Soybean Seed Amino Acid Content QTL Detected Using the Uni - versal Soy Linkage Panel 1.0 with 1,536 SNPs

Abstract

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is the primary source of meal used in animal feed in the U.S. However, few studies have been conducted to evaluate genomic regions controlling amino acid composition is soybean. Designing soybean seed compositions that will benefit animal production is essential. The objective of this study was to identify genomic regions controlling essential and non-essential amino acid composition in soybean seed proteins. To achieve this objective, 282 F5:9 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed from a cross of Essex × Williams 82 were used. Ground soybean seed samples were analyzed for amino acids and statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found among genotypes in the population for all amino acid concentrations. The Universal Soy Linkage Panel (USLP) 1.0 of 1,536 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) DNA markers were used to genotype the 282 RILs and identify 480 useful genetic markers. The software R/qtl was used to identify candidate quantitative trait loci (QTL), which were validated using R/MQM. A total of ten QTL were detected on chromosomes 5, 7, 9, 10, 13 and 20 that explained 5 to 14% of the total phenotypic variation for a particular amino acid. Using SNPs from the USLP 1.0 to detect QTL for amino acids in soybean provides additional information to select genotypes with enhanced amino acid profiles that will benefit animal production.