Identification of quantitative trait loci associated with boiled seed hardness in soybean.
Boiled seed hardness is an important factor in the processing of soybean food products such as nimame and natto. Little information is available on the genetic basis for boiled seed hardness, despite the wide variation in this trait. DNA markers linked to the gene controlling this trait should be useful in soybean breeding programs because of the difficulty of its evaluation. In this report, quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was performed to reveal the genetic factors associated with boiled seed hardness using a recombinant inbred line population developed from a cross between two Japanese cultivars, 'Natto-shoryu' and 'Hyoukei-kuro 3', which differ largely in boiled seed hardness, which in 'Natto-shoryu' is about twice that of 'Hyoukei-kuro 3'. Two significantly stable QTLs, qHbs3-1 and qHbs6-1, were identified on chromosomes 3 and 6, for which the 'Hyoukei-kuro 3' alleles contribute to decrease boiled seed hardness for both QTLs. qHbs3-1 also showed significant effects in progeny of a residual heterozygous line and in a different segregating population. Given its substantial effect on boiled seed hardness, SSR markers closely linked to qHbs3-1, such as BARCSOYSSR_03_0165 and BARCSOYSSR_03_0185, could be useful for marker-assisted selection in soybean breeding.
NARO Tohoku Agricultural Research Center , 297 Uenodai, Kariwano, Daisen, Akita 019-2112 , Japan ; NARO Institute of Crop Science (NICS) , 2-1-18 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8518 , Japan.
Kaori
K
Hirata
NARO Institute of Crop Science (NICS) , 2-1-18 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8518 , Japan.
Ryoichi
R
Masuda
Snow Brand Seed Company, Limited , 634 Naganumahara, Inage, Chiba 263-0001 , Japan.
Yasutaka
Y
Tsubokura
NARO Institute of Crop Science (NICS) , 2-1-18 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8518 , Japan.
Takeshi
T
Yasui
NARO Institute of Crop Science (NICS) , 2-1-18 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8518 , Japan.
Tetsuya
T
Yamada
NARO Institute of Crop Science (NICS) , 2-1-18 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8518 , Japan.
Koji
K
Takahashi
NARO Institute of Crop Science (NICS) , 2-1-18 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8518 , Japan.
Taiko
T
Nagaya
National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences , 2-1-2 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8602 , Japan.
Takashi
T
Sayama
National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences , 2-1-2 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8602 , Japan.
Masao
M
Ishimoto
NARO Institute of Crop Science (NICS) , 2-1-18 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8518 , Japan.
Makita
M
Hajika
DNA markers; QTL; SSR; boiled seed hardness; marker-assisted selection; soybean