Phaseolus vulgaris, an essential food and source of protein, is cultivated across the world. This study was carried out to investigate the diversity and population structure of 34 P. vulgaris landrace accessions collected from the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) regions of Pakistan. The samples were analyzed both morphologically and using genetic variation identified through RNA sequencing. Our results indicated that most genetic variation occurs among local accessions, with little genetic variation occurring between geographical regions. In addition, the accessions fell into two major genetic groups. Morphological analysis revealed that these two genetic groups differ in a number of quantitative traits, including seed length, seed width, and seed weight. One accession, DUD-11, appears to be a mixture of the two major groups genetically as well as morphologically. Among the other accessions, DUD-8, RWK-2, and NGD-1 depicted particularly high seed weight along with higher seed length, seed width, and seed yield per plant. We suggest focusing on these accessions in future breeding programs. More generally, our results provide baseline data that will be useful for crop improvement and effective cultivation practices in Pakistan.

Morphological traits were measured on plants grown in a field site in Muzaffarabad (latitude: 34˚22'10" N, longitude: 73˚31'30" E, altitude 1,731 m) over two seasons (2018 and 2019) in a randomized complete block design with three replicates.

RNA-seq libraries were prepared from leaf tissue from plants grown in a common greenhouse.

Please see the associated publication for details. 

The raw sequencing data can be found on the SRA: PRJNA757521.