Lablab purpureus is an agriculturally, biologically, medicinally and economically important African orphan crop. Wikipedia states L. purpureus is variable due to extensive breeding in cultivation, but in general they are annual or short-lived perennial vines. The fruit is a legume pod variable in shape, size, and colour. It is usually several cm long and bright purple to pale green and contains up to four seeds. The seeds are white, brown, red, or black depending on the cultivar, sometimes with a white hilum. Wild plants have mottled seeds. The seed is about a cm long.
Wikipedia includes in its list of uses; the fruit and beans are edible if boiled well with several changes of the water; the leaves are eaten raw or cooked like spinach; the flowers can be eaten raw or steamed; the root can be boiled or baked for food and the seeds are used to make tofu and tempeh.
In Kenya, the bean is though to encourage lactation and has historically been the main dish for breastfeeding mothers. Here we present draft genome information of Lablab purpureus. The assembled genome of Lablab purpureus is 395 Mb, and we predict 20946 protein-coding genes for this crop species. We have further analyzed the expansion and contraction of selected gene families, and characterized root-nodule-symbiosis genes, transcription factors and starch biosynthesis related genes in the genome of this species.

Keywords:

• orphan crops
• food security
• whole-genome sequencing
• transcriptome
• root nodule symbiosis
• transcription factors

Read the peer-reviewed publication(s):

(PubMed: 30535374)

Related datasets:

doi:10.5524/101056 IsPartOf doi:10.5524/100504

Additional information:

www.africanorphancrops.org

Projects: