Explorando a riqueza subutilizada do feijão português no desenvolvimento de ferramentas integradas para um melhoramento de precisão que responda às preocupações dos consumidores

Although common bean (P. vulgaris) has recognized benefits to human health/environment and Portugal holds potential genetic resources, we observe a reduction of bean national production and average intake. Nonetheless, beans represent 80% of the grain legumes national consumption, but we produce less than 10% of our intake (www.ine.pt), due to lack of agronomically interesting varieties. Subsequently, there is a low availability of high quality raw material of local origin and the national processing industry (such as canning) relies completely on foreigner materials not so attractive to consumers. A reduced investment in breeding, particularly in nutritional/organoleptic quality, is contributing to all the above. To increase local bean consumption and cultivation, breeding objectives and consumer’s preferences should be more aligned. However, breeding for improved nutritional/organoleptic quality (consumers’ preferences) is a difficult task in beans due to its genetic complexity and lack of simple assays that define consumer’s preferences. The project will: -UNRAVEL bean nutritional/organoleptic QUALITY COMPLEX GENETIC CONTROL, supported by -EXTENSIVE agronomic, nutritional and organoleptic quality CHARACTERIZATION OF UNTAPPED NATIONAL BEAN RICHNESS, to -DEVELOP fast and reliable SELECTION METHODS FOR THE MOST RELEVANT CONSUMER QUALITY TRAITS. This will also allow a -MORE EFFICIENT USE OF NATIONAL BEAN GERMPLASM IN BREEDING programs (through their incorporation in appealing prebreeding materials) and a better -UNDERSTANDING THE BEAN CONSUMER’s CHOICES. The project will COMBINE FOR THE FIRST TIME a comprehensive instrumental characterization of a DIVERSE PORTUGUESE COOKED BEAN PANEL ORGANOLEPTIC QUALITY and consumers’ preferences via SENSORIAL ANALYSIS, with an existing highly dense genomic, spectroscopic and nutritional screening through a MULTILAYER INTEGRATIVE GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDY. This will ensure an improved understanding of this complex biological system and the DEVELOPMENT of higher prediction accuracy GENOMIC AND PHENOMIC INNOVATIVE AND DISRUPTIVE BREEDING TOOLS for bean integrated quality selection. The development of the predictive models will start from historical data (previous team FCT and PT2020 projects) and will be improved through the project duration with the new data collection, and final versions make available for breeders use. The project will generate pre-breeding materials combining desirable quality traits and productivity. These will be appealing to farmers/processors/consumers. The active involvement of representatives from both national and international legume production and breeding community (ISA-UL, UNL/ITQB NOVA + IAS-CSIC), the consumer sensorial analysis (FCUP), with the support of the national seed and processing industry (LUSOSEM, SUMOL-COMPAL), will ensure maximum commercial use of research findings. These supportive stakeholders, besides contributing to discussions of project outcomes, will have the opportunity to evaluate the performance of the new pre-breeding materials and developed biotechnological screening tools in first hand. In the long run, the project will contribute to: -Quality objectives implemented routinely on bean breeding programs; -Increased demand for grain legume based food products with the development of healthier consumer habits; -Increased cultivation of grain legumes in Portugal and beyond, diversifying protein supply and increasing national autonomy.