Molecular Strategies to Improve Protein Quality and Reduce Flatulence in Legumes: A Review

The application of recombinant DNA and related techniques to plants opened up the potential to improve agronomic characters. food processing traits and food quality properties of plants as food sources. This review focuses on molecular approaches to improving the protein quality and reducing flatulence in beans. Much is now known about the regulation of seed-specific expression and organization of seed storage protein genes. Several attempts have been made to increase the methionine content of tobacco seeds using heterologous seed protein genes from peas, common bean and soybean. Such techniques could also be used to modify lysine, tryptophan and threonine contents in cereals and legumes. Our knowledge of the biosynthetic pathways for raffinose oligosaccharides allows addressing the problem of flatulence in bean consumption and elucidating the role of these oligosaccarides in plant biology through molecular techniques. With the rapid progress being made in gene cloning and transformation methods in plants. our knowledge of basic plant metabolic processes could be the limiting factor in improving plants as food sources through molecular strategies. Initial paper received September 30, 1991 Manuscript received January 31 , 1992 Direct inquiries to B.O. De Lumen Telephone number: 510 642 8144 Fax number: 510 642 4612