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Science 21 May 1976:
Vol. 192. no. 4241, pp. 795 - 796
DOI: 10.1126/science.1265481
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Articles

Science, Vol 192, Issue 4241, 795-796
Copyright © 1976 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Insecticidal action of the phytohemagglutinin in black beans on a bruchid beetle

DH Janzen, HB Juster, and IE Liener

Black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) phytohemagglutinin added to the normal diet of a bruchid beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus) that can eat phytohemagglutinin-free cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata) but not P. vulgaris seeds kills the bruchid larvae. Trypsin inhibitors, found in both P. vulgaris and V. unguiculata seeds, have virtually no effect on the bruchid larvae. The conclusion is that a major part of the adaptive significance of phytohemagglutinins in black bean and other legume seeds is to protect them from attack by insect seed predators.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
History of lectins: from hemagglutinins to biological recognition molecules.
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Analysis of bruchid resistance in the wild common bean accession G02771: no evidence for insecticidal activity of arcelin 5.
A. Goossens, C. Quintero, W. Dillen, R. De Rycke, J. Flower Valor, J. De Clercq, M. Van Montagu, C. Cardona, and G. Angenon (2000)
J. Exp. Bot. 51, 1229-1236
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Insecticidal Activity and Lectin Homology of Arcelin Seed Protein.
T. C. OSBORNI, D. C. ALEXANDER, S. S. M. SUN, C. CARDONA, and F. A. BLISS (1988)
Science 240, 207-210
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