α-amylase inhibitors were purified and characterized from the seeds of Macrotyloma uniflorum (MUAI) and Vigna unguiculata (VUAI). MUAI was purified using CM-cellulose column while VUAI was purified using Poros HS-50 column followed by gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 column. The molecular weights of MUAI and VUAI as determined by gel filtration were 26.91 kD and 21.89 kD respectively. Both MUAI ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Intra-species hybridization and incompletely homogenized ribosomal RNA repeat units have earlier been reported in 21 accessions of Vigna unguiculata from six subspecies using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 5S intergenic spacer (IGS) analyses. However, the relationships among these accessions were not clear from these analyses. We therefore assessed intra-species hybri...

This paper reports the cloning of a cDNA (Vupat1) expressed in Vigna unguiculata leaves coding for a protein with 48% sequence homology to patatin, the major protein from potato tuber which has lipolytic acylhydrolase activity. Two cultivars differing in drought tolerance were examined in Northern-blot analyses. Expression of Vupat1 is stimulated by drought stress, especially in the drought-sen...

The strain BR 3351T (Bradyrhizobium manausense) was obtained from nodules of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) growing in soil collected from Amazon rainforest. Furthermore, it was observed that the strain has high capacity to fix nitrogen symbiotically in symbioses with cowpea. We report here the draft genome sequence of strain BR 3351T. The information presented will be important for compara...

* Corresponding author A protease inhibitor gene has been isolated from native cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) cv. 130 from λ-ZAP II genomic library. The nucleotide sequence of this genomic clone shared 86% homology with a cowpea trypsin inhibitor f IV mRNA, and 81% with BowmanBirk protease inhibitor genes of soybean. The isolated gene had TATA and CAT signals in the 5' upstream region. The longe...

A method is described for isolating mitochondria from nodules of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) under completely anaerobic conditions. The mitochondria were immediately active when incubated aerobically with substrates, and their respiration rates were higher than mitochondria prepared in air. The mitochondria lacked fumarate reductase and were not inhibited by 5% CO(2). When incubated u...

Yardlong bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) plants with virus-like systemic mottling and leaf distortion were observed in both experimental and commercial fields in Aragua State, Venezuela. Symptomatic leaves were shown to contain carlavirus-like particles. RT-PCR analysis with carlavirus-specific primers was positive in all tested samples. Nucleotide sequences of the obtained ampli...

Inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense Cd of two leguminous species, soybean (Glycine max) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), demonstrated that: (1) A. brasilense significantly increased proton efflux from their roots; (2) inoculation reduced plant membrane potential (in soybean), (3) inoculation changed the phospholipid quantity in plant membranes of calli (in cowpea), and (4) a low molecular w...

α-Amylase inhibitor from Vigna unguiculata seeds (VUAI) was purified using ionexchange chromatography on Poros HS-50 column. Plant cell culture was used as it provides a controlled environmental and nutritional condition. VUAI used in different concentrations as 10, 100 and 200 ppm was found to increase the biomass of both grape and peanut callus cells in liquid media. Increased anthocyanin con...

A concentration as low as 1 microM lead (Pb) is highly toxic to plants, but previous studies have typically related plant growth to the total amount of Pb added to a solution. In the present experiment, the relative fresh mass of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) was reduced by 10% at a Pb2+ activity of 0.2 microM for the shoots and at a Pb2+ activity of 0.06 microM for the roots. The primary site of ...