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The findings can help in the development of more resilient plants that are able to withstand nutrient-poor conditions, thus improving global food production.
“We are interested in tepary beans because they are very stress tolerant, unlike their cousin the common bean,” said Dr. Kirstin Bett (PhD), professor of plant breeding and genetics at USask and one of the senior authors of the study. By 2050, the major regions growing common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) the most important legume protein source for human consumption may be unsuitable and the overall nutritional quality of the crop will likely be reduced. “Tepary beans are an under-appreciated protein crop that are ideal for production in marginal environments due to their inherent tolerance of temperature stresses,” said Bett. The team sequenced the genome of the tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolis A. Gray) to study how the legume adapts more effectively to fluctuating temperatures than its common bean cousin, and to combine traits of the two species into a more sustainable crop variety.
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IMAGE: USask plant researcher Kirstin Bett (left) discusses beans and pulses with Crystal Chan, former project manager view more
Credit: Debra Marshall Photography
SASKATOON - Tepary beans a high protein legume common to the southwest United States and Mexico may hold the key to adapting bean crops for the increasingly harsh conditions brought on by a changing climate, according to research led by University of Saskatchewan (USask) and Michigan State University.
In a study just published in
Nature Communications, the researchers found that as the mercury rises to 27oC at night a temperature devastating for current bean crops specific genes sensitive to heat stress in the tepary bean get activated, protecting the plant.