“We are interested in tepary beans because they are very stress tolerant, unlike their cousin the common bean,” said Dr. Kirstin Bett (PhD), professor of plant breeding and genetics at USask and one of the senior authors of the study.
By 2050, the major regions growing common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)—the most important legume protein source for human consumption—may be unsuitable and the overall nutritional quality of the crop will likely be reduced.
“Tepary beans are an under-appreciated protein crop that are ideal for production in marginal environments due to their inherent tolerance of temperature stresses,” said Bett.
The team sequenced the genome of the tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolis A. Gray) to study how the legume adapts more effectively to fluctuating temperatures than its common bean cousin, and to combine traits of the two species into a more sustainable crop variety.