DRY BEANS (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS L.) ARE RICH IN KEY NUTRIENTS DEFICIENT IN THE DIETS OF AMERICANS, INCLUDING DIETARY FIBER, IRON, AND POTASSIUM. CONSUMPTION OF DRY BEANS IN THE U.S. IS LOW. DRY BEANS DO NOT MATCH CONSUMERS' EXPECTATIONS FOR CONVENIENCE AND TASTE, AND CAN ALSO BE FURTHER OPTIMIZED NUTRITIONALLY. THE YELLOW BEAN IS A MARKET CLASS LARGELY UNKNOWN TO AMERICANS WHICH HAS MANY ATTRIBUTES CONSUMERS DEMAND. WE WILL ESTABLISH A YELLOW BEAN BREEDING PROGRAM WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO CONVENIENCE (FAST COOKING), NUTRITION (IRON NUTRITIONAL VALUE) AND TASTE (TEXTURE, FLAVOR) AS A MEANS TO DEVELOP THE YELLOW BEAN FOR U.S. MARKETS. FIRST, WE WILL ASSEMBLE A YELLOW BEAN DIVERSITY COLLECTION OF 200 BEAN LINES WITH ORIGINS ENCOMPASSING THE TWO MAJOR REGIONS OF BEAN DOMESTICATION. WE WILL COMPILE GENOTYPIC INFORMATION ON THE LINES THROUGH DNA MARKERS. THE COLLECTION WILL BE EVALUATED FOR AGRONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND END USE ATTRIBUTES, INCLUDING CONVENIENCE, NUTRITION, AND TASTE. SECONDLY, A BEAN POPULATION DEVELOPED FROM TWO YELLOW PARENTAL LINES WITH CONTRASTING COOKING TIMES, IRON NUTRITIONAL VALUE, AND PALATABILITY WILL BE EVALUATED SIMILARLY. GENOMIC REGIONS ASSOCIATED WITH COOKING TIME, IRON NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND TASTE WILL BE IDENTIFIED. SUPERIOR BEAN LINES WILL BE IDENTIFIED AS NEW BEAN VARIETIES. FINALLY, AN IN-VIVO ANIMAL MODEL APPROACH WILL BE USED TO ASSESS THE NUTRITIONAL IMPACT OF THE MOST CONTRASTING