Exploring the World of Mungbean: Uncovering its Origins, Taxonomy, Genetic Resources and Research Approaches

Abstract

The mungbean is one of the important leguminous crops, holds great importance in agriculture and nutrition in Asian countries. It is a vital source of protein, playing a key role in vegetarian diets and offering versatility in culinary applications. The crop wild relatives and landraces are invaluable sources of novel genes and alleles, augmenting mungbean resilience against both biotic and abiotic stresses. Researchers have meticulously examined the roles of additive and dominant gene effects in governing vital traits, including seed weight, seed yield, plant height, days to flowering, and yield components. However, despite their potential, these genetic resources remain underutilized due to several constraints, encompassing interspecific hybridization barriers, limited trait evaluation data, and the absence of advanced breeding tools. Announcement of the VC1973A draft reference genome utilizing next-generation sequencing, have facilitated rapid DNA marker development, gene mapping, and the identification of candidate genes for complex traits, predominantly within the last decade. Reports on GBS analysis of mungbean relatively limited and mostly includes investigating population structure and LD in mungbean. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the origin, taxonomy, gene pool dynamics, and the pivotal role played by mungbean CWRs in ensuring agricultural sustainability and elevating crop improvement initiatives. Additionally, it discusses about genotypic characterization of CWRs, advances in sequencing technologies, QTLs mapping for various economically important traits and validation techniques that aid in confirming the QTLs found through GWAS.