New Genome of Chinese Soybean Now Available

Chinese scientists have released a new high-quality soybean genome for a Chinese soybean "Zhonghuang 13". This genome, together with a subsequently established comprehensive gene co-expression network, facilitates important agronomic genes mining and provides valuable information for future soybean elite cultivar improvement.

The current soybean reference genome sequenced from Williams 82 is a cultivar domesticated in America. As Asia is one of the largest soybean planting and consuming regions, its soybean production is essential for global food security, and a new high-quality soybean genome from Asian soybean accessions is necessary.

The researchers identified a large number of genetic variations between this genome with a commonly used soybean reference genome, including 1,404 translocations, 161 inversions, 1,233 translocation and inversions, 505,506 indels (1-99 bp), and 17,409 accession specific insertions (>=100 bp). A total of 36,429 transposable elements and 52,051 protein coding genes were annotated in the new genome.

For more details, read the research news at the Chinese Academy of Sciences website.