An international team of scientists from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain has sequenced the bean genome, which can help generate plants that are stronger, more productive, and more resistant to diseases. The researchers sequenced the Mesoamerican variety of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), which is the most consumed type of pulse consumed in Brazil, and encompasses the pinto, mulatinho, roxinho, and black turtle bean groups, among others. The team that sequenced the bean genome comprises the PhasibeAm project by the Ibero-American Programme for Science and Technology for Development (CYTED), headquartered in Madrid (Spain). In Brazil, the initiative had financial backing from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) via the Prosul project (490725/2010-4), led by Embrapa Rice and Beans researcher Rosana P. Vianello. The study also included the participation of Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and of the researcher Georgios Pappas in the area of data bioinformatics. The sequencing study was based on the BAT 93 bean lineage, which is related to a range of cultivars that are widely traded and cultivated in Brazil. The research involved the assembly of the 620 milion base pairs and the identification of 30,491 genes, with the respective analysis of expression patterns. It also allowed scientists to observe and determine crucial events during evolution that have shaped the bean plant as we know it. "Breeding programs now have valuable information that will strongly support research for the development of cultivars with desirable agronomic traits that are more adapted to different ecosystems", Rosana Vianello asserted. According to the researcher, sequencing the bean genome has made it possible to establish direct links with the genomes of other relevant legumes such as soybeans, creating prospects for the selection of genome sequences that affect the expression of traits that are relevant for the breeding of such species. In addition to the Mesoamerican bean, Andean varieties had already been sequenced, and a third stage for the PhasibeAm team is the genome sequencing of at least another dozen bean species that are cultivated in several countries. For more details, access the study published on the Centre for Genomic Regulation's website. Translation Mariana de Lima Medeiros