ORIGIN, DOMESTICATION AND DIVERSIFICATION OF COMMON BEANS. ADVANCES AND PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Neolithic revolution took place from 9000 to 5000 years b. C., and at different sites in the world several plants species were domesticated, among them the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L). Location of the origin and domestication centers of P. vulgaris is important to identify areas where major sources of populations carrying useful genes for plant breeding exist and because such populations could improve our understanding on the evolution, diversification and conservation of the species. The accumulated knowledge on fossil dates and other morphological, agronomic and genetic traits indicates that the common bean was originated at the Mesoamerican region, and afterwards it was domesticated from 5000 to 2000 years b. C. in two sites in the American continent: Mesoamerica (México and Central America) and the Andean region (South America). The use of new tools based on molecular technologies and genomics have given definitive evidences on the origin, domestication and genetic diversity of P. vulgaris.