PAG-II Plant Genome II Conference

Town & Country Conference Center, San Diego, CA, January, 1994.


PG-II: DUPLICATE GENETIC FACTORS AND SOYBEAN GENOME ORGANIZATION

DUPLICATE GENETIC FACTORS AND SOYBEAN GENOME ORGANIZATION

Randy C. Shoemaker 1,2, E. Charles Brummer 1, Eberson S. Calvo 3, and Kayla M. Polzin 1. 1 Dept. of Agronomy, 2 USDA-ARS-FCR, and 3 Dept. of Zoology/Genetics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011.


Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is an ancient tetraploid with a highly diploidized genome. About 15% of the random genomic clones used in the construction of the USDA/ISU public RFLP map have mapped duplicate independent loci using a single enzyme. However, the vast majority of the probes detect multiple (3-9) bands on an autoradiograph. Our results suggest that each band has the potential to correlate to a genomic locus. Intensive mapping efforts using multiple enzymes and alternative mapping populations have identified a large number of duplicate loci. Linked duplicate loci can be identified which delineate apparent segmental duplications. Although some duplicate regions appear to be randomly dispersed, others are clearly tandemly repeated. The arrangement of these segments throughout the genome and the lack of cross-hybridization outside of "core" regions within segments indicate that the soybean genome has undergone tremendous internal reorganization through rearrangement and sequence divergence, with many regions being duplicated multiple times. The soybean demonstrates many examples of qualitative traits controlled by two or more duplicate loci. This suggests the potential for duplicate factors to play a role in expression of complex quantitative traits. We are attempting to correlate data from QTL mapping studies with what we are learning about the structure and organization of the soybean genome. This information may provide insight into the expression and regulation of complex traits in soybean.


Return to Previous Page or Intl-PAG Homepage