Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)

Phaseolus vulgaris, or "common bean," includes dry beans, green or "snap" beans, "shell beans", and popping beans. It was domesticated independently in Central America and in the Andes. Beans provide an important source of nutrition in many cultures, and are also important in agronomic systems for their nitrogen-fixing capacity. Common bean is closely related to several other domesticated crop species in the group of "warm-season legumes": lima bean (P. lunatus), tepary bean (P. acutifolius), runner bean (P. coccineus), and species in the Vigna genus: cowpea, moth bean, urad dal, mung bean, ricebean, Bambara groundnut. Other more distantly related warm-season legumes include soybean, jicama, pigeonpea, African yam bean, hyacinth bean, and Apios ("potato bean").

Chromosomes (1N): 11. Genome size: 587 Mbp (Mercado-Ruaro and Kenton, 1993). Status: sequencing is under-way in 2011 as part of a USDA/NIFA and DOE/Joint Genome Institute effort. See also: Mercado-Ruaro P, Delgado-Salinas A. Karyotypic studies on species of Phaseolus (Fabaceae: Phaseolinae). Am J Bot. 1998 Jan; 85(1): 1 for several Phaseolus species.

Current publications on Phaseolus vulgaris at PubMed.

Kátay G, Tyihák E, Kátay E. Effect of ascorbigen and 1'-methylascorbigen on disease resistance of bean plants to Uromyces phaseoli. Nat Prod Commun. 2011 May; 6(5): 611-5.

Trabelsi D, Mengoni A, Ben Ammar H, Mhamdi R. Effect of on-field inoculation of Phaseolus vulgaris with rhizobia on soil bacterial communities, FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2011 Mar 31.

Hougaard BK, Madsen LH, Sandal N, de Carvalho Moretzsohn M, Fredslund J, Schauser L, Nielsen AM, Rohde T, Sato S, Tabata S, Bertioli DJ, Stougaard J. Legume anchor markers link syntenic regions between Phaseolus vulgaris, Lotus japonicus, Medicago truncatula and Arachis. Genetics. 2008 Aug; 179(4): 2299-312.