Anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, is one of the devastating disease affecting common bean production and productivity worldwide. Several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for anthracnose resistance have been identified. In order to make use of these QTLs in common bean breeding programs, a detailed meta-QTL (MQTL) analysis has been conducted. For the MQTL analysis, 92 QTLs related to anthracnose disease reported in 18 different earlier studies involving 16 mapping populations were compiled and projected on to the consensus map. This meta-analysis led to the identification of 11 MQTLs (each involving QTLs from at least two different studies) on 06 bean chromosomes and 10 QTL hotspots each involving multiple QTLs from an individual study on 07 chromosomes. The confidence interval (CI) of the identified MQTLs was found 3.51 times lower than the CI of initial QTLs. Marker-trait associations (MTAs) reported in published genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were used to validate nine of the 11 identified MQTLs, with MQTL4.1 overlapping with as many as 40 MTAs. Functional annotation of the 11 MQTL regions revealed 1,251 genes including several R genes (such as those encoding for NBS-LRR domain-containing proteins, protein kinases, etc.) and other defense related genes. The MQTLs, QTL hotspots and the potential candidate genes identified during the present study will prove useful in common bean marker-assisted breeding programs and in basic studies involving fine mapping and cloning of genomic regions associated with anthracnose resistance in common beans.

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The diverse microclimatic belts of the Western Himalayan region of India are considered hot spots for genetic diversity of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Western Himalayan beans are known for various agronomically superior/important traits including unique aroma, taste and cooking quality. In the present study, 25 unlinked genomic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers distributed across the common bean genome were used to assess the genetic/allelic diversity among and within populations belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir regions of the Western Himalayas. These two regions are considered most important hot-spots for common bean diversity in western-Himalayas. The analysis of genotypic data of SSR markers revealed a total of 263 alleles with an average of 10.52 alleles per locus. The genetic diversity analysis revealed higher variability in bean landraces belonging to Jammu region (He = 0.73) as compared to genotypes from Kashmir region (He = 0.647) and some exotic genotypes (0.71). The genotypes were also phenotyped for four important nutritional traits and the analysis of trait data revealed that sugar content was highest in common bean genotypes from Jammu region, while protein, starch and phenol content were highest in exotic common bean genotypes. Therefore, the superiority of common bean germplasm from Jammu region may be due to a higher level of allelic diversity, more private alleles and higher sugar content. The diverse genotypes based on genotypic data and trait performance will prove useful in future breeding programs aimed at enhancing nutritional contents of common bean varieties.

Cool season grain legumes occupy an important place among the agricultural crops and essentially provide multiple benefits including food supply, nutrition security, soil fertility improvement and revenue for farmers all over the world. However, owing to climate change, the average temperature is steadily rising, which negatively affects crop performance and limits their yield. Terminal heat stress that mainly occurred during grain development phases severely harms grain quality and weight in legumes adapted to the cool season, such as lentils, faba beans, chickpeas, field peas, etc. Although, traditional breeding approaches with advanced screening procedures have been employed to identify heat tolerant legume cultivars. Unfortunately, traditional breeding pipelines alone are no longer enough to meet global demands. Genomics-assisted interventions including new-generation sequencing technologies and genotyping platforms have facilitated the development of high-resolution molecular maps, QTL/gene discovery and marker-assisted introgression, thereby improving the efficiency in legumes breeding to develop stress-resilient varieties. Based on the current scenario, we attempted to review the intervention of genomics to decipher different components of tolerance to heat stress and future possibilities of using newly developed genomics-based interventions in cool season adapted grain legumes.

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Micronutrient deficiency is a widespread food-related health problem around the world. The present study was conducted to evaluate a set of 63 advanced breeding lines of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for grain iron (GFe) and grain zinc (GZn) concentrations, and to characterise the germplasm set via simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers (both genic and random). Substantial variation was found for both micronutrients. GFe concentration ranged from 28.9 to 67.4 mg kg–1 and GZn from 26.3 to 56.6 mg kg–1. Molecular characterisation with six genic and 20 random SSR markers detected 168 alleles with an average of 3.170 alleles per locus. Analysis of genotypic data based on division into two subpopulations revealed 165 alleles with an average of 3.113 alleles per locus in the low GFe–GZn subpopulation, whereas in the high GFe–GZn subpopulation, 149 alleles with an average of 2.811 alleles per locus were detected. Genic SSRs detected a higher average number of alleles (3.273 alleles per locus) than random SSRs (3.143 alleles per locus). Hierarchical clustering using genic markers alone clustered the whole germplasm set into two distinct groups: one possessing low GFe–GZn genotypes, the other with high GFe–GZn genotypes. Study of marker–trait associations (MTAs) identified seven new MTAs (six for GZn and one for GFe) and validated one MTA for GZn concentration. The promising genotypes and MTAs identified during the study will prove useful in wheat bio-fortification programs in the future.