RFLP mapping in soybean: association between marker loci and variation in quantitative traits.

We have constructed a genetic map for soybean and identified associations between genetic markers and quantitative trait loci. One-hundred-fifty restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were used to identify genetic linkages in an F2 segregating population from an interspecific cross (Glycine max x Glycine soja). Twenty-six genetic linkage groups containing ca. 1200 recombination units are reported. Progeny-testing of F2-derived families allowed quantitative traits to be evaluated in replicated field trials. Genomic regions, which accounted for a portion of the genetic variation (R2 = 16 to 24%) in several reproductive and morphological traits, were linked to RFLP markers. Significant associations between RFLP markers and quantitative trait loci were detected for eight of nine traits evaluated. The ability to identify genes within a continuously varying trait has important consequences for plant breeding and for understanding evolutionary processes.