Non-protein amino acid-accumulating clade

The non-protein amino acid-accumulating clade, also known as the Canavanine-accumulating clade is a clade of the flowering plant subfamily Faboideae (or Papilionoideae) that includes the majority of agriculturally-cultivated legumes.^[3][4][1] It is characterized by the accumulation of the non-proteinogenic amino acid canavanine in the seeds—a deterrent against herbivory. This phylogenetic trait was first recognized in the early 1980s.^[5] This clade is consistently resolved in molecular phylogenies.^[3][4][2] It contains many economically important genera, including Cicer, Glycine, Medicago, Phaseolus, Trifolium, Vicia, and Vigna.

Non-protein amino acid-accumulating clade
Canavalia ensiformis, from which canavanine was first isolated
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fabales
Family:	Fabaceae
Subfamily:	Faboideae
Clade:	Meso-Papilionoideae
Clade:	Non-protein amino acid-accumulating clade (Cardoso et al 2012)[1]
Clades[1][2]
Hologalegina Hypocalypteae Indigofereae Millettioids Mirbelioids Cicereae Phaseoleae
Synonyms
Canavanine-accumulating clade NPAAA clade

Description

This clade circumscribes five subordinate clades: two traditional tribes (Hypocalypteae and Indigofereae) and three informal clades (the mirbelioids, the millettioids, and Hologalegina), as well as several minor taxa.^[2] The name of this clade is informal and is not assumed to have any particular taxonomic rank like the names authorized by the ICBN or the ICPN.^[1] The clade does not currently have a node-based definition.

See also

• IRL, another clade defined by molecular characteristics, rests within the NPAAA clade