Validation of marker-assisted selection in soybean breeding program for pod shattering resistance

Abstract

Significant yield losses are caused by pod shattering during the harvest of domesticated crop plants. The phenotype evaluation of pod shattering requires fully grown plants, and it is a labor-intensive and time-consuming procedure. The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of previously identified KSS-SNP5 SNP marker on chromosome 16 in the marker assisted selection (MAS) system for pod shattering in soybean breeding programs. For this research, TaqMan SNP assay was successfully developed to detect the A/G allele of the KSS-SNP5 marker in the breeding materials, including two breeding stages, F2:3 populations, and yield trial stage breeding lines. The MAS prediction accuracy was calculated by comparing the genotyping data from the TaqMan assay with the phenotype data from the dry-oven method. The total MAS prediction accuracy was 92.5% and 96.2% in two F2:3 populations and breeding lines, respectively and 85% and 96% accuracy were shown in severe conditions. In this study, we confirmed that the KSS-SNP5 TaqMan probe tightly linked to pod shattering is effective to select a resistant line. Based on these results, we propose that the marker tightly linked to pod shattering can be of valuable use in soybean breeding program for the development of pod shattering-resistant cultivars.