Assessment of the Origin and Diversity of Croatian Common Bean Germplasm Using Phaseolin Type, SSR and SNP Markers and Morphological Traits

Landraces represent valuable genetic resources for breeding programmes to produce high-yielding varieties adapted to stressful environmental conditions. Although the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an economically important food legume for direct human consumption worldwide, common bean production in Croatia is based almost exclusively on landraces and there is no common bean breeding program. Information on phaseolin type and results of population structure and genetic diversity obtained by analysis of SSR and SNP markers, in combination with the morphological characterization of 174 accessions of 10 common bean landraces (morphotypes), enabled thorough classification of accessions. The accessions were classified into phaseolin type H1 (“S”) of Mesoamerican origin and phaseolin types H2 (“H” or “C”) and H3 (“T”) of Andean origin. By applying distance- and model-based clustering methods to SSR markers, the accessions were classified into two clusters at K = 2 separating the accessions according to the centres of origin, while at K = 3, the accessions of Andean origin were further classified into two clusters of accessions that differed in phaseolin type (H2 and H3). Using SNP markers, model-based analysis of population structure was performed, the results of which were consistent with those of SSR markers. In addition, 122 accessions were assigned to 14 newly formed true-type morphogenetic groups derived from three different domestication events: (1) Mesoamerican (H1A) (“Biser”, “Kukuruzar”, “Tetovac”, “Trešnjevac”), (2) Andean—indeterminate type (H2B1) (“Dan noć”, “Sivi”, “Puter”, ”Sivi prošarani”, “Trešnjevac”) and (3) Andean—determinate type (H3B2) (“Bijeli”, “Dan noć”, “Puter”, “Trešnjevac”, “Zelenčec”). The rest of the accessions could represent putative hybrids between morphogenetic groups. The differences between the true-type groups of accessions were further analysed based on nine quantitative traits, and the subsets of traits that best distinguish among centres of origin (A: Mesoamerican, B: Andean) and genetic groups (H1A, H2B1, H3B2) were proposed.