SEVERAL PLANTS FROM THE BEAN FAMILY ARE GROWN AS GRAIN CROPS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION AS DRIED SEED OR FRESH VEGETABLES AND ARE REFERRED TO AS PULSE CROPS OR GRAIN LEGUMES. THESE INCLUDE CHICKPEA (GARBANZO BEAN), LIMA BEAN, COMMON BEAN (FRENCH OR SNAP BEAN) AND COWPEA (BLACK-EYED PEA OR SOUTHERN PEA) THAT ARE GROWN BOTH IN THE US AND AROUND THE WORLD. GRAIN FROM PULSE CROPS ARE A RICH SOURCE OF SEVERAL HUMAN DIETARY NUTRIENTS, NOTABLY OF PROTEIN AND FIBRE. INCLUSION OF PULSE CROPS IN CROP ROTATIONS FOSTERS AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY AS LEGUMES HAVE A UNIQUE CAPACITY TO CAPTURE ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN BY SYMBIOSIS WITH SOIL RHIZOBIA. THIS BIOLOGICAL NITROGEN SUPPLY ALLEVIATES THE NEED FOR FERTILIZERS IN CROPPING SYSTEMS THEREBY REDUCING AN INPUT COST. DUE TO THE SLOW RELEASE OF NITROGEN CAPTURED FROM SYMBOTIC NITROGEN FIXATION, LEGUMES ALSO MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF HIGH SOLUBLE NITROGEN IN GROUNDWATER CONSUMED BY HUMANS AND IN RUNOFF IN ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS. IN THIS PROJECT WE WILL CONDUCT DETAILED EVALUATION OF NATURALLY OCCURING VARIANTS OF SEVERAL GRAIN LEGUMES THAT SHARE A COMMON CHARACTERISTIC OF GREEN GRAIN COLOR OF THE HARVESTED SEED. WORK IN ANOTHER GRAIN LEGUME, GARDEN PEA, HAS PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED HIGHER LEVELS OF CAROTENOIDS, COMPOUNDS THAT ARE BENEFICIAL TO HUMAN HEALTH, IN LEGUME SEEDS THAT NATURALLY RETAIN A GREEN COLOR IN THE HARVESTED SEED. WE WILL USE A COMBINATION OF GENETICS, GENOMICS, AND PHENOMICS TO STUDY LINES WITH AND WITHOUT THE GREEN COTYLEDON COLOR OF SEVERAL GRAIN LEGUMES THAT ARE CULTIVATED IN THE US FOR CONSUMPTION AS FRESH VEGETABLES AND DRY SEEDS. WE WILL IDENTIFY MOLECULAR MARKERS FOR GENOMIC REGIONS CONTROLLING THE GREEN COTYLEDON TRAIT, KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL ENABLE DEPLOYMENT OF THIS TRAIT BY MOLECULAR BREEDING FOR BIO-FORTIFICATION OF ELITE CULTIVARS OF GARBANZO BEAN GROWN IN THE US STATES OF CALIFORNIA AND WASHINGTON. FROM ANALYSIS OF PLANT LINES IN A STATE OF THE ART PHENOMICS PLATFORM, WE WILL DETERMINE HOW PLANT GROWTH CONDITIONS AFFECT THE LEVELS OF HUMAN DIET RELEVANT SEED NUTRIENTS SUCH AS CAROTENOIDS AND PROTEINS. GENETIC STOCKS DEVELOPED IN THE PROJECT WILL BE USED TO DEVELOP A TEACHING MODULE THAT ILLUSTRATES KEY CONCEPTS IN CROP EVOLUTION AND PLANT BIOLOGY.KNOWLEDGE AND TOOLS SUCH AS MOLECULAR MARKERS AND BREEDING LINES DEVELOPED IN THE PROJECT WILL ENABLE AND ACCELERATE THE BREEDING OF GRAIN LEGUMES WITH IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY. THIS INCREASES THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF GRAIN LEGUMES THEREBY FOSTERING THEIR INCLUSION IN CROP ROTATIONS TO ENSURE CROPPING SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY. HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY AND NUTRITIONAL DENSITY OF GRAIN LEGUMES WOULD ALSO IMPROVE THE INCOMES OF VALUE CHAIN PLAYERS SUCH AS FARMER GROWERS AND PROCESSERS INVOLVED IN GRAIN LEGUME PRODUCTION, AND CONTRIBUTE TO ENHANCING THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF THE CONSUMING HUMAN POPULATION.