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Publications

Journal Article Epublish

PubMed: 39861546 DOI: 10.3390/plants14020193

GWAS Identifies SNP Markers and Candidate Genes for Off-Flavours and Protein Content in Faba Bean ( L.).

Plants (Basel) 14(2)

Authors: Antonio Lippolis, Boudewijn Hollebrands, Valentina Acierno, Catrienus de Jong, Laurice Pouvreau, João Paulo, Salvador A Gezan, Luisa M Trindade

Affiliations

  • Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
  • Unilever Foods Innovation Centre-Hive, Bronland 14, 6708 WH Wageningen, The Netherlands.
  • Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands.
  • Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, Wageningen University & Research, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG Wageningen, The Netherlands.
  • Biometris, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
  • VSN International Ltd. Hemel Hempstead HP2 4TP, UK.

Abstract

Faba bean ( L.) is a valuable ingredient in plant-based foods such as meat and dairy analogues. However, its typical taste and aroma are considered off-flavours in these food applications, representing a bottleneck during processing. Breeding is needed to develop varieties with minimal off-flavours and high protein content. The genetic regulation of these traits is underexplored. To dissect their genetic architecture, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS). A total of 245 faba bean accessions (the CGN population) were genotyped using the 90K-SPET targeted assay. These accessions were phenotyped in 2021 and 2022 in the Netherlands for protein, oil, fatty acids, lipid-derived products, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and tannins. The CGN population showed large phenotypic variation and moderate-to-high narrow-sense heritability for most traits. The growing environment significantly affected all traits, with trait-specific genotype-by-year (GxY) interactions. Condensed tannins and fatty acids were the most stable across the two years and had the highest heritability estimates ( > 0.6). GWAS identified a total of 148 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) loci in 2021 and 167 in 2022. Key candidate regulators included genes involved in lipid biosynthesis (, , ), amino acid transport () for protein storage, (), and regulators of the phenylpropanoid pathway, such as a gene and transcription factors and . These results pave the way for validation studies and biotechnological applications to improve the quality of faba bean-based foods.

MeSH

Tannins, Genetic Variation, Genes, Food, Genotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Fatty Acids