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Genetic analysis of global faba bean diversity, agronomic traits and selection signatures

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  • Cathrine Kiel Skovbjerg
  • ,
  • Deepti Angra, University of Reading
  • ,
  • Tom Robertson-Shersby-Harvie, University of Reading
  • ,
  • Jonathan Kreplak, Universite de Bourgogne
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  • Gabriel Keeble-Gagnère, Centre for AgriBioscience
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  • Sukhjiwan Kaur, Centre for AgriBioscience
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  • Wolfgang Ecke, University of Göttingen
  • ,
  • Alex Windhorst, University of Göttingen
  • ,
  • Linda Kærgaard Nielsen, Sejet Planteforædling
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  • Andrea Schiemann, Nordic Seed Germany GmbH
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  • Jens Knudsen, Nordic Seed A/S
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  • Natalia Gutierrez, IFAPA Centro “Alameda del Obispo”
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  • Vasiliki Tagkouli, University of Reading
  • ,
  • Lavinia Ioana Fechete
  • Luc Janss
  • Jens Stougaard
  • Ahmed Warsame, University of Reading
  • ,
  • Sheila Alves, Teagasc - Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority
  • ,
  • Hamid Khazaei, Luke Natural Resources Institute Finland
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  • Wolfgang Link, University of Göttingen
  • ,
  • Ana Maria Torres, IFAPA Centro “Alameda del Obispo”
  • ,
  • Donal Martin O'Sullivan, University of Reading
  • ,
  • Stig Uggerhøj Andersen

We identified marker-trait associations for key faba bean agronomic traits and genomic signatures of selection within a global germplasm collection. Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a high-protein grain legume crop with great potential for sustainable protein production. However, little is known about the genetics underlying trait diversity. In this study, we used 21,345 high-quality SNP markers to genetically characterize 2678 faba bean genotypes. We performed genome-wide association studies of key agronomic traits using a seven-parent-MAGIC population and detected 238 significant marker-trait associations linked to 12 traits of agronomic importance. Sixty-five of these were stable across multiple environments. Using a non-redundant diversity panel of 685 accessions from 52 countries, we identified three subpopulations differentiated by geographical origin and 33 genomic regions subjected to strong diversifying selection between subpopulations. We found that SNP markers associated with the differentiation of northern and southern accessions explained a significant proportion of agronomic trait variance in the seven-parent-MAGIC population, suggesting that some of these traits were targets of selection during breeding. Our findings point to genomic regions associated with important agronomic traits and selection, facilitating faba bean genomics-based breeding.

Original languageEnglish
Article number114
JournalTheoretical and Applied Genetics
Volume136
Issue5
Number of pages27
ISSN0040-5752
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023

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