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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #265833
Title: Fluorescence in situ hybridization-based karyotyping of soybean translocation lines

Author
item FINDLEY, SETH - University Of Missouri
item Pappas, Allison
item CUI, YAYA - University Of Missouri
item BIRCHLER, JAMES - University Of Missouri
item Palmer, Reid
item STACEY, GARY - University Of Missouri

Submitted to: Genes, Genomes, Genetics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/8/2011
Publication Date: 7/1/2011
Citation: Findley, S.D., Pappas, A.L., Cui, Y., Birchler, J.A., Palmer, R.G., Stacey, G. 2011. Fluorescence in situ hybridization-based karyotyping of soybean translocation lines. Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 1:117-129.

Interpretive Summary: Soybean is a major crop species and the recently completed genome sequencing project has provided soybean researchers with additional information for plant improvement. The integration of the molecular biology with the classical genetics is not complete. This is especially true in the assignment of genetic traits to specific chromosomes. This study uses chromosome translocations (interchanges) to identify specific chromosomes. Translocations occur when two different chromosomes are broken and reunite with a different (non-parental) chromosome. Five different chromosome translocations were used. All five translocations were located to their respective chromosomes. These findings are important to geneticists and breeders to identify which chromosome segments are rearranged, duplicated, or deleted. Traits of interest can be localized on a chromosome. These results will be used to characterize soybean germplasm and to identify and transfer desirable traits to breeding lines. New cultivars will be bred and improved cultivars will be available to the farmer that will offer better quality seeds, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.

Technical Abstract: Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is a major crop species and a target of a substantial investment of genomic and genetic studies; yet, in contrast to other plant species, relatively few chromosomal aberrations have been identified and characterized in soybean. This is due in part to the difficulty of cytogenetic analysis of its small, morphologically homogeneous chromosomes. The recent development of a Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH)-based karyotyping system for soybean has enabled us to characterize chromosome aberrations in soybean. Five chromosome translocations (interchanges) are known in soybean. This study represents the first detailed structural analysis of any soybean chromosome rearrangement in which both the chromosomes involved and the breakpoints were defined. Fluorophore-conjugated oligonucleotide probes were used to ‘paint’ segments of each chromosome. The FISH technique enabled us to characterize five soybean translocation lines. Because large-scale chromosome rearrangements may not be directly detectable in genome resequencing, FISH-based cytogenetics will undoubtedly have importance to rapidly characterize the largely uncharacterized wild soybean germplasm collections. This in turn will aid breeders to produce improved soybean for the public.