Morphological diversity of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) M2 mutant populations induced by gamma radiation and diethyl sulfate

Abstract

Induced mutagenesis is one of the most widely used breeding methods for rapidly increasing genetic diversity in many crops. This study used gamma radiation and diethyl sulfate (DES) to increase the genetic diversity in two faba bean genotypes. The genetic diversity assessment was based on 12 qualitative traits. The purpose of this study was to assess the genetic diversity in the M2 faba bean mutant populations and to select promising mutant. A total of 5271 M2 seeds generated from the M1 generation of two genotypes—Hassawi 2 and ILB4347—were used in this study. The seeds of M1 were obtained by gamma-ray exposure (25 and 50 Gy) and treatment of 0.01, 0.02, and 0.05% DES. A total of 4333 (82.2%) seeds germinated, of which 4102 plants survived and were screened for morphological diversity. A total of 36 mutant types are presented in this study. Determinate plant type, white flower color, white hilum, and black seed coat color were some of desirable traits that were considered for further generations. Multivariate-based principal component analyses showed that high genetic diversity was induced by gamma radiation and DES in faba bean mutant populations. This study revealed the potency of gamma radiation and DES on increasing genetic diversity and demonstrated the successful program of induced mutagenesis in the faba bean. Keywords: Faba bean, Gamma radiation, Diethyl sulfate, Mutant population, Genetic diversity