Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing : Home

Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
Germplasm Collection

Introduction

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), consumed in both dry and fresh forms, is one of the most significant food legumes worldwide. Only soybean (Glycine max L.) and peanut (Arachis hypogea L.) are considered more important.

Throughout the world, common bean is rated as the most important pulse crop, providing proteins complementary to cereals and other carbohydrate-rich foods, and is a source of many health benefits, e.g. soluble fiber and anti-oxidants.¹⁾

The Phaseolus Germplasm Collection was developed to meet the mission of the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) to acquire, maintain, evaluate, document and distribute germplasm in order to aid scientists in improving the quality and productivity of crops. The collection is housed at the Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, in Pullman, Washington.

The Phaseolus Genetic Stock Collection

A special division of the Phaseolus collection has been created to emphasize the genetic analyses and studies of common bean. The Phaseolus Genetic Stock Collection contains 4 subsets of bean accessions:

Genetic Markers, developed by Dr. M.J. Bassett link
Dr. M. J. Bassett's biography link
Chromosome Translocation stocks, developed by M.J. Bassett, L. Hung, and M. Ashraf link
The Lamprecht Collection link
Parents of RIL used for genetic mapping and research link

Note: The contents of this page will change as new information becomes available. Please contact Julie Thayer, the interim curator of the Phaseolus collection, with any comments, suggestions or corrections.

¹⁾ Common Bean Improvement in the Twenty-First Century; Shree P. Singh (ed.); Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA; 1999.