Genetic Analysis of Sucrose Concentration in Soybean Seeds Using a Historical Soybean Genomic Panel

Abstract

Sucrose concentration in soybean (Glycine max L. Merr) seed is becoming an increasingly important trait for the soy food industry. The objectives of this thesis were to: 1) identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for sucrose concentration, 2) explore the allelic variation present in a genomic panel for candidate genes related to sucrose synthesis in soybean, and 3) determine the effect of genotype (G), environment (E) and genotype-by-environment interaction (GE) on varying sucrose levels in the seed. A University of Guelph panel of 296 pedigree-related genotypes was used for this analysis. Significant G, E, and GE interaction effects were observed for sucrose over three years and four locations in Ontario, which allowed for determining the trait stability. QTL analysis was performed using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected using a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach. A putative QTL was identified in the genomic region harbouring a potential gene involved in sucrose metabolism. Improved understanding of the genetics of sucrose biosynthesis allows for the future development of high sucrose soybean cultivars.