A common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) diversity panel of 308 lines was established from local Spanish germplasm, as well as old and elite cultivars mainly used for snap consumption. Most of the landraces included derived from the Spanish common bean core collection, so this panel can be considered to be representative of the Spanish diversity for this species. The panel was characterized by 3099 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers obtained through genotyping-by-sequencing, which revealed a wide genetic diversity and a low level of redundant material within the panel. Structure, cluster, and principal component analyses revealed the presence of two main subpopulations corresponding to the two main gene pools identified in common bean, the Andean and Mesoamerican pools, although most lines (70%) were associated with the Andean gene pool. Lines showing recombination between the two gene pools were also observed, most of them showing useful for snap bean consumption, which suggests that both gene pools were probably used in the breeding of snap bean cultivars. The usefulness of this panel for genome-wide association studies was tested by conducting association mapping for determinacy. Significant marker–trait associations were found on chromosome Pv01, involving the gene Phvul.001G189200, which was identified as a candidate gene for determinacy in the common bean.

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A complex landscape of anthracnose resistance genes ( Co- ) located at the telomeric regions of the bean chromosomes Pv01 and Pv04 has been reported. The aim of this work was to investigate the genetic and physical positions of genes conferring resistance to races 6, 38, 39, 357, 65, and 73 as well as the relationships among the resistance genes identified herein and the previously described Co- genes in these telomeric regions. The linkage analysis using a genetic map of 497 SNPs from the recombinant inbred line population Xana/BAT93 revealed that the gene conferring resistance to race 65 in cultivar Xana ( Co-1 65-X ) was located in the Co-1 cluster, at the distal end of chromosome Pv01. The fine mapping of Co-1 65-X indicated that it was positioned between the physical positions 49,512,545 and 49,658,821 bp. This delimited physical position agrees with the positions of the previously mapped genes Co- 1 4 , Co-x , Co-14 , Co-1 HY , and Co-Pa . Responses to races 6, 38, 39, and 357 in BAT93 exhibited co-segregation suggesting that the same gene, or very closely linked genes, were involved in the control. The linkage analysis showed that the resistance gene to race 38 in the genotype BAT93 ( Co-3 38-B ) was located at the beginning of chromosome Pv04, in the genetic position of the Co-3 cluster, and was flanked by markers with physical positions between 1,286,490 and 2,047,754 bp. Thus, the genes Co-3, Co-9, Co-10, Co-16, and Co-3 38-B , found in this work, form part of the same anthracnose resistance cluster at the beginning of chromosome Pv04, which is consistent with the discontinuous distribution of typical R genes annotated in the underlying genomic region. Resistance loci involved in the response to race 73 in the genotypes Xana (R) and BAT93 (R) were mapped to the same positions on clusters Co-1 and Co-3, respectively. The positioning of the resistance genes in the bean genome based on fine linkage mapping should play an important role in the characterization and differentiation of the anthracnose resistance genes. The assignment of Co- genes to clusters of race specific genes can help simplify the current scenario of anthracnose resistance.

Domesticated crops have been disseminated by humans over vast geographic areas. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was introduced in Europe after 1492. Here, by combining whole-genome profiling, metabolic fingerprinting and phenotypic characterisation, we show that the first common bean cultigens successfully introduced into Europe were of Andean origin, after Francisco Pizarro’s expedition to northern Peru in 1529. We reveal that hybridisation, selection and recombination have shaped the genomic diversity of the European common bean in parallel with political constraints. There is clear evidence of adaptive introgression into the Mesoamerican-derived European genotypes, with 44 Andean introgressed genomic segments shared by more than 90% of European accessions and distributed across all chromosomes except PvChr11. Genomic scans for signatures of selection highlight the role of genes relevant to flowering and environmental adaptation, suggesting that introgression has been crucial for the dissemination of this tropical crop to the temperate regions of Europe.

Food legumes are at the crossroads of many societal challenges that involve agriculture, such as climate change and food sustainability and security. In this context, pulses have a crucial role in the development of plant-based diets, as they represent a very good source of nutritional components and improve soil fertility, such as by nitrogen fixation through symbiosis with rhizobia. The main contribution to promotion of food legumes in agroecosystems will come from plant breeding, which is guaranteed by the availability of well-characterized genetic resources. Here, we analyze seeds of 25 American and European common bean purified accessions (i.e., lines of single seed descent) for different morphological and compositional quality traits. Significant differences among the accessions and superior genotypes for important nutritional traits are identified, with some lines showing extreme values for more than one trait. Heritability estimates indicate the importance of considering the effects of environmental growth conditions on seed compositional traits. They suggest the need for more phenotypic characterization in different environments over different years to better characterize combined effects of environment and genotype on nutritional trait variations. Finally, adaptation following the introduction and spread of common bean in Europe seems to have affected its nutritional profile. This finding further suggests the relevance of evolutionary studies to guide breeders in the choice of plant genetic resources.