Genetic mapping of a soybean glabrous gene using specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing method

Trichome is a natural trait related with plant defense and seed yield, however, the genetic control of this trait has not been extensively studied in soybean. In this study, a cross was made between a soybean landrace “Aijiaomaodou” with normal pubescence and a glabrous soybean line “39002”. The segregation ratio of the F2 population was fit to the expected value and the glabrous phenotype was controlled by a single dominant gene. Association analysis was conducted to identify candidate genes for the glabrous trait using a high-throughput sequencing technology, specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing. A total of 6,961 polymorphic specific-locus amplified fragments were analyzed and a region of 2.76 Mb at nucleotides 47,315,610-50,072,564 on chromosome 9 containing 551 candidate genes was identified. Four specific genes (Glyma09G280500, Glyma09G282600, Glyma09G259400 and Glyma09G283400) in the region appeared to be most important candidate genes that are highly related to the glabrous trait. Further studies of these genes may lead to isolation and cloning of the glabrous gene and facilitate the selection procedures in soybean breeding.