QTL mapping of seed quality traits including cooking time, flavor, and texture in a yellow dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) population

Authors: BASSETT, AMBER - Michigan State University; Katuuramu, Dennis; Song, Qijian; Cichy, Karen

Submitted to: Frontiers in Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/21/2021
Publication Date: 6/22/2021
Citation: Bassett, A.N., Katuuramu, D.N., Song, Q., Cichy, K.A. 2021. QTL mapping of seed quality traits including cooking time, flavor, and texture in a yellow dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) population. Frontiers in Plant Science. 12:670284. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.670284.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.670284

Interpretive Summary: Dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are widely regarded as a nutritious and affordable food. The species encompasses many different market classes grown and consumed around the world with many regional preferences. There is variability not just for seed size, color, and shape, but also end-use quality attributes, including cooking time, mineral concentration and bioavailability, color, flavor, and texture. Some market classes may be of particular interest to modern consumers looking to incorporate beans into their diets for their nutritional benefits and also looking for convenience not typically associated with dry beans considering their often long cooking times. The Manteca yellow bean market class has multiple quality traits of value to consumers. Manteca are pale yellow with a grey hilum. They are Andean beans native to Chile and currently consumed in South America and Africa. Manteca are appreciated for their sweet, buttery flavor as well as fast cooking time and high iron bioavailability. US consumers are largely unfamiliar with this yellow market class. Its novel color has the potential to set the market class apart from familiar market classes and signal the presence of quality attributes if introduced more broadly in the US. In this study, a dry bean population developed from two yellow beans with contrasting cooking time and sensory characteristics was screened for cooking time and sensory attribute intensities to elucidate their genetic control and aid in the development of molecular markers for these traits. Genetic variability was identified for cooking time, seed coat color, and flavor traits. Genomic regions identified for cooking time have potential value for marker assisted breeding.

Technical Abstract: Manteca yellow dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) have many quality traits that appeal to consumers, including fast cooking times, creamy texture, and sweet, buttery flavor. They are native to Chile and consumed in regions of South America and Africa but are largely unfamiliar to U.S. consumers. While cooking time, flavor, and texture have not been prioritized in U.S. dry bean breeding programs, genetic variability exists such that these traits could be addressed through breeding. In this study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population was developed from a cross between Ervilha (Manteca) and PI527538 (Njano), yellow dry beans with contrasting cooking time and sensory attributes. The population and parents were grown for two years in Michigan and evaluated for cooking time and sensory attribute intensities, including total flavor, beany, vegetative, earthy, starchy, sweet, bitter, seed-coat perception, and cotyledon texture. Cooking time ranged 19-34 minutes and exhibited high broad-sense heritability (0.76). Sensory attribute intensities also exhibited variation among RILs, although broad-sense heritability was low, with beany and total flavor exhibiting the highest (0.33 and 0.27). A linkage map of 870 SNP markers across 11 chromosomes was developed for QTL mapping, which revealed QTL for water uptake, cooking time, sensory attribute intensities, color, seed-coat postharvest non-darkening, seed weight, and seed yield. Co-localization was identified for starchy, sweet, and seed-coat perception on Pv01; for total flavor, beany, earthy, starchy, sweet, bitter, seed-coat perception, cotyledon texture, and color on Pv03; water uptake and color on Pv04; total flavor, vegetative, sweet, and cotyledon texture on Pv07; cooking time, starchy, sweet, and color on Pv08; and water uptake, cooking time, total flavor, beany, starchy, bitter, seed-coat perception, cotyledon texture, color, and seed-coat postharvest non-darkening on Pv10. The QTL identified in this work, in particular CT.8.2 and CT.10.1, can be used to develop molecular markers to improve seed quality traits in future dry bean varieties. Considering yellow dry beans already excel in quality and convenience, they might be an ideal market class to signal a new focus on consumer-valued traits in the US.