A dietary shift from resource-demanding animal protein to sustainable food sources, such as protein-rich beans, lowers the climate footprint of production. In this study, we examined nutrients and antinutrients in 15 fava bean varieties cultivated Sweden select with high nutritional value. On a dry weight basis, beans were analyzed for their content (range 26–33%), amino acids (leucine range: 5...

Factors (germination time, spectra, temperature, pH, and chemical inhibitors) influencing diamine oxidase (DAO, EC 1.4.3.6) activity and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content of fava bean (Vicia faba L.) during germination were investigated in this study. DAO activity significantly increased in germinating seeds but varied with different organs. The enzyme activity was higher in shoot than that in...

An abscisic acid (ABA)-insensitive Vicia faba mutant, fia (fava bean impaired in ABA-induced stomatal closure) had previously been isolated. In this study, it was investigated how FIA functions in ABA signalling in guard cells of Vicia faba. Unlike ABA, methyl jasmonate (MeJA), H(2)O(2), and nitric oxide (NO) induced stomatal closure in the fia mutant. ABA did not induce production of either re...

Abscisic acid (ABA) regulation of stomatal aperture is known to involve both Ca2+-dependent and Ca2+-independent signal transduction pathways. Electrophysiological studies suggest that protein phosphorylation is involved in ABA action in guard cells. Using biochemical approaches, we identified an ABA-activated and Ca2+- independent protein kinase (AAPK) from guard cell protoplasts of fava bean....

When the immunosuppressants cyclosporin A (CsA) and FK506 bind to their intracellular receptors (immunophilins), they form complexes that bind to calcineurin and block calcineurin-dependent signaling pathways in immune cells. Previously, we reported that higher plants also express immunophilins and have a Ca2+-dependent signaling pathway sensitive to immunophilin-ligand complexes. Based on an N...

Recent reports have shown that GTP-binding proteins (G-proteins) are present in plants but have given limited indication as to their site of action. G-proteins in animal cells transduce extracellular signals into intracellular or membrane-mediated events, including the regulation of ion channels. Using whole-cell patch clamp, we provide evidence that a G-protein in guard cells of fava bean regu...