Molecular Hallmarks, Agronomic Performances and Seed Nutraceutical Properties to Exploit Neglected Genetic Resources of Common Beans Grown by Organic Farming in Two Contrasting Environments

Identification and Characterization of New Seedborne Pathogens in Phaseolus vulgaris Landraces of Southern Italy

The diagnostic survey of seedborne fungal pathogens is fundamental for symptomless material stored in gene banks to avoid the diffusion of pathogens by germplasm distribution and propagation. In this work, seeds of Southern Italian landraces of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) belonging to the gene bank at CREA (Italy) were inspected to assess their phytosanitary status. The phytopathological analysis revealed the presence of the most common pathogens associated with common bean seeds such as Fusarium spp., Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and Diaporthe/Phomopsis complex. However, new fungi able to completely inhibit seed germination were also observed. The most aggressive were isolated, and the morpho-pathological characterization, DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis allowed us to define the strains as Botryosphaeria dothidea CREA OF 360.4 and Diplodia mutila CREA OF 420.36. These two plant pathogens are generally associated with grapevines and other fruit trees. Pathogenicity tests were carried out along with a transmissibility test in which the transmission of the pathogens to the seedlings was proven. Host range experiments revealed the ability of these pathogens to infect crops such as pepper and melon. To our knowledge, this is the first time that B. dothidea and D. mutila were detected on the common bean.

TXRF spectral information enhanced by multivariate analysis: A new strategy for food fingerprint

The increased costumers' request of safe and high-quality food products makes food traceability a priority for frauds identification and quality certification. Elemental profiling is one of the strategies used for food traceability, and TXRF spectroscopy is widely used in food analysis even if its potentialities have not been fully investigated. In this work, a new method for food traceability using directly TXRF spectra coupled with multivariate analyses, was tested. Twenty-four different beans' genotypes (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) grown onto two different sites have been studied. After the development of the method for beans' analysis, TXRF spectra were collected and processed with PCA combined with SNV and GLSW filter obtaining a perfect clustering of the seeds according to their geographical origin. Finally, using PLS-DA, beans were correctly classified demonstrating that TXRF spectra can be successfully used as fingerprint for food/seed traceability and that elemental quantification procedure is not necessary to this aim.