A Core Set of Snap Bean Genotypes Established by Phenotyping a Large Panel Collected in Europe.

Carmen García-Fernández,Roberto Papa,Creola Brezeanu,Ana Campa,Elena Bitocchi,Juan Jose Ferreira,Valérie Geffroy,Maria Jurado

doi:10.3390/plants11050577

Abstract

Snap beans are a group of bean cultivars grown for their edible immature pods. The objective of this work was to characterize the diversity of pod phenotypes in a snap bean panel (SBP), comprising 311 lines collected in Europe, and establish a core set (Core-SBP) with the maximum diversity of pod phenotypes. Phenotyping of the SBP was carried out over two seasons based on 14 quantitative pod dimension traits along with three qualitative traits: pod color, seed coat color, and growth habit. Phenotypes were grouped into 54 classes using a hierarchical method, and a Core-SBP with one line per phenotype class was established. A further field-based evaluation of the Core-SBP revealed higher diversity index values than those obtained for the SBP. The Core-SBP was also genotyped using 24 breeder-friendly DNA markers tagging 21 genomic regions previously associated with pod trait control. Significant marker-trait associations were found for 11 of the 21 analyzed regions as well as the locus fin. The established Core-SBP was a first attempt to classify snap bean cultivars based on pod morphology and constituted a valuable source of characteristics for future breeding programs and genetic analysis.

Highlights

Snap beans, are a group of common bean cultivars (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), whose fresh pods are consumed as green vegetables
The results of evaluating the phenotypic diversity in 311 snap bean accessions showed wide ranges of variation for the 14 quantitative pod traits evaluated in 311 lines (Tables 1 and 2; Figure S1)
Phenotyping often constitutes a bottleneck in diversity studies, given the resources and time required for its development

Summary

Introduction

Snap beans, (syn. garden, French, or green beans) are a group of common bean cultivars (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), whose fresh pods (immature pods and seeds) are consumed as green vegetables. Snap bean pods are comprised of 90% water and a small percentage of carbohydrates and proteins. They are nutritionally interesting for their content of dietary fiber, vitamins (folates, A, B, and C), and essential minerals such as K, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, P, and Zn. In addition, the bean pods contain phenols and flavonoids, two families of molecules well known for their antioxidant action [3,4]. The bean pods contain phenols and flavonoids, two families of molecules well known for their antioxidant action [3,4] These molecules play an important role in human health, because they possess antioxidant activity, which has anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic, and anti-carcinogenic properties [5]

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