Soybean cultivars are extremely diverse in time to flowering and maturation as a result of various photoperiod sensitivities. The underlying molecular genetic mechanism is not fully clear, however, four maturity loci E1, E2, E3 and E4 have been molecularly identified. In this report, cultivars were selected with various photoperiod sensitivities from different ecological zones, which covered almost all maturity groups (MG) from MG 000 to MG VIII and MG X adapted from latitude N 18° to N 53°. They were planted in the field under natural daylength condition (ND) in Beijing, China or in pots under different photoperiod treatments. Maturity-related traits were then investigated. The four E maturity loci were genotyped at the molecular level. Our results suggested that these four E genes have different impacts on maturity and their allelic variations and combinations determine the diversification of soybean maturity and adaptation to different latitudes. The genetic mechanisms underlying photoperiod sensitivity and adaptation in wild soybean seemed unique from those in cultivated soybean. The allelic combinations and functional molecular markers for the four E loci will significantly assist molecular breeding towards high productivity.
The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement and MOA Key Lab of Soybean Biology (Beijing), Institute of Crop Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;The Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement and MOA Key Lab of Soybean Biology (Beijing), Institute of Crop Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;The Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China;The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement and MOA Key Lab of Soybean Biology (Beijing), Institute of Crop Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;The Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China;The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement and MOA Key Lab of Soybean Biology (Beijing), Institute of Crop Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;The Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China;The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement and MOA Key Lab of Soybean Biology (Beijing), Institute of Crop Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;The Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China;The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement and MOA Key Lab of Soybean Biology (Beijing), Institute of Crop Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;The Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China;The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement and MOA Key Lab of Soybean Biology (Beijing), Institute of Crop Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;The Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China;The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement and MOA Key Lab of Soybean Biology (Beijing), Institute of Crop Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China;The Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
Recommended Citation:
Bingjun Jiang,Haiyang Nan,Youfei Gao,et al. Allelic Combinations of Soybean Maturity Loci E1, E2, E3 and E4 Result in Diversity of Maturity and Adaptation to Different Latitudes[J]. PLOS ONE,2014-01-01,9(8)