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Powdery mildew can cause severe yield losses in bean crops. Limited information about resistance sources, and nature and inheritance of resistance are available to bean breeders and plant pathologist. Sources of resistance were searched in seedling tests under controlled conditions in 44 well-known genotypes and in a Spanish germplasm core collection consisting on 201 accessions. A 0-4 scale was used to describe the infection types (IT) observed. Only six out of the 245 evaluated genotypes showed a complete resistance (IT0) without visible symptoms on the leaves: Amanda, Belneb, Cornell 49242, Negro San Luis, Porrillo Sintetico and the local accession BGE003161. Inheritance of resistance was studied in F 2 and F 2:3 segregating populations. Observed reactions in the five segregating populations fitted to Mendelian ratios with different modes of inheritance. Results revealed that cultivar Porrillo Sintetico carries two dominant and independent resistance genes: one gene conferring complete resistance (IT0), and another gene conferring IT3, characterized by a moderate mycelial development on the leaves. Both genes show a dominant epistatic relationship. Inheritance of response to powdery mildew in cv. Cornell 49242 was similar to cv. Porrillo Sintetico although the correspondence with the genes described in Porrillo Sintetico was not established. Line X2776 carries one dominant gene conferring IT3, and shares this gene with cv. Porrillo Sintetico. In cv. Amanda, two complementary genes appear to be involved in resistance to this fungus. This information will be relevant for the implementation of breeding programs focused on the development of cultivars carrying genetic resistance to powdery mildew. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.