Location: Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research
Project Number: 5012-21000-033-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Mar 1, 2023
End Date: Feb 29, 2028
Objective:
Objective 1: Conduct research to develop novel genetic resource maintenance, evaluation, or characterization methods for soybean and crop wild relative genetic resources, in alignment with the overall NPGS Plan, that avoid backlogs in genetic resource and information management.
Sub-objective 1a: Improve the yield and quality of Glycine max seed increases.
Sub-objective 1b: Evaluate accessions for basic agronomic, descriptive, and seed composition traits and continue genotyping accessions.
Objective 2: Acquire, distribute, and maintain the safety, genetic integrity, health, and viability of soybean and crop wild relative genetic resources and associated descriptive information.
Goal 2: Add new accessions to the USDA SGC to improve the genetic coverage of the Glycine species and continue to distribute seed, properly maintain seed inventories, and verify current data and add to the types of data being collected.
Objective 3: Identify accessions in the National Plant Germplasm System soybean genetic resource collection with nutritional and/or stress tolerance traits, especially among wild soybeans, and apply innovative breeding methods to efficiently develop and release agronomically-superior germplasm that can be used to increase protein, oil, fatty acid, amino acid concentration, disease resistance, and drought and/or heat tolerance.
Goal 3: Introgress exotic soybean and wild soybean genetic variation for yield, seed composition and disease resistance into agronomically acceptable germplasm lines with limited yield drag or other deleterious traits.
Approach:
The objectives of this plan involve both service and research goals. This project will focus on safeguarding and increasing the utilization of the genetic diversity in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection (SGC) through the outcomes of three major objectives. 1) Conduct research to develop novel genetic resource maintenance, evaluation, or characterization methods for soybean and crop wild relative genetic resources, in alignment with the overall NPGS Plan, that avoid backlogs in genetic resource and information management. Much of the SGC has been genotyped with the Illumina 50K SNP array, and this data will be critical to improve the understanding of the available genetic diversity among the accessions, and when prudent, inactivating duplicate germplasm. 2) Acquire, distribute, and maintain the safety, genetic integrity, health, and viability of soybean and crop wild relative genetic resources and associated descriptive information. We will continue to explore acquiring new Glycine accessions from countries where the wild germplasm is native, and from places of ancient cultivation of soybean. In addition, acquired germplasm will stem from germplasm releases and private cultivars from expired Plant Variety Protection Certificates. 3) Identify accessions in the National Plant Germplasm System soybean genetic resource collection with nutritional and/or stress tolerance traits, especially among wild soybeans, and apply innovative breeding methods to efficiently develop and release agronomically-superior germplasm that can be used to increase protein, fatty acid, amino acid concentration, disease resistance, drought and/or heat tolerance. Diversity from exotic and wild soybean germplasm will be used to address these traits within the established breeding program while also maintaining competitive seed yields with improved cultivars. This work will be done while maintaining the existing SGC and generating new data to aid soybean basic and applied researchers domestically and globally in properly utilizing soybean germplasm for specific research goals.
