Full Genome Sequence of Lablab Bean Now Available

The genome of a climate-resilient bean has been fully sequenced by an international team of researchers. The full sequence of the hyacinth bean or ‘lablab bean' paves the way for wider cultivation of the crop, bringing nutritional and economic benefits, and bolstering food security in drought-prone regions of the world.

Lablab bean is native to Africa and grown in the tropics for its nutritious beans for food and livestock feed. The bean is highly resilient to drought and thrives in different environments and conditions, contributing to food and economic security, and improving soil fertility by fixing nitrogen.

The researchers were able to identify the genomic location of important agronomic traits relating to yield and seed/plant size. They also documented the organization of the trypsin inhibitor genes, which inhibit a key enzyme in the digestion process in humans, providing opportunities for targeted breeding to reduce these anti-nutritional properties. The team also tracked lablab bean's history of domestication and confirmed that this occurred in a parallel, in two different places.

For more details, read the news article on the University of Southampton website.