ARS | Publication request: The Utilization of Soybean Wild Relatives: How Can It Be Effective?

Submitted to: Soybean Research World Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: May 13, 2009
Publication Date: August 9, 2009
Citation: Singh, R.J., Nelson, R.L. 2009. The Utilization of Soybean Wild Relatives: How Can It Be Effective? [abstract]. In: [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the World Soybean Research Conference VIII,August 9-16, 2009, Beijing, China. 2009 CDROM.

Technical Abstract: Wild soybean (G. soja Sieb. & Zucc.) is the progenitor of soybean and is native to China, Taiwan, Japan, eastern Russia and the Korean peninsula. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that wild soybean is more genetically diverse than the cultivated soybean. There are 26 perennial Glycine species that are very distant relatives of soybean. All are indigenous to Australia but some tetraploid forms are found in other South Pacific islands and as far north as south China. These species have genomes that are distinct from the annual species and some occupy very harsh environmental niches that soybean would not tolerate. Soybean was derived from wild soybean within the past 5,000 years but it is estimated that the perennial Glycine have been genetically separated from the annual species for over 5 million years. In the past, wild soybean has been used very little in soybean cultivar improvement and the genetic barriers between the annual and perennial species have prevented the use of these species. New genetic technology can make the extraction of the useful characteristics from wild soybean more efficient. We have developed procedures that allow the development of genetically stable, self fertile progenies from some perennial Glycine accessions. We will discuss the advantages of utilizing wild relatives in soybean breeding and strategies for increasing the use of wild relatives in the future.