Project name: Phaseolus vulgaris

Description: Phaseolus vulgaris, common bean or string bean, is an economically important species of beans and is cultivated through out the world. It is one of the most ancient crops of the world. They are rich in protein and highly nutritive. Ripe seeds contain about 20-25% protein. Seeds also contain inhibitors of trypsin and chymotrypsin. These can be toxic if the bean is consumed raw but are destroyed by cooking. P. vulgaris has a relatively small genome of about 630 Mb with 11 haploid chromosomes. Genomic studies have been initiated in this plant because of its social and economic value. The Phaseomics project was started in 2001 by an international consortium of laboratories with an aim of developing high yielding bean varieties that have high protein quality and are stress and disease resistant. A WGS project has been initialized.

Relevance: Agricultural

Last updated: 2004-08-17