Screening of Bush Type French Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Accessions for Micronutrient Variations and Characterization of Selected Genotypes using Micronutrient Content Linked Markers

Background: French bean or kidney bean is a rich source of protein, fibers and minerals in diet and is used by poor people in several Asian countries as a cheap source of protein and mineral vegetable/seed grain. Thus, the study on micronutrient variations in French bean local genotypes was undertaken to screen for Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn content in comparison to developed varieties. Methods: Selected twenty local genotypes/accessions and four released varieties of French bean were grown in the field. The morphological characterization was carried out as per crop descriptors. The micronutrient analysis for Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu content was carried out using AAS. Further, accessions were screened using fourteen SSR markers linked to Fe and Zn content. Result: The results revealed that accession 1C342273 exhibited significantly higher dry pod (58.94 g) and seed yield (809.74 g) per plot. The accession 10538420 (177.31 ppm) exhibited significantly higher mean Fe content and was on par with Arka Suvidha (176 ppm). Accession EC500226 showed significantly higher Zn (26.91 ppm), Mn (15.31 ppm) and Cu (8.55 ppm) content over other accessions and varieties. Among fourteen SSR primers amplified, two genomic SSR markers (BM154 and BM211) exhibited higher polymorphism among the accessions. The SSR markers classified the accessions and varieties into two clusters, which can be used in crop improvement programmes on French bean for micronutrients bio-fortification studies.