Abstract: Faba bean is an important world grain legume crop with high seed-protien content. It plays a critical role in crop rotation. China is the largest faba bean producer in the world. However, little is known about the genetic potential of indigenous faba bean germplasm from China. The assessment of genetic diversity in faba bean germplasm is important for its utilization in breeding programs. To evaluate genetic diversity and relationship of faba bean germplasm in China, we characterized a total of 527 accessions of faba bean from autumn and spring sowing regions in China with 11 ISSR primers. There were 278 unambiguous bands generated, 268 of which were polymorphic, with the rate of polymorphic bands of 0.96. Nei’s gene diversity and Shannon’s information index ranged from 0.1267–0.2509 and 0.1932–0.3767, respectively, in different geographic groups. The Inner Mongolia group showed the highest value, followed by the Yunnan and Gansu groups. Accessions from Jiangxi showed lowest diversity. The spring faba bean germplasm was clearly separated from winter faba bean germplasm, based on principal component analysis and UPGMA clustering analysis. Germplasm from Zhejiang and Sichuan was quite distinct from that from other provinces. The results indicated that the genetic relationship and diversity of faba bean in China are closely associated with their growth habit, geographical origin, and ecological distribution.

Key words: Faba bean (Vcia faba L.), Germplasm resourses, ISSR marker, Genetic diversity