Researchers at the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation (CCFI) have made a significant contribution to a landmark study, uncovering tens of thousands of previously hidden structural variations influencing agriculturally important traits in mung bean.

The study, published in Nature Genetics today, presents the world's first graph-based pan-genome for the pulse crop, offering a comprehensive resource for understanding the genetic basis of key agronomic traits and accelerating crop improvement.

The international research team, co-led by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and CCFI, assembled chromosome-scale genomes from genetically diverse mung bean accessions and analysed genomic variation across 580 global accessions. The resulting graph-based pan-genome captures more than 75,000 gene families and identifies over 66,000 structural variants, offering important insights that will help breeders target key agronomic traits and accelerate crop improvement.

In Australia, mung bean is a high-value summer pulse crop that generates over $100 million annually in export revenue. At roughly three times the price of wheat per tonne, it represents a highly profitable break crop opportunity for Australian growers; however, seasonal rainfall variability continues to drive significant year-to-year swings in the size and value of the crop.  

By cataloguing tens of thousands of previously invisible structural variations and linking them to agronomic traits through genome-wide association analysis, this new genomic resource gives breeders a far more complete map of the genetic variation they can work with. 

Globally, where mung bean underpins the diets and incomes of millions of smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa, the study's findings on genes governing seed nutritional compounds and resistance to bruchids, a major storage pest, have direct implications for global food security. 

In a statement, CCFI Director and co-corresponding author of the study, Professor Rajeev Varshney FRS FAA, said the research represents a major advance in crop genomics and demonstrates how next-generation genomic technologies are transforming plant breeding.

"Traditional reference genomes capture only part of the genetic diversity within a crop species. By constructing a graph-based pan-genome, we can now identify structural variations that were previously invisible but often have profound effects on important agricultural traits," Professor Varshney FRS FAA said.

These discoveries provide breeders with powerful new genomic tools to accelerate the development of higher-yielding, more nutritious and climate-resilient mung bean varieties. The genomic resources generated through this work will support marker-assisted breeding, genomic selection and genome editing, enabling breeders to deliver improved varieties to farmers much faster.

Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation Professor Peter Eastwood said the study highlighted Murdoch University's growing international influence in agricultural genomics, and demonstrated the impact that could be achieved through strategic global partnerships.

"More importantly, it advances fundamental scientific knowledge whilst delivering practical and actionable insights that help support global food security, climate resilience and sustainable agriculture. We are proud that Murdoch researchers continue to deliver valuable contributions in international collaborations that are transforming crop improvement for the benefit of communities worldwide,” Professor Eastwood said.

Pro Vice Chancellor Food Futures Institute (FFI) Professor Peter Davies said the FFI was established to develop innovative, science-based solutions for the future of agriculture and food systems.

"By combining cutting-edge genomics with practical breeding solutions, this research will help accelerate the delivery of improved crop varieties that benefit farmers, consumers and food systems around the world,” Professor Davies said.