Diversity of Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Landraces and the Nutritional Value of their Grains

Grain legumes are considered major sources of dietary proteins, calories, certain minerals and vitamins, and they are the most widely cultivated and consumed crops worldwide. Among them are the common beans, whose major production volumes came from landraces cultivated in traditional farming systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the phenotypic diversity of a set of common bean landraces from Mexico based on the agromorphological traits and nutritional composition of the grain in the context of traditional farming systems. Different field and laboratory data were collected and complemented with secondary information published in refereed journals and research reports. The results showed that there are significant differences in the morphological and physiological traits of the plant, pod and grain among groups of common bean landraces of different geographic origins, which were associated with different indigenous groups. Similar patterns were observed in the contents of anthocyanins, polyphenols, flavoinds and minerals as well as antioxidant activity. In the evaluated population groups in each region, there are outstanding populations in terms of agromorphological traits and the nutritional value of the grain that can enable a participatory breeding initiative guided by regional objectives. Some populations from Sierra Norte, Oaxaca, presented higher values in Zn and Fe, and populations from Estado de Mexico exhibited high polyphenol and flavonoid values but stable agronomic behaviour

Genetic diversity analysis of common beans based on molecular markers

A core collection of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), representing genetic diversity in the entire Mexican holding, is kept at the INIFAP (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias, Mexico) Germplasm Bank. After evaluation, the genetic structure of this collection (200 accessions) was compared with that of landraces from the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Veracruz (10 genotypes from each), as well as a further 10 cultivars, by means of four amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) +3/+3 primer combinations and seven simple sequence repeats (SSR) loci, in order to define genetic diversity, variability and mutual relationships. Data underwent cluster (UPGMA) and molecular variance (AMOVA) analyses. AFLP analysis produced 530 bands (88.5% polymorphic) while SSR primers amplified 174 alleles, all polymorphic (8.2 alleles per locus). AFLP indicated that the highest genetic diversity was to be found in ten commercial-seed classes from two major groups of accessions from Central Mexico and Chiapas, which seems to be an important center of diversity in the south. A third group included genotypes from Nueva Granada, Mesoamerica, Jalisco and Durango races. Here, SSR analysis indicated a reduced number of shared haplotypes among accessions, whereas the highest genetic components of AMOVA variation were found within accessions. Genetic diversity observed in the common-bean core collection represents an important sample of the total Phaseolus genetic variability at the main Germplasm Bank of INIFAP. Molecular marker strategies could contribute to a better understanding of the genetic structure of the core collection as well as to its improvement and validation