Electrophoresis of the Seed Proteins of Vicia faba L. and Its Immediate Progenitors — A Reappraisal

Electrophoretic patterns of total seed protein analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under non-dissociating and dissociating conditions were found to have diagnostic value for the Vicia species. The close similarity in the seed protein profiles of the cultivated species and Vicia narbonensis narbonensis indicated that this last species can be considered as the immediate progenitor of V. faba. The study also indicated that V. serratifolia should be included as a subspecies in V. narbonensis. The broad bean, Vicia faba, is one of the most important leguminous pulses cultivated over a wide range (from Central Asia to Western Europe and from Ethiopia and Sudan to Scandinavia). Schultz -Motel (1972) was the first to identify remains of V. faba seeds from archeological sites of the Bronze Age, mainly from Central and Southern Europe. Recently, Kislev (1985) found charred seeds of horsebean (V. faba L.) from the 7th millennium B.C. Thus, horsebean should be included among the legumes grown by some early Neolithic people. Zohary and Hopf (1973) have suggested that the wild ancestors of V. faba are species belonging to section Faba. In particular, the French vetch V. narbonensis L., was the promosing candidate; most probably, because the area of distribution of V. narbonensis coincides with that of V. faba. On the other hand, Ieibe (1934), Ladizinsky (1975), and Abdall and Gunzel (1979) refuted the reports that V. narbonensis (and wild species from the section Faba) may be considered as immediate ancestors of the cultivated species of V. faba. These authors reported on the albumin profile of seed protein in Vicia. This study aims to reassess the relationships between V. faba and its taxonomically related species in terms of their storage protein profiles and present some information on the evolution of V. faba.