IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A WHITE-FLOWERED WILD SOYBEAN PLANT

Authors: CHEN, YIWU - UNIVERSITY OF ILLINIOS; Nelson, Randall

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2003
Publication Date: 1/15/2004
Citation: Chen, Y., Nelson, R.L. 2004. Identification and characterization of a white-flowered wild soybean plant. Crop Science. 44:339-342.

Interpretive Summary: No wild soybean line existed in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection with white flowers. A white flowered wild soybean plant was found among purple flowered plants when wild soybean germplasm was being grown. Our research objective was to determine the source of this white flowered plant. Using DNA data we demonstrated that the white flowered plant was very similar to the purple flowered line that was the putative parental line. These results indicate that the white flowered plant was the result of a natural mutation. This information is useful to germplasm curators and geneticists.

Technical Abstract: No white-flowered accession exists among the more than 1,100 Glycine. soja accessions in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection, although one-third of the Glycine max accessions are white-flowered. One white-flowered plant was found in G. soja accession PI 424008A growing in Stoneville, Mississippi in 1998. The objective of this research is to clarify the origin of this white-flowered plant. Phenotypic traits and DNA markers were used to compare the white-flowered line with the putative parental line, PI 424008A. The results from all of the data show that the white-flowered plant is very similar to PI 424008A indicating that the white-flowered plant was produced by a mutation in PI 424008A. The white flowered line has been added to the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection and is designated as PI 424008C.