Breeding for Low Phytates and Oligosaccharides in Mungbean and Blackgram

Mungbean or Green gram (Vigna radiata [L.] Wilczek) and blackgram (V. mungo [L.] Hepper) are important legume crops in Asia, where it is a major source of dietary protein for its predominantly vegetarian population. Both mungbean and blackgram are consumed in various forms in their diet, as they are a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, and minerals. These crops also accumulate certain antinutritional factors such as phytic acid (PA) and oligosaccharides in their seeds along with others. Breeding efforts are underway to breed varieties with reduced content of PA and oligosaccharides. Genetic variation for PA and oligosaccharide content in mungbean and blackgram ranged from 6.17 to 12 mgg−1and 6.97 to 7.50 mgg−1, respectively. Low PA content was reported in mungbean VC-6379 (5.74 mg g−1), YBSM (5.85 mg g−1), blackgram KUG-365 (1.7 mg g−1), Shekhar-2 (3.7 mg g−1), and KUG-230 (4.0 mg g−1) genotypes. In mungbean, PA accumulation was reported to be controlled by dominant alleles at two independent loci of major genes showing duplicate recessive epistasis. Two major QTLs, viz., SDPAP4.1 and SDPAP11.1, were also reported to be present on linkage group 4A and 11A in interval markers CEDG139-MBSSR179 and BM141-VR222. Genes and enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of PA and oligosaccharides are characterized in other legume crops which can help in the genetic manipulation of these traits toward the development of cultivars with reduced content without affecting their biological consequences.