About BeanCAP
The Common Bean Coordinated Agricultural Project (BeanCAP) will significantly impact the future direction of research by providing new tools and research directions for this important nutritional and commodity crop. The first market-class-specific markers, whose value will extend well beyond the project duration, will be a major outcome affecting all bean research. When genotypic data, generated by using these markers, is coupled with nutritional profiling data, also generated by the project, species-wide and market-class-specific loci affecting the nutritional traits will be discovered. This will set the stage for significant common bean improvements for years to come. All public US bean breeding programs will also be supported by 1) a genotyping program that will aid the discovery of genetic factors controlling traits of local agronomic importance; and 2) conversion of high throughput markers into low cost markers for day-to-day use in breeding programs. The nutrition, genetic, and genomic scientists will coordinate the development of multiple internet delivery methods that will utilize high-quality animations and other multimedia to educate the general public and educational communities about the biology of nutrition and how genetics/genomics technology assists with the improvement of nutritional traits. The BeanCAP will also initiate a modern plant breeding training program focusing on early career recruitment and practical breeding/genomics training that illustrates, as an example, how the integration of genomic and phenotypic data can be used to improve nutritional traits in plants. This will provide a stream of students interested in filling the plant breeding human resource pool.