Glycine max Raw sequence reads
Implementing synthetic apomixis in crops could revolutionize agricultural production by allowing clonal reproduction of elite hybrids. This process has already been demonstrated in both dicot (Arabidopsis thaliana) and monocot (rice) plants through two stages: apomeiosis and haploid induction. In our study, we explored to introduce synthetic apomixis into soybeans by initiating apomeiosis with the MiMe (Mitosis instead of Meiosis) system to produce clonal diploid gametes. We identified in soybean the five equivalents of the three key genes of the MiMe system, SPO11-1, REC8, and OSD1, and knocked out them to examine the resulting meiosis phenotypes in multiple mutants. Our findings showed that the simutaneous knockout of the SPO11-1 and REC8 orthologs triggers a switch from meiosis I to a mitosis-like division in pollen mother cells (PMCs), while OSD1 ortholog knockout partially circumvents meiosis I. We also obtained an offspring, from the soybean MiMe mutant, with a chromosome number equivalent to that of a tetraploid, but with two chromosomes fragmented. This research offers insights into the strategy of installation of apomeiosis and synthetic apomixis in soybean and paves the way for its further application.