Genetic diversity of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) breeding collection in Serbia

The characterization of 41 common bean cultivars and landraces from breeding collection of Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia, was done based on phenotypic traits and microsatellite markers. Phenotypic traits were chosen from Bioversity International descriptor list. In addition, main yield components were investigated. Analysis of phaseolin type revealed affiliation of cultivars and landraces to Mesoamerican or Andean gene pool. Cultivars and landraces demonstrated significant diversity level with regard to studied phenotypic traits. Identified variation showed high potential for developing new cultivars with desirable combination of traits. Principal component analysis based on phenotypic traits separated bean cultivars and landraces in two groups, which corresponded to Mesoamerican and Andean determined according to phaseolin type. Putative hybrids, with combination of traits between gene pools were also identified. Analysis of microsatellite data, using twenty-two SSR primer pairs, showed medium gene diversity in studied material. Microsatellite-based cluster analysis separated genotypes in two discrete clusters and several subclusters. No clear separation according to gene pool was found between the clusters, however grouping according to gene pool and patterns of phenotypic variation, following these gene pools, were observed within subclusters. Knowledge on detailed relationships of cultivars and landraces based on phenotypic and molecular data would facilitate identification of candidates for future breeding.