argentina, and Brazil. Although SBR is currently not a top priority problem for the common bean crop, many bean breeders are concerned about this dis...

Introduction Phenolic compounds are important phytonutrients that are ubiquitously distributed throughout the plant kingdom. These compounds are associated with the sensory and nutritional quality of fresh and processed plant foods. Several varieties of dry beans {Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varying in seed shape, size, and color are consumed throughout the world primarily as an important source of ...