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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Urbana, Illinois » Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #142754
Title: RESPONSE OF EMBRYOGENIC CULTURES OF SOYBEAN TO CHEMICAL MUTAGENESIS

Author
item HOFMANN, NICOLLE - UOFI URBANA
item RAJA, RAJIV - UOFI URBANA
item Nelson, Randall
item KORBAN, SCHUYLER - UOFI URBANA

Submitted to: Plant Breeding
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/3/2003
Publication Date: 8/20/2002
Citation: HOFMANN, N.E., RAJA, R., NELSON, R.L., KORBAN, S.S. RESPONSE OF EMBRYOGENIC CULTURES OF SOYBEAN TO CHEMICAL MUTAGENESIS. PLANT BREEDING. 2002. v.Aug. p. 513.

Interpretive Summary: In some cases creating genetic variation through mutation is more effective than trying to find similar variation already existing within the species. An ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) has been used successfully to create such variation in soybean and other species in the past. Treating genic embryos culture is a way of creating a large number of mutants. This research was initiated to determine the relationship between EMS concentration and survival rate of embryo genic cultures and to determine if induction of genetic variability in these cultures will also create variation that could be detected at the DNA level. Overall the survival rate of the cultures decreased with increasing concentration of EMS. Using a procedure that can detect changes at the DNA level, such changes were detected at three or four levels of EMS used. These results show that concentrations of EMS can be used to create mutations at levels that will still allow for survival of an embryo genic cultures. Soybean geneticists and breeders interested in creating genetic diversity that is currently unknown could use this information.

Technical Abstract: A somatic embryo genic suspension cultures of soybeans (Glycine max L. cv. Iroquois) were treated with varying concentrations (0, 1, 3, 10, and 30 mM) of the chemical mutagen ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS). Depending on the concentration of the EMS used, the mean survival rate of embryongenic cultures ranged from 43 to 73 percent. Overall, the survival rate decreased with increasing EMS concentration with significant differences observed for cultures treated with 30 mM EMS compared to all other EMS concentrations used. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to determine whether inductions of genetic diversity in the embryo genic cultures in response to the different EMS treatments may result in identification of polymorphic markers. Two of 35 `core' primers tested revealed polymorphism. One of the primers revealed polymorphism in tissue treated with 10 mM EMS while the other primer revealed polymorphism in tissue treated with either 1 or 30 mM EMS.