The endangered future of organoleptically prestigious European landraces: Ganxet bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) as an example of a crop originating in the Americas

Abstract

The environmental and cultural diversity of Southwest Europe favored the diversification of crops arriving from America, giving rise to many new landraces. Gastronomy played an important role in their evolution. These landraces would later be substituted by genetically improved varieties, but some, like the Ganxet bean cultivated in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, have survived thanks to their superior sensory qualities. The distinctive flat and extremely hooked shape of the Ganxet seed has facilitated the detection of altered germplasm yielding less hooked seeds. In the present study, the use of RAPD and ALFP markers has enabled us to estimate the variability of Ganxet entries, determine the sources of introgression, and discuss the dangers menacing European landraces with superior organoleptic qualities. The low variability among prototypical Ganxet lines increased as less and less hooked materials were included in the analysis. The more productive Great Northern-type germplasm was found to be the main source of introgression in Ganxet. Successful introgression of more productive improved germplasm into landraces is probably a general phenomenon. So, in the absence of morphological markers, objective studies of the organoleptic value of landraces and thorough description using genetic markers become essential to ensure that the growing commercial interest in superior landraces is not reduced to a mere marketing operation.