Location: Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research
2023 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Incorporation of 28 new legume genomes into the Legume Information System to aid breeders in development of improved traits to improve yields and decrease pesticide use. Genome sequences describe the order and content of the DNA in all chromosomes of an organism, providing a “road map” for the organism and serving as a common framework or backbone for much of the work done by breeders and other researchers. In 2022, ARS researchers in Ames, Iowa, have collected 39 new full genome assemblies and associated sets of gene predictions, across seven legume species, and incorporated these into the Legume Information System (LIS) Data Store. These included 28 new genomes for soybean, two for peanut, four for alfalfa and relatives, two for faba bean, one for mung bean, one for hyacinth bean, and one for the redbud tree. These data will be used by plant breeders and biologists, to aid in crop improvement. This information can be used to identify genetic markers for traits such as tolerance to environmental stresses and resistance to pathogens. Breeding and research on this group of crops impacts people worldwide, as legume crops provide protein and other nutrients for most of the global population.
2. Incorporation of the 2022 soybean variety trial data (Northern Uniform Soybean Tests) into SoyBase to aid in identification of superior genetics for breeding. For all major crops, variety trials are used to determine which new varieties are most suited to a particular region or to meet grower and consumer objectives. Traits that are typically assessed in soybean variety trials include yield, tolerance against adverse field conditions such as nutrient deficiencies or pathogens, seed characteristics such as protein and oil concentration and quality, and growth harvest characteristics such as germination rate and plant architecture at harvest. ARS researchers in Ames, Iowa, have added soybean phenotypic data for 582 testing strains submitted to the Northern Uniform Soybean Tests (NUST). Additionally, parentage information for those strains were added to the SoyBase Soybean Parentage Database. Incorporating phenotypic data on these strains into SoyBase (soybase.org) allows breeders access to performance data of testing strains from 1989 to the present. This will allow breeders to easily see the results of breeding activity across programs and to evaluate any increase in grain yield and other seed quality measurements and incorporate strains with superior genetics into their breeding programs.
Review Publications
Kulkarni, R., Zhang, Y., Cannon, S.B., Dorman, K.S. 2022. CAPG: comprehensive allopolyploid genotyper. Bioinformatics. 39(1).Article btac729. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btac729.
Otyama, P.I., Chamberlin, K., Ozias-Akins, P., Graham, M.A., Cannon, E.K.S., Cannon, S.B., MacDonald, G.E., Anglin, N.L. 2022. Genome-wide approaches delineate the additive, epistatic, and pleiotropic nature of variants controlling fatty acid composition in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 12(1). Article jkab382. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkab382.
Newman, C.S., Andres, R.J., Youngblood, R.C., Campbell, J.D., Simpson, S.A., Cannon, S.B., Scheffler, B.E., Oakley, A.T., Hulse-Kemp, A.M., Dunne, J.C. 2023. Initiation of genomics-assisted breeding in Virginia-type peanuts through the generation of a de novo reference genome and informative markers. Frontiers in Plant Science. 13.Article 1073542. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1073542.
