Next Generation Sequencing Identifies Regions of Introgression and Differentially Expressed Genes for Sclerotinia Resistance in Common Bean

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important economic crop in the US and a major source of protein and essential nutrients worldwide. About 1.67 million acres are harvested in the year 2014 in US. The majority of the dry bean production is from North Dakota, Michigan, Nebraska, and Colorado. White mold disease is one of the most devastating fungal diseases in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and is caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary. It was reported that 75% of the fields were infected with sclerotinia in a three year survey in North Dakota, a lead producer of dry beans in the USA. The interaction of the pathogen with its host is complex and suggests that tolerance is inherited as a complex trait. Multiple QTLs were identified on majority of the chromosomes.  Resistant sources of the disease provide a better control than cultivation practices and fungicide application. In this study, we used next generation sequencing in population bulks of near isogenic lines to 1) define the region of introgression for WM 7.1 and WM8.3 QTL, 2) characterize the genes found within that locus, and 3) discover differentially expressed genes for white mold response within this region.