Tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) is an underutilized drought tolerant annual legume, originating from the Sonoran Desert, that may be a beneficial forage/hay for beef cattle in the ...Southern Great Plains of the US (SGP). The SGP has erratic rainfall and periods of intermittent drought exacerbated by high summer temperatures. In 2020 and 2021, a split-plot design was used to evaluate 13 genotypes of tepary bean and a forage soybean (control) at El Reno, OK, USA to compare production of plant biomass and forage nutritive value parameters under seven harvest regimes. Genotypes were used as the main plot and cutting management as the sub-plot. Biomass production of all tepary bean genotypes equaled that of soybean (p > 0.05), while several genotypes had superior forage nutritive value traits (p ≤ 0.05). Overall, a 15-cm cutting height and 30-day harvest interval produced the best overall product (average dry biomass of 5.8 Mg ha
with average relative feed values (RFV) of 165). Although all harvest regimes reduced total seasonal biomass, forage nutritive value increased. However, the tradeoff between forage production and nutritive value may be unacceptable to most producers. Further agronomic and breeding research is needed to encourage producers to grow tepary bean as a forage/hay in the SGP.
Many environmental stresses can affect the accumulation of metabolites in plants, including drought. In the present study, we found a great deal of variability in the seed metabolic profiles of the ...tolerant (Matterhorn, SB-DT2 and SB-DT3) common bean genotypes in comparison to the sensitive genotypes (Sawtooth, Merlot and Stampede) using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography−tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). The genotypes were grown in the field and subjected to drought stress after flowering (terminal drought stress). We aimed to investigate the accumulation of genotype-specific metabolites and related pathways under terminal drought stress by comparing tolerant and sensitive genotypes within a race. A total of 26 potential metabolites were identified across genotype comparisons. Significant metabolic pathways, including monobactam biosynthesis, flavone and flavonol biosynthesis, pentose phosphate pathway, C5-branched dibasic acid metabolism, cysteine and methionine metabolism, vitamin B6 metabolism and flavonoid biosynthesis, were derived from the enriched metabolites. Many of these metabolic pathways were specific and varied with genotype comparisons. SB-DT2 vs. stampede revealed more significant metabolites and metabolic pathways compared to Matterhorn vs. Sawtooth and SB-DT3 vs. Merlot under terminal drought stress. Our study provides useful information regarding the metabolite profiles of seeds and their related pathways in comparisons of tolerant and sensitive common bean genotypes under terminal drought conditions. Further research, including transcriptomic and proteomic analyses, may contribute to a better understanding of molecular mechanisms and nutritional differences among seeds of common bean genotypes grown under terminal drought conditions.
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important grain legume for human consumption and has a role in sustainable agriculture owing to its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. We assembled ...473 Mb of the 587-Mb genome and genetically anchored 98% of this sequence in 11 chromosome-scale pseudomolecules. We compared the genome for the common bean against the soybean genome to find changes in soybean resulting from polyploidy. Using resequencing of 60 wild individuals and 100 landraces from the genetically differentiated Mesoamerican and Andean gene pools, we confirmed 2 independent domestications from genetic pools that diverged before human colonization. Less than 10% of the 74 Mb of sequence putatively involved in domestication was shared by the two domestication events. We identified a set of genes linked with increased leaf and seed size and combined these results with quantitative trait locus data from Mesoamerican cultivars. Genes affected by domestication may be useful for genomics-enabled crop improvement.
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is consumed worldwide, with strong regional preferences for seed appearance characteristics. Colors of the seed coat, hilum ring, and corona are all important, ...along with susceptibility to postharvest darkening, which decreases seed value. This study aimed to characterize a collection of 295 yellow bean genotypes for seed appearance and postharvest darkening, evaluate genotype × environment (G × E) effects and map those traits via genome‐wide association analysis. Yellow bean germplasm were grown for 2 yr in Michigan and Nebraska and seed were evaluated for L*a*b* color values, postharvest darkening, and hilum ring and corona colors. A model to exclude the hilum ring and corona of the seeds, black background, and light reflection was developed by using machine learning, allowing for targeted and efficient L*a*b* value extraction from the seed coat. The G × E effects were significant for the color values, and Michigan‐grown seeds were darker than Nebraska‐grown seeds. Single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with L* and hilum ring color on Pv10 near the J gene involved in mature seed coat color and hilum ring color. A SNP on Pv07 associated with L*, a*, postharvest darkening, and hilum ring and corona colors was near the P gene, the ground factor gene for seed coat color expression. The machine‐learning‐aided model used to extract color values from the seed coat, the wide variability in seed morphology traits, and the associated SNPs provide tools for future breeding and research efforts to meet consumers’ expectations for bean seed appearance.
Core Ideas
Postharvest darkening in yellow beans is associated with P gene.
Environment influences yellow seed coat color independent of postharvest darkening.
Imaging combined with machine learning is a useful way to measure bean seed coat color.
Genotype and environmental differences in bean seed coat color are detectable via imaging.
Dry beans and other pulses (e.g., chickpeas and cowpeas) are nutrient‐dense foods that promote human and environmental health. However, consumption is declining in many regions around the world. ...Addressing barriers to greater pulse intake is important to reverse this trend. Cooking time is one such barrier, with consumers viewing the long cooking times of many pulses as a hurdle to higher consumption due to lack of time or fuel availability. Equipping consumers with simple, accessible ways to reduce pulse cooking time is one way to mitigate this barrier. Accordingly, this study assessed changes to cooking time when pinto beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were cooked at four elevations using different soaking conditions, which reflect a combination of the soaking method and salt added to the soaking solution. There were seven different cooking conditions: soaking via the overnight or quick soak method in only water or in 1% sodium chloride (NaCl) or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) solutions and a no soak with no salt added comparison. Using an overnight (12‐h) soak or a quick soak resulted in similar reductions in cooking time compared to unsoaked beans. Soaking in NaCl and NaHCO3 solutions further decreased cooking time than when only water was used, with the shortest cooking times seen for NaHCO3. Elevation also impacted cooking time, with the longest cooking time being for unsoaked beans at the highest testing elevation. Adding either salt to the soaking water reduced the effect of elevation. This information was synthesized to give consumers practical tips to reduce cooking time.
Common bean (
Phaseolus vulgaris
L.) is a nutrient-rich food, but its long cooking times hinder its wider utilization. The Yellow Bean Collection (YBC) was assembled with 295 genotypes from global ...sources to assess the genetic and phenotypic diversity for end-use quality traits in yellow beans. The panel was genotyped with over 2,000 SNPs identified via Genotyping-By-Sequencing (GBS). Through population structure analyses with the GBS markers, the YBC was determined to be 69% Andean, 26% Middle American, and 5% admixture. The YBC was grown in two major bean production regions in the U.S., Michigan (MI) and Nebraska (NE) over two years. The genotypes exhibited a wide diversity in days to flower, seed weight, water uptake, and cooking time. The cooking times of the YBC ranged from 17–123 min. The cooking time were longer and varied more widely in NE with many more genotypes exhibiting hardshell than in MI. Fast-cooking genotypes were identified with various yellow colors; 20 genotypes cooked within 20 min in MI, and eight genotypes cooked within 31 min in NE. Water uptake and cooking time were significantly affected by the environment, which included both the growing and cooking environment, and notably in relation to cooking, NE is higher elevation than MI. SNPs associated with cooking time were identified with genome-wide association analyses and a polygalacturonase gene on Pv04 was considered to be a candidate gene. The genotypic and phenotypic variability, fast-cooking genotypes, and the associated SNPs of the YBC will lay the foundation for utilizing yellow beans for breeding and genetic analyses.
Most foods are considered functional in terms of providing nutrients and energy to sustain daily life, but dietary systems that are capable of preventing or remediating a stressed or diseased state ...are classified as functional foods. Dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) contain high levels of chemically diverse components (phenols, resistance starch, vitamins, fructooligosaccharides) that have shown to protect against such conditions as oxidative stress, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and many types of cancer, thereby positioning this legume as an excellent functional food. Moreover, the United States has a rich dry bean history and is currently a top producer of dry beans in the world with pinto beans accounting for the vast majority. Despite these attributes, dry bean consumption in the US remains relatively low. Therefore, the objective of this manuscript is to review dry beans as an important US agricultural crop and as functional food for the present age with an emphasis on pinto beans.
This study identified proteomic changes in the seeds of two tolerant (SB-DT3 and SB-DT2) and two sensitive (Merlot and Stampede) common bean genotypes in response to terminal drought stress. ...Differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were abundant in the susceptible genotype compared to the tolerant line. DEPs associated with starch biosynthesis, protein-chromophore linkage, and photosynthesis were identified in both genotypes, while a few DEPs and enriched biological pathways exhibited genotype-specific differences. The tolerant genotypes uniquely showed DEPs related to sugar metabolism and plant signaling, while the sensitive genotypes displayed more DEPs involved in plant-pathogen interaction, proteasome function, and carbohydrate metabolism. DEPs linked with chaperone and signal transduction were significantly altered between both genotypes. In summary, our proteomic analysis revealed both conserved and genotype-specific DEPs that could be used as targets in selective breeding and developing drought-tolerant common bean genotypes.
We conducted a genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of three drought tolerant and sensitive genotypes of common bean to examine their transcriptional responses to terminal drought stress. We then ...conducted pairwise comparisons between the root and leaf transcriptomes from the resulting tissue based on combined transcriptomic data from the tolerant and sensitive genotypes. Our transcriptomic data revealed that 491 (6.4%) DEGs (differentially expressed genes) were upregulated in tolerant genotypes, whereas they were downregulated in sensitive genotypes; likewise, 396 (5.1%) DEGs upregulated in sensitive genotypes were downregulated in tolerant genotypes. Several transcription factors, heat shock proteins, and chaperones were identified in the study. Several DEGs in drought DB (data Base) overlapped between genotypes. The GO (gene ontology) terms for biological processes showed upregulation of DEGs in tolerant genotypes for sulfate and drug transmembrane transport when compared to sensitive genotypes. A GO term for cellular components enriched with upregulated DEGs for the apoplast in tolerant genotypes. These results substantiated the temporal pattern of root growth (elongation and initiation of root growth), and ABA-mediated drought response in tolerant genotypes. KEGG (kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes) analysis revealed an upregulation of MAPK (mitogen activated protein kinase) signaling pathways and plant hormone signaling pathways in tolerant genotypes. As a result of this study, it will be possible to uncover the molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance in response to terminal drought stress in the field. Further, genome-wide transcriptomic analysis of both tolerant and sensitive genotypes will assist us in identifying potential genes that may contribute to improving drought tolerance in the common bean.
We report the transmission spectra and electric field amplitudes of electromagnetic modes propagating in hybrid periodic/quasiperiodic multilayer photonic structures in one dimension (1D). We ...consider the case of the combination of biperiodic Bragg mirror and triperiodic Bragg mirrors with quasiregular (FB, Fibonacci) layered components. The corresponding hybrid structure (HB) is formed by concatenating BM(N)-FB(M)-BM(N), where N (M) means the number of periods (sequence order) used for the Bragg mirrors (FB) structure. A single defect layer (D) is considered in the middle of two HBs (HB-D-HB). Optimizing the parameters (the order of sequence, number of Bragg mirror layers, thickness, and the refractive index of D) allows us to obtain narrowband filters. The manipulation of these parameters fixes the number of photonic band gaps as well as the position of transmission peaks. The existence of the selectively localized behavior of some optical modes in the structures is discussed.