Genetic variations of glycinin subunit genes among cultivated and wild type soybean species

Abstract

Glycinin is a predominant storage protein in most soybean accessions. It is a hexamer constituted by five major subunits, which can be classified into two groups. Group I contains G1, G2 and G3, and Group II contains G4 and G5. The genes encoding these subunits have been designated from Gy1 to Gy5, respectively. In the present study, Gy1 genomic fragments were cloned from wild accessions of subgenera Glycine glycine, Glycine soja and a cultivar of Glycine max. Their sequences and the deduced amino acid sequences were compared. The residues critical for assembling of G1 subunits from the wild perennial accession were conservative. The Gy4 fragments were cloned from two wild perennial accessions and compared with that from subgenus Soja. The intron 3 of Gy4 had abundant variations between the subgenera G. soja and G. glycine as well as within the subgenus G. glycine. Abundant variations existed in the disordered regions 3 and 4 of G4 subunits from two wild perennial accessions. The genomic organization of glycinin genes was analyzed in 19 accessions from subgenera Soja and Glycine. The hybridization patterns were identical among the accessions of subgenus Soja. On the contrary, abundant polymorphisms existed between the accessions from subgenus Glycine. These results indicated that glycinin genes have high degree of conservation within subgenus Soja but more variations within subgenus Glycine.