Location: Plant Genetics Research
Project Number: 5070-21000-044-023-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jun 1, 2022
End Date: May 31, 2024
Objective:
Objective I: Accelerating value-added high oleic germplasm through the use of seed imaging and near-infrared technology.
Objective II: Leverage the high-throughput soybean seed analysis system to accelerate gene discovery.
Approach:
Objective I: A high-throughput seed image and near-infrared instrument was used to screen ARS genetic soybean mapping populations to identify seeds with a high oleic trait. In these populations, five distinct value-added genes have segregated (two for high oleic - ARS and collaborator patents; two for low linolenic – ARS trait; and one for a low raffinose trait - ARS patent). We will use molecular biological methods to identify entries also containing a low raffinose trait and we will obtain low-pass whole genomic data through a commercial provider. Field studies will be used to identify entries with the desired agronomic traits. The performance of the seed imaging near-infrared (IR) instrumentation will be validated by NIRS and wet-chemistry methods on field-produced seed after year 1 field season is complete. During year 2, a yield test will be performed of the most promising lines. Those that meet appropriate targets (agronomic, value-added seed composition and seed yield) will be used in the future for germplasm and/or variety releases after subsequent multi-location testing.
Objective II: The seed imaging, high-throughput IR analysis was previously performed using a technique called bulk segregant analysis – wherein a population is separated into two “bulks” representing the top or bottom 10% of the phenotypic distribution (for seed oil, seed protein, and seed size).
Field trials will be conducted to collect phenotypic data from individual plants, and the results will be used to confirm and validate the IR results (and correct for errors if needed). In year 2, we will leverage year 1 results to identify recombination events to permit dissecting candidate genomic regions, with the aim to fine-map causative loci.
