Genomic regions associated with flowering dates in soybean

Background. Soybean (Glycine L.) Merr.) is one of the most important crops worldwide. Optimizing the growing season is a key focus in soybean breeding. Modern methods, including the use of DNA markers, make it possible to accelerate selection of desired genotypes. One of the marker identification tools is a genome-wide association study (GWAS). The research objective was to pinpoint the loci associated with the duration of the germination-to-flowering period.

Materials and methods. The GWAS utilized the data from a three-year field study (2023–2025) conducted at Adler Experiment Station of VIR (43.450° N, 39.933° E), and the GBS data for a set of 169 soybean accessions from the VIR collection (origin: China, Russia, USA, Moldova, Canada, etc.). The Tassel 5.0 software was employed, implementing a mixed linear model (MLM).

Results. Forty-eight significant SNPs distributed across 14 chromosomes were identified. These included the known QTLs involved in flowering regulation and the potentially novel chromosome loci Gm1 (115 cM), Gm6 (117 cM), Gm7 (34-36 cM), and Gm8 (116 cM), previously undescribed in the literature.

Conclusion. The study of soybean cultivars of various geographic origin in the coastal zone of the Black Sea resulted in identifying new markers associated with flowering schedules.

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