(Press-News.org) The faba bean genome, which at 13 billion bases is more than four times the size of the human genome, has been sequenced for the first time and is published today (08 March 2023), in Nature. This is an extraordinary technical achievement and crucial to efforts to breed beans with optimum nutritional content and sustainability of production.
A consortium of scientists from Europe and Australia, led by the University of Reading (UK), Aarhus University (Denmark) and the University of Helsinki (Finland), worked together on this large scale sequencing project.
The project to fully decode the genome went on to test out its usefulness by searching for genes involved in seed size. The team also looked at the colour of the hilum – the scar left when a bean detaches from the pod – to see if they could find the genes that determine this distinctive feature.
Professor Donal O’Sullivan led the University of Reading team. He said: “Having shown that we can quickly pinpoint genes controlling these visible seed traits, work is already underway to locate and identify precise genetic differences that control hidden seed characteristics that determine its nutritional value.”
“We want to produce beans that are higher in essential amino acids as well as lower in antinutrients, such as phytate, which binds micronutrients and reduces absorption. Having the genome sequence will accelerate this process considerably.”
At the University of Reading, the enhanced prospects for nutritional improvement feeds into a project to increase the amount of UK-grown pulses consumed, by incorporating faba bean flour into the ever-popular British white loaf. The “Raising the Pulse” project is part of the publicly-funded UKRI Transforming UK Food Systems initiative and will benefit from what is essentially now a genetic toolkit for breeding lines with beneficial traits.
Faba beans are naturally high in protein, fibre, and iron – all nutrients that many people in the UK need more of. They grow well in the UK but are mostly fed to animals to produce meat and milk. At a time when plant-based diets are an attractive prospect for those wishing to look after their planet and their own health, it would make sense to go directly to the protein source: The humble faba bean.
END
Genes in beans! Bean genome sequenced for improved nutrition
“Beans IN Toast” project gets a boost from genetic studies
2023-03-08
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
MD Anderson research highlights for March 8, 2023
2023-03-08
HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.
Recent developments include overlooked proteins from long noncoding RNAs that likely play a functional role in breast cancer, inhibiting tumor-associated neuronal cells to improve treatment response in pancreatic cancer, ...
Discovery of T cells’ role in Alzheimer’s, related diseases, suggests new treatment strategy
2023-03-08
Nearly two dozen experimental therapies targeting the immune system are in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease, a reflection of the growing recognition that immune processes play a key role in driving the brain damage that leads to confusion, memory loss and other debilitating symptoms.
Many of the immunity-focused Alzheimer’s drugs under development are aimed at microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, which can injure brain tissue if they’re activated at the wrong time or in the wrong way. A new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis ...
Newborn drug testing by race, ethnicity before and after recreational cannabis legalization
2023-03-08
About The Study: Researchers found in this examination of newborn drug testing at a Midwestern academic medical center before and after statewide legalization of recreational cannabis that clinicians ordered newborn drug tests more frequently for Black newborns when no drug testing was done during pregnancy. These findings call for further exploration of how structural and institutional racism contribute to disproportionate testing and subsequent Child Protective Services investigation, surveillance, and criminalization of Black parents.
Authors: Lauren Oshman, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Michigan ...
Major North American oil source yields clues to one of earth’s deadliest mass extinctions
2023-03-08
The Bakken Shale Formation—a 200,000-square-mile shale deposit below parts of Canada and North Dakota—has supplied billions of barrels of oil and natural gas to North America for 70 years. A new discovery reveals that the rocks also open a uniquely informative window into Earth’s complicated geological history.
A research team, which included geologists from the University of Maryland, George Mason University and the Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor, developed a new framework for analyzing paleontological and biogeochemical data extracted from the formation’s rock. Using this technique, the team pinpointed a major trigger of several closely spaced ...
Study reveals new understanding of how androgen therapy affects breast tissue
2023-03-08
New insights into the effects of a hormonal treatment for transgender men, discovered by Cedars-Sinai investigators, could have implications for the treatment of breast cancer.
Transgender men who were assigned female at birth and identify today as male may take hormones called androgens to induce physical changes that help them align their physical appearance with their identified gender. Androgens such as testosterone are involved primarily in the development of male traits, although females also produce androgens.
Molecular changes observed in the breast tissue of transgender men undergoing androgen therapy may signal the potential ...
How the Brain Senses Infection
2023-03-08
At a glance:
A small population of airway neurons alerts the brain about a flu infection, according to a new study in mice
The results help explain how drugs like ibuprofen and aspirin reduce flu symptoms
The findings could help scientists develop more-effective flu therapies
A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School illuminates how the brain becomes aware that there is an infection in the body.
Studying mice, the team discovered that a small group of neurons in the airway plays a pivotal role in alerting the brain about ...
ALMA traces history of water in planet formation back to the interstellar medium
2023-03-08
Scientists studying a nearby protostar have detected the presence of water in its circumstellar disk. The new observations made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) mark the first detection of water being inherited into a protoplanetary disk without significant changes to its composition. These results further suggest that the water in our Solar System formed billions of years before the Sun. The new observations are published today in Nature.
V883 Orionis is a protostar located roughly 1,305 light-years from Earth in the constellation Orion. ...
Study shows racial inequities in newborn drug testing
2023-03-08
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – If a newborn tests positive for certain drugs after birth, mandated reporters in many states – including health care professionals and social workers – are required to report it to Child Protective Services.
But guidelines on what should trigger these tests are often unclear and inconsistent, which studies have shown may contribute to racial inequities in who gets tested.
Residents, faculty, medical students and researchers at Michigan Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine and Antiracism and Health Equity Program wanted to determine rates of newborn drug testing and if these rates varied by ...
During COVID, Black children were 100x more likely than White children to experience gun injuries
2023-03-08
EMBARGOED UNTIL 11:00 AM EST Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Contact:
Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu
Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu
##
Gun violence—and racial disparities in gun violence—have increased substantially during the pandemic, particularly among children. Now a new study led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher shows just how stark these differences in risk of firearm injury are between White and non-White children.
Published as a research letter in JAMA Network Open, the study examined gun injuries among children in four major US cities—New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia—and ...
Eyes in the sky: using drones to assess the severity of crop diseases
2023-03-08
Rice is one of the most important crops in the world and constitutes the primary food source for over half of Earth’s population. Protecting rice plantations from disease is therefore an essential endeavor in modern agriculture. Of the many pathogens that can infect rice plants, the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae, which is responsible for bacterial blight (BB), is among the worst. Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of crops are lost each year due to BB, and millions of dollars are spent in preventive measures and research.
One of the most fruitful strategies to control BB and other crop diseases is to grow genetically resistant cultivars. However, as pathogens can ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Science briefing: An update on GLP-1 drugs for obesity
Lower doses of immunotherapy for skin cancer give better results
Why didn’t the senior citizen cross the road? Slower crossings may help people with reduced mobility
ASH 2025: Study suggests that a virtual program focusing on diet and exercise can help reduce side effects of lymphoma treatment
A sound defense: Noisy pupae puff away potential predators
Azacitidine–venetoclax combination outperforms standard care in acute myeloid leukemia patients eligible for intensive chemotherapy
Adding epcoritamab to standard second-line therapy improves follicular lymphoma outcomes
New findings support a chemo-free approach for treating Ph+ ALL
Non-covalent btki pirtobrutinib shows promise as frontline therapy for CLL/SLL
University of Cincinnati experts present research at annual hematology event
ASH 2025: Antibody therapy eradicates traces of multiple myeloma in preliminary trial
ASH 2025: AI uncovers how DNA architecture failures trigger blood cancer
ASH 2025: New study shows that patients can safely receive stem cell transplants from mismatched, unrelated donors
Protective regimen allows successful stem cell transplant even without close genetic match between donor and recipient
Continuous and fixed-duration treatments result in similar outcomes for CLL
Measurable residual disease shows strong potential as an early indicator of survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia
Chemotherapy and radiation are comparable as pre-transplant conditioning for patients with b-acute lymphoblastic leukemia who have no measurable residual disease
Roughly one-third of families with children being treated for leukemia struggle to pay living expenses
Quality improvement project results in increased screening and treatment for iron deficiency in pregnancy
IV iron improves survival, increases hemoglobin in hospitalized patients with iron-deficiency anemia and an acute infection
Black patients with acute myeloid leukemia are younger at diagnosis and experience poorer survival outcomes than White patients
Emergency departments fall short on delivering timely treatment for sickle cell pain
Study shows no clear evidence of harm from hydroxyurea use during pregnancy
Long-term outlook is positive for most after hematopoietic cell transplant for sickle cell disease
Study offers real-world data on commercial implementation of gene therapies for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia
Early results suggest exa-cel gene therapy works well in children
NTIDE: Disability employment holds steady after data hiatus
Social lives of viruses affect antiviral resistance
Dose of psilocybin, dash of rabies point to treatment for depression
Helping health care providers navigate social, political, and legal barriers to patient care
[Press-News.org] Genes in beans! Bean genome sequenced for improved nutrition“Beans IN Toast” project gets a boost from genetic studies