A Gene Locus Controlling Zinc Content in Common Beans Identified: Nutritional Improvement Expected Through The Molecular Breeding Of Zinc-Enrichmed Varieties

August 25, 2025

A research group including MUKAMUHIRWA Floride, a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University (at the time of the research, now at the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board: RAB), Associate Professor FUKAI Eigo of the same graduate school, and Dr. SHIRASAWA Kenta of the Laboratory of Plant Genome Biology Research at the Kazusa DNA Research Institute, in collaboration with the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and RAB, has identified a genetic locus that controls the zinc content in seeds of common bean, the world's most widely consumed legume species by human, and discovered the candidate genes. This finding is expected to be applied to biofortification by developing common bean varieties with high zinc content.

This research was published in the scientific journal Breeding Science on July 15, 2025.

Key points

  • Common beans are a legume consumed worldwide
  • Candidate genes controlling zinc content in common bean seeds were identified
  • DNA markers established in this study can be readily used to accelerate common bean breeding for zinc content

Publication Details

Journal: Breeding Science
Title:Genetic control of seed iron and zinc concentration in Rwandan common bean population revealed by the Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS)
Authors:Floride Mukamuhirwa, Kenta Shirasawa, Ken Naito, Edouard Rurangwa, Viateur Ndayizeye, Alphonse Nyombayire, Jean Pierre Muhire, Mahalingam Govindaraj, Norikuni Ohtake, Keiichi Okazaki, Moeko Okada, Eigo Fukai
Doi: 10.1270/jsbbs.24087

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