Protease inhibitors and lectins in cowpea
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Wild and cultivated accessions of cowpea were analysed for trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors, and lectins in order to assess: their variability; their influence in the mechanism of Bruchid resistance; their evolution during species domestication. Wild Vigna vexillata showed significantly higher values (P < 0·0001) for trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors and significantly lower values (P < 0·025) for lectins as compared with cultivated accessions. This may imply that domestication operates an indirect selection for these characters. High degrees of correlation between chymotrypsin inhibitors and trypsin inhibitors (r = 0·959) and significant correlation (P < 0·01) between trypsin inhibitors and protein content were found. The high resistance to Bruchid and the high trypsin inhibitor content of V. vexillata suggest that, even where there is no direct relationship between Bruchid resistance and trypsin inhibitor content, protease inhibitors promote, or are a component of, the plant's defence mechanism.
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trypsin, chymotrypsin, cowpeas