Wolfgang Link

Abstract Winter faba beans exhibit significant yield advantages over spring cultivars and hold promise for enhancing local protein production and agricultural sustainability. However, the threat of winter kill limits wider cultivation, and the genetics of faba bean winter hardiness remain unresolved. Here we develop a greatly improved faba bean reference genome and combine this with resequencing and phenotyping of winter and spring accessions to identify genetic determinants of winter hardiness.

1 Introduction Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a partially allogamous crop characterized by an intermediate mode of reproduction between complete autogamy and complete outcrossing. Its outcrossing rate can be 66% or even higher (Gasim et al. 2004; Brünjes and Link 2021).