The endangered future of organoleptically prestigious European landraces: Ganxet bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as an example of a crop originating in the Americas

Abstract

The environmental and cultural diversity of Southwest Europe favored the diversification of crops arriving from America, giving rise to many new landraces. Gastronomy played an important role in their evolution. These landraces would later be substituted by genetically improved varieties, but some, like the Ganxet bean cultivated in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, have survived thanks to their superior sensory qualities. The distinctive flat and extremely hooked shape of the Ganxet seed has facilitated the detection of altered germplasm yielding less hooked seeds. In the present study, the use of RAPD and ALFP markers has enabled us to estimate the variability of Ganxet entries, determine the sources of introgression, and discuss the dangers menacing European landraces with superior organoleptic qualities. The low variability among prototypical Ganxet lines increased as less and less hooked materials were included in the analysis. The more productive Great Northern-type germplasm was found to be the main source of introgression in Ganxet. Successful introgression of more productive improved germplasm into landraces is probably a general phenomenon. So, in the absence of morphological markers, objective studies of the organoleptic value of landraces and thorough description using genetic markers become essential to ensure that the growing commercial interest in superior landraces is not reduced to a mere marketing operation.

Adaptiveness to enhance the sustainability of farming systems. A review

“…aim for yield stability across a wide range of temperature, nutrient and water conditions. Standardisation of quality is not seen as desirable, as farmers and consumers have different preferences, and traditional cuisine requires specific qualities found in landrace varieties (Sánchez et al, 2008). Desirable traits are not reduced to yield and qualities, but include systemwide considerations, such as balancing the nutrient needs in the whole crop rotation or the need for straw for animal housing (Wolfe et al, 2008).…”

Distinctiveness of Bean Landraces in Italy: the Case Study of the ‘Badda’ Bean

“…Several classes of genetic markers have been used in order to infer genetic variability, phylogeny and distinctiveness in common bean, including biochemical polymorphisms [2,6,8,14] and molecular markers such as random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) [15,16], amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) [5,9,15,17,18], simple sequence repeats (SSRs) [9,10,12,18] and inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) [10,16,19,20]. Here, we adopt ISSR marker analysis on DNA bulks from different plants, in order to maximize cost-effectiveness and information for landrace distinction.…”

Is It Still Necessary to Continue to Collect Crop Genetic Resources in the Mediterranean Area? A Case Study in Catalonia

“…2a). In some areas, the number of accessions per municipality is unusually high (> 40 accessions), probably due to different factors: (a) the Polytechnic University of Catalonia Miquel Agustí Foundation intensive germplasm collecting activities for plant breeding programs in specific landraces (e.g., Santa Pau bean in the Garrotxa district (Almirall et al 2010), Ganxet bean in the Vallès Oriental and Vallès Occidental districts (Sanchez et al 2008), and Montserrat and Pera Girona tomatoes in the Maresme and La Selva districts (Casals et al 2010)); (b) the presence of a seedbank in the municipality (e.g., Manresa (54 accessions), where the Esporus seed bank is located); (c) or the presence of an important food market where accessions were collected (e.g., Barcelona, which has no agricultural activity but contributed 47 accessions). Germplasm collections at universities seem to have a higher geographical coverage (22.3%) (Fig.…”