Indian scientists at the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) in Lucknow, have identified and isolated a gene from the black eyed cowpea (Vigna unguicalata) which codes for a protein that inhibits the action of a protein digesting enzyme -- trypsin. Says NBRI director P V Sane, "The ultimate aim of initiating these studies is to transfer this gene to crop plants such as Cicer (chick pea) and Cajanus (pigeon pea)."

The trypsin inhibitor gene, scientists feel, is an appropriate choice not only because it is easy to manipulate using molecular biology techniques, but because the trypsin inhibitor protein it produces restricts the digestion of proteins, particularly by insects belonging to the class Lepidoptera, which includes the deadly Heliocoverpa larva (the pod borer) that claims several tonnes of legume seeds each year.

Scientists Vidhu Bijola and her colleagues at the NBRI reckon that once incorporated into the chickpea or pigeon pea plant genome, this gene will be activated when the seeds are about to be formed, protecting them from insect damage.