Natural variation at the soybean J locus improves adaptation to the tropics and enhances yield.
Soybean is a major legume crop originating in temperate regions, and photoperiod responsiveness is a key factor in its latitudinal adaptation. Varieties from temperate regions introduced to lower latitudes mature early and have extremely low grain yields. Introduction of the long-juvenile (LJ) trait extends the vegetative phase and improves yield under short-day conditions, thereby enabling expansion of cultivation in tropical regions. Here we report the cloning and characterization of J, the major classical locus conferring the LJ trait, and identify J as the ortholog of Arabidopsis thaliana EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3). J depends genetically on the legume-specific flowering repressor E1, and J protein physically associates with the E1 promoter to downregulate its transcription, relieving repression of two important FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) genes and promoting flowering under short days. Our findings identify an important new component in flowering-time control in soybean and provide new insight into soybean adaptation to tropical regions.
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Sijia
S
Lu
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaohui
X
Zhao
Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Yilong
Y
Hu
University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.|State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Shulin
S
Liu
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.
Haiyang
H
Nan
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Xiaoming
X
Li
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Chao
C
Fang
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Dong
D
Cao
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.
Xinyi
X
Shi
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Lingping
L
Kong
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Tong
T
Su
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Fengge
F
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Shichen
S
Li
State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Zheng
Z
Wang
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.
Xiaohui
X
Yuan
Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Elroy R
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4673-1808
ER
Cober
School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
James L
JL
Weller
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Baohui
B
Liu
Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Xingliang
X
Hou
State Key Laboratory of Plant Cell and Chromosome Engineering, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Zhixi
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6051-9670
Z
Tian
Key Laboratory of Soybean Molecular Design Breeding, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China.|School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Fanjiang
F
Kong
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D018533:Biomass; D002681:China; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D056426:Genetic Loci / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D009154:Mutation; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013025:Glycine max / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D013045:Species Specificity; D014329:Tropical Climate
D010940:Plant Proteins