Molecular Characterization of Wild Populations and Landraces of Common Bean from Northwestern Argentina

GALVÁN MARTA; LANTERI ANALÍA; MENÉNDEZ SEVILLANO MARIA; BALATTI PEDRO

PLANT BIOSYSTEMS

Taylor & Francis Group

Año: 2008

1126-3504

Information on wild bean populations and landraces variability is essential to set conservation strategies and breeding programs aimed at enlarging the genetic base of commercial beans. Nineteen Argentinean common bean landraces and wild populations were characterized and their diversity analyzed by means of inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers and seed proteins. Populations were successfully identified as belonging to the Andean gene pool of origin by phaseolin electrophoresis and ISSR markers revealed high levels of inter- and intrapopulation variability. Four of ten primers produced polymorphic and reproducible DNA bands, which were used to generate UPGMA and NJ trees. ISSR markers revealed a high level of variability within both wild bean populations and landraces. Genetic variability of wild samples was associated with their geographic distribution. In contrast, landraces were clustered, at least to some degree, based according to their seed color and shape, showing no clear discrimination among sites. The results presented here suggest that, to a certain level, hybridization between wild beans and landraces occurs in the wild, a hypothesis that needs to be tested through further analyses.