Abstract
Seed weight and seed size are the key agronomic traits that determine yield in common bean. To investigate the genetic architecture of four seed traits (100-seed weight, seed length, seed width, and seed height) of common bean in China, marker-trait association analysis of these seed traits was performed in a nationwide population of 395 common bean accessions using 116 polymorphic SSR markers. The four seed traits were evaluated in six trials across three environments. Seed size varied among the environments. Population structure was evaluated based on SSR markers and phaseolin, which divided the accessions into two main subpopulations representing the two known gene pools. Seed weight and seed size had a strong relationship with population clustering. In addition, in a Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), 21 significantly associated markers were identified for the four seed traits with two models, namely, general linear model (GLM) and mixed linear model (MLM). Some markers had pleiotropic effects, i.e., controlled more than one trait. The significant quantitative trait loci identified in this study could be used in marker-assisted breeding to accelerate the genetic improvement of yield in common bean.
Highlights
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a crop of major societal importance with high levels of nutrients and dietary protein (Welch et al, 2000; Kutoš et al, 2003; Krupa, 2008; Montoya et al, 2010)
The results indicated that 58.2% of all the accessions belonged to the Mesoamerican gene pool while 41.8% belonged to the Andean gene pool
This study provides a comprehensive picture of genetic diversity and structure of Chinese common bean accessions
Summary
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a crop of major societal importance with high levels of nutrients and dietary protein (Welch et al, 2000; Kutoš et al, 2003; Krupa, 2008; Montoya et al, 2010). As a result of the domestication process, the two gene pools show differences in agronomic traits, such as seed size, seed storage protein (phaseolin) type, bracteole shape, and growth habit, among others. Among these traits, seed size is the most. Thought to be the secondary center of genetic diversity for common bean, was reported to include materials from the two gene pools, with seeds being mainly small to medium in size but occasionally large (Zhang et al, 2008; Bellucci et al, 2014). Compared with soybean, rice and maize (Wang et al, 2015; Xu et al, 2015, 2018; Sangiorgio et al, 2016), common bean (especially Chinese common bean germplasm) has been the subject of few studies on the genetic control of seed traits such as seed weight and seed size
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