E-Mail IMAGE: USask plant researcher Kirstin Bett (left) discusses beans and pulses with Crystal Chan, former project manager view more Credit: Debra Marshall Photography SASKATOON - Tepary beans--a high protein legume common to the southwest United States and Mexico--may hold the key to adapting bean crops for the increasingly harsh conditions brought on by a changing climate, according to research led by University of Saskatchewan (USask) and Michigan State University. In a study just published in Nature Communications, the researchers found that as the mercury rises to 27oC at night--a temperature devastating for current bean crops--specific genes sensitive to heat stress in the tepary bean get activated, protecting the plant.