GENETIC DIVERSITY OF LIMA BEAN (PHASEOLUS LUNATUS L.) FROM TIMOR ISLAND BASED ON MOLECULAR MARKER INTER-SIMPLE SEQUENCE REPEATS (ISSR)

Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) is one of the important legume vegetables in Indonesia. However, genetic information for these plants is still minimalized, especially on Timor Island. This study aims to analyze the genetic diversity of lima beans from Timor Island based on ISSR molecular markers. A total of 4 accessions of lima beans were analyzed using 3 ISSR primers to produce 15 polymorphic bands with an average of 68.18% polymorphism. The cluster analysis results use the Unweighted Pair Group Methods using Arithmetic averages (UPGMA) method to create a dendrogram that produces two main clusters. There were plain seed and pattern seed group with a similarity coefficient of 0.52. These results indicated that the genetic variation of the lima beans from Timor Island was high. Moreover, the result provides a sutable method for evaluating the genetic diversity of lima beans using the ISSR marker and important information of future lima bean breeding programs.

Fatty acid profiles of Phaseolus species

The aim of this study was to identify and profile the fatty acids present in the Phaseolus species using an online Osiris server software. Phaseolus species (pinto beans, lima beans and kidney beans) were bought in King’s market, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria and were air -dried and ground. The Association of Official Analytical Chemists protocol were used for proximate; mineral analysis was done using atomic absorption spectrophotometer; extraction of oil was done using Soxhlet apparatus and the extracts were characterized using gas chromatography mass spectrophotometer and identified compounds were screened for their chemical properties using online Osiris server. The oil extract for pinto beans revealed fatty acids in increasing order of percentage quality: Myristic acid, octadecenoic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid. Identified fatty acids in kidney beans were in decreasing order of palmitic acid, linoleic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid and capric acid. Lima beans had highest palmitic acid and arachidic acid the lowest. However, from the results of all the Phaseolus species, linoleic acid was found only in kidney beans with quality of 11.87%. The identified fatty acids showed high toxicity properties and they exhibited negative drug-likeness. The chemistry of the identified compounds all showed that they exhibited various chemical properties. In conclusion, this study had revealed the presence of fatty acids in the selected food crops and their various chemical profiles have been discovered

The acorn squash problem: a digestible conceptualisation of barriers to emergency food assistance

Background: In common narratives of emergency food assistance, donors likely believe their efforts directly manifest as people consuming their donated food. For example, a person donating canned lima beans during a canned food drive may visualise someone eventually eating those lima beans. However, cultural and socio-economic barriers often exist that prevent people from accessing and consuming the donated food. These barriers are often complex and otherwise well-intentioned donors, volunteers and organisations may not initially consider them. Method: This commentary article, which draws from existing US emergency food systems literature, uses the imagery of an acorn squash one might find at a US food pantry to conceptualise these barriers in a straightforward way. Results: Examining emergency food assistance through the lens of the acorn squash problem can help donors, volunteers and organisations better connect with food-insecure people. The lens of the acorn squash problem also allows for deeper critiques of some practices of emergency food systems.

The Extraction and Partial Characterization of Lunatin from Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.)

Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) contains a lectin called lunatin which is an antinutrient with antioxidant, antifungal, and antiproliferative properties. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different processing of Lima bean seeds, namely crushed dry seeds, Lima bean flour, and Modified Legume Flour (MOLEF). In addition, it delved into the differences resulting from different extraction temperatures (27ºC, 40ºC, and 50ºC) on the lunatin extract obtained. The results show that the total protein in dry seeds, flour and MOLEF Lima beans are 23.18%, 24.20% and 17.12%, respectively. The molecular weight of lunatin detected is 30.25 kDa; The highest antioxidant activity, marked at 83.58% , is obtained by lunatin extract from samples of crushed dried Lima beans, with an extraction temperature of 50ºC, while the lowest activity, 45.97%, is indicated by lunatin extract from MOLEF samples of Lima beans, with extraction temperature of 40ºC. Temperature variations in general do not affect the protein bands detectable. Likewise, the antioxidant activity also does not show antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger.

The Brazilian lima bean landraces: conservation and breeding

Brazil is one of the countries with the greatest genetic diversity in lima beans ( Phaseolus lunatus L.), which has been maintained both on farm and in germplasm banks. The knowledge of this diversity in the country is extremely important for developing a strategy for use and conservation. The objective of this study was characterizing landraces lima bean accessions from different regions in Brazil . Twenty two accessions conserved in the Phaseolus Germplasm Bank from UFPI (Piauí-Brazil) were characterized with 37 agro-morphological descriptors and 15 microsatellite markers. In the agro-morphological characterization, the maximum value of genetic divergence was obtained for the pair UFPI-262 and UFPI-252 (D = 88.74). The UPGMA grouping made it possible to form four groups. Tocher's optimization method enabled the formation of 10 groups. Regarding molecular characterization, 10 loci presented polymorphism, and the number of alleles per locus varied from two to seven. The Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) varied from 0.0767 to 0.7240. The loci GATS91 and PVat001 were highly informative and can be indicate for further studies involving the lima bean. The genetic diversity found (He = 0.316) was higher than that reported in the Yucatán Peninsula, a region indicated as a center of diversity for lima bean. Thus, the agro-morphological and molecular characterization were efficient in quantifying the genetic divergence between the studied accessions. The data found in this research provide a valuable resource for geneticists to subsidize breeding programs involving the lima bean.

Chloroplast genome sequence of Chongming lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) and comparative analyses with other legume chloroplast genomes

Background Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) is a member of subfamily Phaseolinae belonging to the family Leguminosae and an important source of plant proteins for the human diet. As we all know, lima beans have important economic value and great diversity. However, our knowledge of the chloroplast genome level of lima beans is limited. Results The chloroplast genome of lima bean was obtained by Illumina sequencing technology for the first time. The Cp genome with a length of 150,902 bp, including a pair of inverted repeats (IRA and IRB 26543 bp each), a large single-copy (LSC 80218 bp) and a small single-copy region (SSC 17598 bp). In total, 124 unique genes including 82 protein-coding genes, 34 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes were identified in the P. lunatus Cp genome. A total of 61 long repeats and 290 SSRs were detected in the lima bean Cp genome. It has a typical 50 kb inversion of the Leguminosae family and an 70 kb inversion to subtribe Phaseolinae. rpl16, accD, petB, rsp16, clpP, ndhA, ndhF and ycf1 genes in coding regions was found significant variation, the intergenic regions of trnk-rbcL, rbcL-atpB, ndhJ-rps4, psbD-rpoB, atpI-atpA, atpA-accD, accD-psbJ, psbE-psbB, rsp11-rsp19, ndhF-ccsA was found in a high degree of divergence. A phylogenetic analysis showed that P. lunatus appears to be more closely related to P. vulgaris, V.unguiculata and V. radiata. Conclusions The characteristics of the lima bean Cp genome was identified for the first time, these results will provide useful insights for species identification, evolutionary studies and molecular biology research.

Organic fertilization to increase the productivity of the lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus L.)

The present work had as objective to evaluate the yield of two varieties of fava in function of application of organic compost and dairy waste. The experiment was carried out at the Experimental Farm belonging to the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE). The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design in a factorial scheme [(2x3) + 4], with two varieties of Lima bean, three forms of organic fertilization plus four additional controls, in three repetitions. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and treatment means, compared by the Tukey test (P <0.05). Dunnett's test was also used for comparisons involving additional witnesses and other treatments. The software used for statistical analysis was SAEG 9.1 and SAS 9.0. Dairy waste was the fertilizer that most contributed to the increase in productivity, making it suitable for use as fertilizer. The Branquinha variety is indicated for production, because it responded better to the types of fertilizers used.