Project Number: 6250-51000-051-21
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Sep 01, 2009
End Date: Aug 31, 2013

Objective:
This project will integrate research, extension, and education activities to develop new breeding material or improved breeding tools in common bean, with the goal of enhancing nutritional traits in this crop. An association mapping population consisting of 400 diverse lines, representing the major US market classes, will be evaluated for a number of nutritional traits including minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, health-beneficial phytochemicals, and differences in iron bioavailability. All of the lines will be genotyped, using currently available molecular markers, and the phenotype and genotype data will be used to discover regions of the genome that affect the nutrient traits. This will be accomplished using modern association mapping techniques, and will lead to the development of readily scorable molecular markers that bean researchers can use to breed new bean cultivars with enhanced nutritional quality.

Approach:
Mineral concentration and iron bioavailability studies will occur on seed samples of common bean using ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy) or an in vitro model system (Caco-2 cells). The CNRC will analyze approximately 9,600 bean samples using ICP-OES and as many as 600 samples using our Caco-2 iron bioavailability model.