Dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) seeds are a rich source of dietary zinc, especially for people consuming plant-based diets. Within P. vulgaris there is at least two-fold variation in seed Zn concentration. Genetic studies have revealed seed Zn differences to be controlled by a single gene in two closely related navy bean genotypes, Albion and Voyager. In this study, these two genotypes were gr...

Zeatin is the most active and ubiquitous form of the naturally occurring cytokinins. Glycosyl conjugates of zeatin are found in many plant tissues and are considered important for storage and protection against degradative enzymes. Two enzymes catalyzing the formation of O-glycosyl derivatives of zeatin have been characterized, O-glucosyltransferase and O-xylosyltransferase, occurring in seeds ...

The common bean is one of the most important legumes in the human diet, but little is known about the endophytic bacteria associated with the leaves of this plant. The objective of this study was to characterize the culturable endophytic bacteria of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) leaves from three different cultivars (Vermelhinho, Talismã, and Ouro Negro) grown under the same field conditions...

Twelve rhizobial isolates were recovered from nodules of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) grown in two different locations of Egyptian soils. The most effective strains for nodule formation and nitrogen fixation were selected. Strain specificity with the bean cultivars Saxa, Canoca and Giza 6 from Germany, Colombia and Egypt were studied. The strains were characterized by amplified rDNA restric...

Uricase II is a purine metabolic enzyme highly induced in root nodules during the symbiosis established between legumes and bacteria of the genera Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium. Here we describe the characterization of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) nodule uricase II cDNA and show that uricase II is encoded by a single gene in the bean genome. This gene is also expressed in cotyledons, roots, and hyp...

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 ...

Reversed micelles were used to extract lectin from red kidney beans and factors affecting reverse micellar systems (pH value, ionic strength and extraction time) were studied. The optimal conditions were extraction at pH 4-6, back extraction at pH 9-11, ion strength at 0.15 M NaCl, extraction for 4-6 minutes and back extraction for 8 minutes. The reverse micellar system was compared with tradit...

A plant cysteine endopeptidase with a molecular mass of 35 kD was purified from microbodies of germinating castor bean (Ricinus communis) endosperm by virtue of its capacity to specifically process the glyoxysomal malate dehydrogenase precursor protein to the mature subunit in vitro. Processing of the glyoxysomal malate dehydrogenase precursor occurs sequentially in three steps, the first inter...

Vanadate (Na(3) VO(4)) inhibits leaf movement and stomatal conductance of Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Carlos Favorit in light-dark cycles as well as photomorphogenetic leaf unrolling of Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Rupal. Inhibition was 50% by 10 to 100 micromolar vanadate and 100% by millimolar vanadate. Leaf unrolling was also inhibited by oligomycin and diethylstilbestrol.Millimolar vanadate is requ...