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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Raleigh, North Carolina » Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #309669
Title: Registration of N6002 soybean germplasm with enhanced yield derived from Japanese cultivars Fukuyutaka and Nakasennari and elevated seed protein content

Author
item Carter Jr, Thomas
item Todd, Steven
item Gillen, Anne

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/8/2014
Publication Date: 4/10/2015
Citation: Carter Jr, T.E., Todd, S.M., Gillen, A.M. 2015. Registration of N6002 soybean germplasm with enhanced yield derived from Japanese cultivars Fukuyutaka and Nakasennari and elevated seed protein content. Journal of Plant Registrations. 9:216-221.

Interpretive Summary: Since the beginning of modern agricultural research in the early 20th century, plant breeding has been a key component of soybean yield increases (about 1.5% per year). While soybean breeding has been successful historically, limited genetic diversity in applied breeding programs poses an imminent challenge to future yield advances. To preempt this problem, the USDA-ARS is developing novel, highly productive breeding lines that broaden the genetic base of applied soybean breeding in the USA. The release N6002 is a part of this ongoing effort and traces 25% of its pedigree to two exotic Japanese cultivars not normally used in applied plant breeding efforts. This new line yields approximately 9% greater than the landmark U.S. cultivar used as the starting material of the breeding effort. The novel ancestry and enhanced yield performance of N6002 provide clear evidence that yield-enhancing alleles/genes can be transferred to adapted U.S. breeding stock from exotic parents. Because such evidence has been rare in plant breeding, this release constitutes a breakthrough that may open new routes for the use of genetic diversity in crop improvement.

Technical Abstract: This release is part of a continuing effort to broaden the genetic base of applied North American soybean [Glycine max L. (Merr.)] breeding programs. N6002 was cooperatively developed and released by the USDA-ARS and the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service in September 2014 as a conventional maturity group (MG) VI soybean germplasm derived from hybridization of the cultivar ‘Young’ and USDA germplasm N6202. N6002 traces a total of 25% of its pedigree to the Japanese cultivars ‘Fukuyutaka’ and ‘Nakasennari’. The remaining pedigree (75%) is derived from Young. N6002 was tested in three sets of multi-state yield trials in the Southern USA: recombinant inbred line yield trials, the United Soybean Board Southern Diversity Yield Trial Project, and the USDA Southern Uniform Tests. Over 39 environments, N6002 averaged 8.7% higher yield than parent Young, 8.0% greater than parent N6202, and 97% of the elite check ‘NC-Roy’. Although seed yield of N6002 was higher than that of Young, seed protein content was comparable in the two and greater than that of NC-Roy. The superior yield of N6002 as compared to Young, demonstrates that yield enhancing alleles were transferred to the Young background from Japanese cultivars. The elevated seed protein content of N6002 compared to NC-Roy and the parity of protein content with Young suggest that these yield enhancing alleles may aid in mitigating the well-known negative correlation between seed yield and protein content.