Discovering and verifying DNA polymorphisms in a mung bean [V. radiata (L.) R. Wilczek] collection by EcoTILLING and sequencing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Vigna radiata</it>, which is classified in the family Fabaceae, is an important economic crop and a dietary staple in many developing countries. The species <it>radiata </it>can be further subdivided into varieties of which the variety <it>sublobata </it>is currently acknowledged as the putative progenitor of <it>radiata</it>. EcoTILLING was employed to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and small insertions/deletions (INDELS) in a collection of <it>Vigna radiata </it>accessions.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>A total of 157 DNA polymorphisms in the collection were produced from ten primer sets when using <it>V. radiata </it>var. <it>sublobata </it>as the reference. The majority of polymorphisms detected were found in putative introns. The banding patterns varied from simple to complex as the number of DNA polymorphisms between two pooled samples increased. Numerous SNPs and INDELS ranging from 4–24 and 1–6, respectively, were detected in all fragments when pooling <it>V. radiata </it>var. <it>sublobata </it>with <it>V. radiata </it>var. <it>radiata</it>. On the other hand, when accessions of <it>V. radiata </it>var. <it>radiata </it>were mixed together and digested with CEL I relatively few SNPs and no INDELS were detected.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>EcoTILLING was utilized to identify polymorphisms in a collection of mung bean, which previously showed limited molecular genetic diversity and limited morphological diversity in the flowers and pod descriptors. Overall, EcoTILLING proved to be a powerful genetic analysis tool providing the rapid identification of naturally occurring variation.</p