Gene for Determinate Growth of Soybean Discovered

Soybean (Glycine max) plants have two types of growth habit: determinate plants whose main stem tips discontinue growth after flowering, and the indeterminate plants which continue to grow even after flowering. Either types are economically important for farmers in different areas, thus it is important to find a means that would aid the farmers to produce soybeans with their preferred growth habit.

Thus, Zhixi Tiana of Purdue University and other scientists conducted a study that would identify the gene that dictates the determinacy of soybean using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The gene responsible for the stem growth of Arabidopsis was compared with the soybean's entire genetic code. The four candidate genes from G. max were compared with the genes of other soybean cultivars, and discovered that a single base-pair nucleotide mutation of the gene Dt1 was the basis why some soybean plants are determinate.

The complete research article is presented at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/04/20/1000088107.full.pdf+html.