To solve the future food insecurity problem, alternative and sustainable protein sources (e.g. insects, rapeseed, fava bean and algae) are now being explored for the production of food and feed. To approve these novel protein sources for future food a comprehensive risk assessment is needed according to the European food legislation. Allergenicity risk assessment might pose some major difficult...

In addition to their application in organ transplantation, immunosuppressive drugs are valuable tools for studying signal transduction in eukaryotic cells. Using affinity chromatography, we have purified immunosuppressive drug receptors (immunophilins) from fava bean. Proteins belonging to both major classes of the immunophilin family identified from animal sources [FK506- and rapamycin-binding...

To analyze sugar transport processes during seed development of fava bean, we cloned cDNAs encoding one sucrose and one hexose transporter, designated VfSUT1 and VfSTP1, respectively. sugar uptake activity was confirmed after heterologous expression in yeast. Gene expression was studied in relation to seed development. Transcripts were detected in both vegetative and seed tissues. In the embryo...

Extrafloral (EF) nectaries recruit carnivorous arthropods that protect plants from herbivory, but they can also be exploited by nectar thieves. We studied the opportunistic, targeted predation (and destruction) of EF nectaries by insects, and the localized chemical defences that plants presumably use to minimize this effect. In field and laboratory experiments, we identified insects that were p...

Erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-P.D.) deficiency is associated with an increased susceptibility to hemolysis following ingestion of such agents as primaquine, naphthaline, sulfonamides, other drugs and the fava bean (1, 2). The incidence of this trait varies considerably among different population groups. Thus, it is relatively common among Negroes (3-7) and among Caucasians ...

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a group of congenital malformations with worldwide distribution and complex etiopathogenesis. Folic acid plays a pivotal role in their prevention. We aimed to identify the protective effect of folic acid intake against NTDs and its dependence on different socioeconomic and environmental factors in a cohort of mothers in Egypt. A cross-sectional study was carried o...

Microtubules influence morphogenesis by forming distinct geometrical arrays in the cell cortex, which in turn affect the deposition of cellulose microfibrils. Although many chemical and physical factors affect microtubule orientation, it is unclear how cortical microtubules in elongating cells maintain their ordered transverse arrays and how they reorganize into new geometries. To visualize the...