Cataloging SCN resistance loci in North American public soybean breeding programs

Anser Mahmood; Kristin D Bilyeu; Mária Škrabišová; Jana Biová; Elizabeth J De Meyer; Clinton G Meinhardt; Mariola Usovsky; Qijian Song; Aaron J Lorenz; Melissa G Mitchum; Grover Shannon; Andrew M Scaboo

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1270546

Cataloging SCN resistance loci in North American public soybean breeding programs

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Nov 20:14:1270546. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1270546. eCollection 2023.

Affiliations

¹ Division of Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States.
² Plant Genetics Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States.
³ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czechia.
⁴ Soybean Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Beltsville, MD, United States.
⁵ Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States.
⁶ Department of Plant Pathology and Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.

Abstract

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a destructive pathogen of soybeans responsible for annual yield loss exceeding $1.5 billion in the United States. Here, we conducted a series of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) to understand the genetic landscape of SCN resistance in the University of Missouri soybean breeding programs (Missouri panel), as well as germplasm and cultivars within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Uniform Soybean Tests-Northern Region (NUST). For the Missouri panel, we evaluated the resistance of breeding lines to SCN populations HG 2.5.7 (Race 1), HG 1.2.5.7 (Race 2), HG 0 (Race 3), HG 2.5.7 (Race 5), and HG 1.3.6.7 (Race 14) and identified seven quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) associated with SCN resistance on chromosomes 2, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 18. Additionally, we evaluated breeding lines in the NUST panel for resistance to SCN populations HG 2.5.7 (Race 1) and HG 0 (Race 3), and we found three SCN resistance-associated QTNs on chromosomes 7 and 18. Through these analyses, we were able to decipher the impact of seven major genetic loci, including three novel loci, on resistance to several SCN populations and identified candidate genes within each locus. Further, we identified favorable allelic combinations for resistance to individual SCN HG types and provided a list of available germplasm for integration of these unique alleles into soybean breeding programs. Overall, this study offers valuable insight into the landscape of SCN resistance loci in U.S. public soybean breeding programs and provides a framework to develop new and improved soybean cultivars with diverse plant genetic modes of SCN resistance.

Keywords: SCN (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe); genome wide association study (GWAS); resistance to Heterodera glycines 1 (Rhg1); soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.); α-soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein (α-SNAP).

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding for this project was obtained by multiple awards over 7 years from the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council (Award ID’s #11-340, #16-400, and #16-398), the United Soybean Board (Award ID’s #1820-172-0117, #2020-172-0152, #2120-172-0143, and #2312-209-0301) and the North Central Soybean Research Program. Anser Mahmood (Participant ID: PS00297930) is funded via the Fulbright Foreign Student Program.