Abstract
BackgroundShoot architecture is fundamentally crucial to crop growth and productivity. As a key component of shoot architecture, plant height is known to be controlled by both genetic and environmental factors, though specific details remain scarce.ResultsIn this study, 308 representative soybean lines from a core collection and 168 F9 soybean progeny were planted at distinct field sites. The results demonstrated the presence of significant genotype × environment interaction (G × E) effects on traits associated with plant height in a natural soybean population. In total, 19 loci containing 51 QTLs (quantitative trait locus) for plant height were identified across four environments, with 23, 13 and 15 being QTLs for SH (shoot height), SNN (stem node number) and AIL (average internode length), respectively. Significant LOD ranging from 2.50 to 16.46 explained 2.80–26.10% of phenotypic variation. Intriguingly, only two loci, Loc11 and Loc19–1, containing 20 QTLs, were simultaneously detected across all environments. Results from Pearson correlation analysis and PCA (principal component analysis) revealed that each of the five agro-meteorological factors and four soil properties significantly affected soybean plant height traits, and that the corresponding QTLs had additive effects. Among significant environmental factors, AD (average day-length), AMaT (average maximum temperature), pH, and AN (available nitrogen) had the largest impacts on soybean plant height. Therefore, in spite of uncontrollable agro-meteorological factors, soybean shoot architecture might be remolded through combined efforts to produce superior soybean genetic materials while also optimizing soil properties.ConclusionsOverall, the comprehensive set of relationships outlined herein among environment factors, soybean genotypes and QTLs in effects on plant height opens new avenues to explore in work aiming to increase soybean yield through improvements in shoot architecture.
Highlights
Shoot architecture is fundamentally crucial to crop growth and productivity
Genetic analysis suggested that the distributions for the three tested traits measured in two environments were approximately normal according to Kurtosis and Skewness values calculated over three replicates (Table 1)
There were no significant differences observed between parental lines within individual environments, data from the recombinant inbred line (RIL) population exhibited maximum and minimum values beyond the parental extremes, and most of the distributions for traits tested across four environments were approximately normal according to Kurtosis and Skewness values calculated over three replicates (Fig. 2)
Summary
Shoot architecture is fundamentally crucial to crop growth and productivity. As a key component of shoot architecture, plant height is known to be controlled by both genetic and environmental factors, though specific details remain scarce. With the world population continually increasing, the demands placed upon agriculture to supply enough food will remain a great challenge for the foreseeable future [1]. Increasing crop yields has often been highlighted as a potential solution for meeting the challenge of feeding our growing population [2, 3]. Existing evidence strongly suggests that ideal shoot architectures often depend on suitable plant heights, which, as yet, remains to be fully exploited for developing new high yielding cultivars
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