Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Urbana, Illinois » Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #348237

Research Project: Integrated Management of Soybean Pathogens and Pests

Location: Soybean/maize Germplasm, Pathology, and Genetics Research

Title: Advances in marker-assisted breeding of soybean

Author
item VUONG, TRI - University Of Missouri
item Walker, David

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/30/2017
Publication Date: 5/31/2018
Citation: Vuong, T.D., Walker, D.R. 2018. Advances in marker-assisted breeding of soybean. In: Nguyen, H.T., editor. Achieving Sustainable Cultivation of Soybeans Volume 1: Breeding and cultivation techniques. Cambridge, UK: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781351114479
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781351114479

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The development of DNA markers and genotyping technologies in recent decades has had a major impact on soybean breeding, making marker-assisted selection (MAS) a cost-effective alternative or supplement to selection based on plant phenotypes. This chapter highlights the discovery of simple sequence repeats (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as abundant and useful molecular markers for tagging important genes, for transferring those genes into agronomically superior genetic backgrounds, and for improving environment-sensitive quantitative traits that are controlled by multiple genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL). Simultaneous developments in various technologies that have made genotyping of breeding populations less expensive and less labor intensive are also discussed, including the development of genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approaches. Advances in genotype selection and prediction are also presented and contrasted with more traditional uses of MAS to introgress specific mapped genes and QTL into other genetic backgrounds. The chapter ends with a discussion of future prospects for using MAS in soybean breeding, and concerns about impediments associated with patents on the use of MAS for soybean genetic improvement.