Meet the team!
Dr. Peter Pauls
Principal Investor
Lyndsay Schram
Technician
Field Team
Research Team
Yarmilla Reinprecht
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Theses: 2002
Conducted research on yield and disease resistance in a collection of 121 diverse bean genotypes with different yields. The beans were evaluated in replicated trials at two locations, over two years. Significant variation among genotypes was identified for all traits analyzed in the four environments.
Maryam Vazin
PhD
Theses: 2015
Researching the genetic control of yield, disease resistance, and maturity in a nested association mapping (NAM) population created with the navy bean cultivar Ex Rico 23, and 10 other navy bean lines that span the genetic diversity of Ontario Mesoamerican germplasm.
Emily Morneau
MSc
Theses: 2019
Completed her MSc on “The development of a Niemann-Pick gene-based marker in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for the selection of common bacterial blight resistance. The study characterized alleles in three candidate genes within the CBB resistant white bean line OAC Rex and several susceptible varieties.
Joe Martin
PhD
Theses: 2020
Characterized folate biosynthesis genes in beans and compared them to those that exist in the highly related soybean [Glycine max (I) merr.] genome. Folates (Vitamin B9) are essential components of the human diet that are primarily derived from plants. Their one-carbon units are required for the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, and global methylation.
Fawn Turner
PhD
Theses: 2021
In her PhD thesis on “Genotype and Phenotypic Diversity in Ontario Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Breeding Germplasm Derived from interspecific crosses with Phaseolus acutifolius“, she assessed the extent of tepary bean (P. acutifolius) introgression within the Ontario navy bean breeding program and conducted a genome wide association analysis (GWAS) with a recombinant inbred population (172 genotypes) and pedigree check varieties (12 genotypes) to identify molecular markers associated with agronomic traits including CBB resistance, yield, maturity, and plant architecture.
Jennifer Wilker
PhD
Theses: 2021
Completed her PhD on a thesis entitled “Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation (SNF) in Heirloom, Landrace, and Modern Participatory-Bred and Conventionally-Bred Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)”. She tested 400 common bean genotypes in inoculated, low-nitrogen field conditions to observe the diversity for SNF-related and agronomic traits.
Mohammad Erfatpour
PhD
Theses: 2021
Studies the genetic control of seed coat post harvest darkening (PHD) in pinto beans. The seed coat colour darkens with age in some market classes of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), including pinto beans. The J gene is an uncharacterized classical genetic locus known to be responsible for PHD in common bean and individuals that re homozygous for its recessive allele have a non-darkening (ND) seed coat phenotype.
Greg Perry
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Was engaged in characterizing the genomes of core germplasm for the University of Guelph bean breeding program. His work provided support for graduate students working on mapping projects and marker development.
Mylene Corzo-Lopez
PhD Student
Studied Transcription-Activator-like-Effector (TALE) proteins that are produced by the Common Bacterial Blight (CBB) pathogen in P. vulgaris L (Xanthomonas phaseoli and Xanthomonas citri pv. Fuscans). These proteins are injected by the pathogen into plant cells during the infection process and manipulate the host cell gene’s expression to promote disease.
Sajida Noor
PhD Student
Developed a KASP marker for the MYB gene associated with the non-darkening trait in beans and sequenced the genomes of the donor of the non-darkening trait (Witrood) and the backcross parents (OAC Navabi and OAC Firestripe). The genomes of Witrood, OAC Firestripe, and OAC Navabi were obtained by Illumina sequencing using a MiSeq instrument in the Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph.
Holly Gallo
MSc Student
Developed Near Infra Red (NIR) spectroscopy and molecular marker methods for selecting common bean varieties with high seed protein levels. Non-destructive methods such as NIR can be used to screen germplasm for protein quantity, and together with marker assisted selection can help to accelerate breeding beans with enhanced protein levels.