Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Evidence for two gene pools of the Lima bean,Phaseolus lunatus L., in the Americas

  • Published:
Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The lima bean,Phaseolus lunatus L., is a bean species with a broad distribution in the Americas that rivals that of common bean (P. vulgaris). In order to better understand the organization of genetic diversity and the pattern of domestication in lima bean, a review was conducted of the available information on the geographic distribution of wild and cultivated forms of this species. In addition, one-dimensional SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of seed proteins was also conducted on a sample of 84 wild, 6 weedy, and 426 cultivated forms. Results show that wild forms can be divided into two groups, one with smaller seeds and a very extensive distribution that includes Mexico, Central America, and the eastern slope of the Andes, and the other with a more circumscribed distribution on the western slope of the Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru. Electrophoretic analyses of seed proteins confirmed this subdivision and, additionally, showed that the large-seeded cultivars had been domesticated from the large-seeded wild lima beans in western South America. For the small-seeded lima bean cultivars, it was not possible to determine a domestication center as the most abundant protein pattern in the cultivars also had a widespread distribution in the small-seeded wild progenitor. Electrophoretic analyses showed, however, that domestication led to a reduction of genetic diversity in the small-seeded, Mesoamerican group, but not in the large-seeded group. The latter may be due to insufficient sampling of the larger-seeded, wild germplasm.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bailey, L. H., 1923. Various cultigens and transfers in nomenclature. Gentes Herbarum 1: 121–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, L. H., 1940.Phaseolus lunatus and relatives. Gentes Herbarum 4: 336–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bannerot, H. & D. G. Debouck, 1992. L’importance de la double domestication pour l’amélioration du haricot commun (Phaseolus vulgaris). In: J. C. Mounolou (Ed.), Complexes d’espèces, flux de gènes et ressources génétiques des plantes. Colloqie international en hommage à Jean Pernès, pp. 495–506. Lavoisier-Technique et Documentation, Cachan Cedex, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baudet, J., 1977. Origine et classification des espèces cultivées du genrePhaseolus. Bull Soc. Roy. Bot. Belg. 110: 65–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird, J. B. & J. Hyslop, 1985. The preceramic excavations at the Huaca Prieta, Chicama Valley, Peru. Anthrop. Papers Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 62: 1–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird, R. M., 1984. South American maize in Central America. In: D. Stone (Ed.), Pre-Columbian plant migration, pp. 39–65. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdon, C., 1986. Polymorphisme enzymatique et organisation génétique des deux espèces cultivées tétraploïdes de cotonnier,Gossypium hirsutum etG. barbadense. Cot. Fibr. Trop. 41: 191–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R. H., L. Kaplan, H. C. Cutler & T. W. Whitaker, 1962. Plant material from a cave on the Río Zape, Durango, Mexico. Amer. Antiq. 27: 356–369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J. W. S., Y. Ma, F. A. Bliss & T. C. Hall, 1981. Genetic variation in the subunits of globulin-I storage protein of French bean. Theor. Appl. Genet. 59: 83–88.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Càrdenas, M., 1969. Manual de plantas económicas de Bolivia. Icthus, Cochabamba, Bolivia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, G. F., 1945. Plant geography and culture history in the American Southwest. Viking Fund Publ. Anthrop. 5: 1–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, G. F., 1946. Origins of American Indian agriculture. Amer. Anthropol. 48: 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, G. F., 1949. An early American description probably referring toPhaseolus lunatus. Chron. Bot. 12: 155–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crane, E. & P. Walker, 1984. Pollination directory for world crops. International Bee Research Association, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G. 1986.Phaseolus germplasm collection in Northwestern Argentina. International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome, Italy. Mimeographed, 36 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G. 1987. Recolección de germoplasma dePhaseolus en el centro y centro-sur del Perú. International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome, Italy. Mimeographed, 36 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G. 1988a.Phaseolus germplasm collection in Central and Eastern Guatemala. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Gland, Switzerland. Mimeographed, 36p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G. 1988b. Recolección de germoplasma dePhaseolus en Bolivia. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Colombia. Mimeographed, 24 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G. 1989. Recolección de germoplasma dePhaseolus en el Ecuador. Centro Internacional de Agriculture Tropical, Cali, Colombia. Mimeographed, 22 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G. 1990. CollectingPhaseolus germplasm in Colombia. International Board for Plant Genetic Resources. Mimeographed, 90/85, 27 p.

  • Debouck, D. G. 1991. Systematics and morphology. In: A. Van Schoonhoven & O. Voysest (Eds.), Common beans; research for crop improvement, pp. 55–118. CAB, Wallingford, Oxon, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G. & J. Tohme, 1989. Implications for bean breeders of studies on the origins of common bean,Phaseolus vulgaris L. In: S. Beebe (Ed.), Current topics in breeding of common bean, pp. 3–42. Bean Program, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Colombia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G., J. H. Linen Jara, A. Campana Sierra & J. H. De la Cruz Rojas, 1987. Observations on the domestication ofPhaseolus lunatus L. FAO/IBPGR Plant Genet. Res. Newsl. 70: 26–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G., R. Castillo T. & J. M. Tohme, 1989a Observations of little-knownPhaseolus germplasm of Ecuador. Plant Genet. Res. Newslet. 80: 15–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debouck, D. G., A. Maquet & C. E. Posso, 1989b. Biochemical evidence for two different gene pools in lima beans. Ann. Rept. Bean Improv. Coop. 32: 58–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Candolle, A., 1882. L’origine des plantes cultivées. English translation: The origin of cultivated plants. Appleton, New York.

  • Decker-Welters, D. S., 1990. Evidence for multiple domestications ofCucurbita pepo. In: D. M. Bates, R. W. Robinson & C. Jeffrey (Eds.), Biology and utilization of the Cucurbitaceae, pp. 96–101. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delgado Salinas, A., 1985. Systematics of the genusPhaseolus (Leguminosae) in North and Central America. Ph.D. thesis. University of Texas, Austin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engel, F. A., 1966. Geografia humana prehistórica y agricultura precolombina de la quebrada de Chilca. 1. Universidad Agraria, Oficina de Promoción y Desarrollo, Departamento de Publicaciones, Lima, Peru.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engel, F. A., 1987. De las begonias al maíz, vida y productión en et Perú antiguo. Ediagraria, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erickson, H. T., 1982. Lima bean legacy. HortScience 17: 702.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eshbaugh, W. H., S. I. Guttman & M. J. McLeod, 1983. The origin and evolution of domesticatedCapsicum species. J. Ethnobiol. 3: 49–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esquivel, M., L. Castñeiras & K. Hammer, 1990. Origin, classification, variation and distribution of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) in the light of Cuban material. Euphytica 49: 89–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrella, E., 1988. El pan de América. Abya-Yala, Quito, Ecuador.

  • Fawcett, W. & A. B. Rendle, 1920. Flora of Jamaica. Flora Jamaica 4: 1–369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, R. I., 1985. Patterns of prehistoric food production in North America. In: R. I. Ford (Ed.), Prehistoric food production in North America, pp. 341–364. Museum of Anthropology, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gepts, P., 1988a. Phascolin as an evolutionary marker. In: P. Gepts (Ed.), Genetic resources ofPhaseolus beans, pp. 215–241. Kluwer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gepts, P., 1988b. A Middle American and Andean gene pool. In: P. Gepts (Ed.), Genetic resources ofPhaseolus beans, pp. 375–390. Kluwer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gepts, P., 1990. Genetic diversity of seed storage proteins in plants. In: A. H. D. Brown, M. T. Clegg, A. L. Kahler & B. S. Weir (Eds.), Plant population genetics, breeding, and genetic resources, pp. 64–82. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gepts, P. & F. A. Bliss, 1985. F1 hybrid weakness in the common bean: differential geographic origin suggests two gene pools in cultivated bean germplasm. J. Hered. 76: 447–450.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gepts, P. & F. A. Bliss, 1986. Phaseolin variability among wild and cultivated common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) from Colombia. Econ. Bot. 40: 469–478.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gepts, P. & D. G. Debouck, 1991. Origin, domestication, and evolution of the common bean,Phaseolus vulgaris. In: O. Voysest & A. Van Schoonhoven (Eds.), Common beans: research for crop improvement, pp. 7–53. CAB, Oxon, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gepts, P., T. C. Osborn, K. Rashka & F. A. Bliss, 1986. Phaseolin-protein variability in wild forms and landraces of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris): evidence for multiple centers of domestication. Econ. Bot. 40: 451–468.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, M. M., 1988. The history and evolution of maize. CRC Crit. Rev. Plant Sci. 7: 197–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harlan, J. R., 1971. Agricultural orgins: centers and non-centers. Science 174: 468–474.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heiser, C. B., 1965. Cultivated plants and cultural diffusion in nuclear America. Amer. Anthropol. 67: 930–949.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernández Xolocotzi, E., 1959. Los recursos naturales del Sureste y su aprovechamiento. Edic. Inst. Mex. Rec. Nat. Renov. México DF 2: 1–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hussain, A., W. Bushuk, H. Ramírez & W. Roca, 1988. A practical guide for electrophoretic analysis of isoenzymes and proteins in cassava, field beans and forage legumes. Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Working Document No. 40, Cali, Colombia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, L., 1956. The cultivated beans of the prehistoric Southwest. Ann. Miss. Bot. Gard. 43: 189–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, L., 1965. Archaeology and domestication in AmericanPhaseolus. Econ. Bot. 19: 358–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, L., 1967. ArcheologicalPhaseolus from Tehuacán. In: D. E. Beyers (Ed.), The prehistory of the Tehuacán Valley, pp. 201–211. University of Texas, Austin, TX.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, L. & L. N. Kaplan, 1988.Phaseolus in archaeology. In: P. Gepts (Ed.), Genetic resources ofPhaseolus beans, pp. 125–142. Kluwer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, L. & R. S. MacNeish, 1960. Prehistoric bean remains from caves in the Ocampo region of Tamaulipas, Mexico. Bot. Mus. Leafl. Harvard Univ. 19: 33–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, L., T. F. Lynch & C. E. Smith Jr., 1973. Early cultivated beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) from an intermontane Peruvian valley. Science 179: 76–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khairallah, M. M., M. W. Adams & B. B. Sears, 1990. Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms of Malawian bean lines: further evidence for two major gene pools. Theor. Appl. Genet. 80: 753–761.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khairallah, M. M., B. B. Sears & M. W. Adams, 1992. Mitochondrial restriction fragment polymorphisms in wildPhaseolus vulgaris-insights in the domestication of common bean. Theor. Appl. Genet. 84: 915–922.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, R. & P. Gepts, 1989. Allozyme diversity in wildPhaseolus vulgaris: further evidence for two major centers of diversity. Theor. Appl. Genet. 78: 809–817.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, R., S. P. Singh & P. Gepts, 1990. Novel phaseolin types in wild and cultivated common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris, Fabaceae). Econ. Bot. 44: 50–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koinange, E. M. K. & P. Gepts, 1992. Hybrid weakness in wildPhaseolus vulgaris L. J. Hered. 83: 135–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladizinsky, G., 1985. Founder effect in crop-plant evolution. Econ. Bot. 39: 191–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laemmli, U. K., 1970. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature 227: 680–685.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, G. P., 1987. Legumes of Bahia. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linnaeus, C., 1753. Species plantarum., Stockholm, Sweden.

  • Lioi, L., M. Esquivel, L. Castiñeiras & K. Hammer, 1991. Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) landraces from Cuba: electrophoretic analysis of seed storage proteins. Biol. Zentbl. 110: 76–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundell, C. L., 1934. Preliminary sketch of the phytogeography of the Yucatan peninsula. Carnegie Inst. Washington Publ. 436: 257–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, T. F., R. Gillespie, J. A. J. Gowlett & R. E. M. Hedges, 1985. Chronology of Guitarrero Cave, Peru. Science 229: 864–867.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackie, 1943. Origin, dispersal and variability of the lima bean,Phaseolus lunatus. Hilgardia 15: 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manen, J. F. & E. Otoul, 1981. Etudes électrophorétiques et détermination des fractions protéiques principales chez quelques cultivars élites dePhaseolus lunatus L. et dePhaseolus vulgaris L. Bull. Rech. Agron. Gembloux 16: 309–326.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mangelsdorf, P. C., R. S. McNeish & G. R. Willey, 1965. Origins of Middle American agriculture. In: Natural environment and early cultures, pp. 427–445. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maquet, A., 1991. Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) catalogue. Centro International de Agricultura Tropical, Cali, Colombia. Working document No. 84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maquet, A., A. Gutiérrez & D. G. Debouck, 1990. Further biochemical evidence for the existence of two gene pools in lima beans. Ann. Rept. Bean Improv. Coop. 33: 128–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maréchal, R., J.-M., Mascherpa & F. Stainier, 1978. Etude taxonomique d’un groupe complexe d’espèces des genresPhaseolus etVigna (Papilionaceae) sur la base de données morphologiques et polliniques, traitées par l’analyse informatique. Boissiera 28: 1–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez, M., 1959. Plantas útiles de la flora mexicana. Andrés Botas, México, DF.

    Google Scholar 

  • McBryde, F. W., 1947. Cultural and historical geography of southwest Guatemala. Smithsonian Inst. Publ. 4: 1–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miranda, F., 1952. La vegetación de Chiapas. Ediciones del Gobierno del Estado, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nee, M., 1990. The domestication of Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). Econ Bot 44 (3S): 56–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parodi, L. R., 1932. Plantas suramericanas cultivadas en la provincia de Jujuy. Gaea 4: 19–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patño, V. M., 1964. Plantas cultivadas y animales domésticos en América equinoccial. Imprenta Departamental, Cali, Colombia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearsall, D. M., 1978. Paleoethnobotany in western South America: progress and problems. In: pp. 389–416. Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann. Arbor, MI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, J., 1907. The Leguminosac of Puerto Rico. Contrib. US Nat. Herb. 10: 133–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickersgill, B., 1984. Migrations of Chili peppers,Capsicum spp., in the Americas. In: D. Stone (Ed.), Pre-Columbian plant migration, pp. 105–123. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickersgill, B. & C. B. Heiser, 1977. Origins and distribution of plants domesticated in the New World tropics. In: C. A. Reed (Ed.), Origins of agriculture, pp. 803–835. Mouton, The Hague.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piper, C. V., 1926. Studies in American Phaseolinae. Contrib. US Nat. Herb. 22: 663–701.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pittier, H., 1926. Manual de las plantas usuales de Venezuela. Litografía del Comercio, Caracas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quitter, J., E. B. Ojeda, D. M. Pearsall, D. H. Sandweiss, J. G. Jones & E. S. Wing, 1991. Subsistence economy of El Paraíso, an early Peruvian site. Science 251: 277–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sauget, J. S. & E. E. Liogier, 1974. Flora de Cuba. Koeltz, Koenigstein, Germany.

  • Schinkel, C. & P. Gepts, 1988. Phaseolin diversity in the tepary bean,Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray. Plant Breed. 101: 292–301.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmit, V. & D. G. Debouck, 1991. Observations on the origin ofPhaseolus polyanthus Greenman. Econ. Bot. 45: 345–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, S. P., R. Nodari & P. Gepts, 1991. Genetic diversity in cultivated common bean. I. Allozymes. Crop Sci. 31: 19–23.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sprecher, S. L., 1988. Allozyme differentiation between gene pools in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), with special reference to Malawian germplasm. Ph.D. thesis. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Standley, P. C. & S. J. Record, 1936. The forest and flora of British Honduras. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Bot. Ser. 12: 1–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark, 1946. Flora of Guatemala-Part V. Fieldiana, Botany 24: 1–502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner II, B. L. & C. H. Miksicek, 1984. Economic plant species associated with prehistoric agriculture in the Maya lowlands. Econ. Bot. 38: 179–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Eseltine, G. P., 1931. Variation in the lima bean,Phaseolus lunatus L., as illustrated by its synonymy. NY State Agric Exp Sta Techn Bull 182: 3–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vavilov, N. I., 1949. Phytogeographic basis of plant breeding. Chron. Bot. 13: 13–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westphal, E., 1974. Pulses in Ethiopia, their taxonomy and agricultural significance. Pudoc, Wageningen, the Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, H. D. & C. B. Heiser, 1979. The origin and evolutionary relationships of ‘huauzontle’ (Chenopodium nuttaliae Safford), domesticated chenopod of Mexico. Amer. J. Bot. 66: 198–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yacovleff, E. & F. L. Herrera, 1934. El mundo vegetal de los antiguos peruanos. Rev. Mus. Nac. Lima 3: 241–322.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Apartado Aéreo 56710, Bogotá, D.E., Colombia

    A. Gutiérrez Salgado

  2. Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, 95616-8515, Davis, CA

    P. Gepts

  3. IBPGR Group for the Americas, International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, c/o CIAT, Apartado Aéreo, 6713, Cali, Colombia

    D. G. Debouck

Authors
  1. A. Gutiérrez Salgado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. Gepts
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. G. Debouck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gutiérrez Salgado, A., Gepts, P. & Debouck, D.G. Evidence for two gene pools of the Lima bean,Phaseolus lunatus L., in the Americas. Genet Resour Crop Evol 42, 15–28 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310680

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310680

Key words

Search

Navigation