IMPROVEMENT OF THE NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF LEGUME SEED STORAGE PROTEINS BY MOLECULAR BREEDING

Legume seeds contain a large amount of proteins and are one of the ess ential protein sources for humans and animals. However, the protein in legume seeds is usually poor in sulfur-containing amino acids, and it s nutritional value is lower than the protein from animal sources. Rec ently plant breeding has become available by the introduction of molec ular biology, and a technique, called molecular breeding, was applied to the production of legume seeds that contain proteins with high nutr itional quality. This review describes the expression of legume seed p rotein genes and the transformation of legume plants. Approaches to im prove the legume seed storage protein will be discussed.