Abstract
Isoflavones are a group of phytoestrogens, naturally-occurring substances important for their role in human health. Legumes, particularly soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), are the richest source of isoflavones in human diet. Since there is not much current data on genetics of isoflavones in soybean, particularly in the aglycone form, elucidation of the mode of inheritance is necessary in order to design an efficient breeding strategy for the development of high-isoflavone soybean genotypes. Based on the isoflavone content in 23 samples of soybeans from four different maturity groups (00, 0, I and II), three crosses were made in order to determine the inheritance pattern and increase the content of total isoflavones and their aglycone form. Genotype with the lowest total isoflavone content (NS-L-146) was crossed with the low- (NS Zenit), medium (NS Maximus), and high- (NS Virtus) isoflavone genotypes. There were no significant differences in the total isoflavone content (TIF) between F2 populations, and there was no transgression among genotypes within the populations. Each genotype within all three populations had a higher TIF value than the lower parent (NS-L-146), while genotypes with a higher TIF value than the better parent were found only in the NS-L-146 × NS Zenit cross. However, significant differences in the aglycone ratio (ratio of aglycone to glycone form of isoflavones) were found between the populations. The highest aglycone ratio was found in the NS-L-146 × NS Maximus cross. The results indicate that the genetic improvement for the trait is possible.
Highlights
Isoflavones are a group of phytoestrogens, naturally-occurring substances important for their role in human health
Content of acetyl daidzin in the F2 population made from NS-L146 × Zenit was higher compared to the both parents
Mean values of total isoflavone content were the same for all three F2 populations, regardless of the parents used in the cross
Summary
Isoflavones are a group of phytoestrogens, naturally-occurring substances important for their role in human health. Based on the isoflavone content in 23 samples of soybeans from four different maturity groups (00, 0, I and II), three crosses were made in order to determine the inheritance pattern and increase the content of total isoflavones and their aglycone form. Since soybeans and soy products are the richest source of isoflavones in human diet[2], the content of isoflavones in new soybean cultivars has become a trait with increased significance. Studies regarding the relationship between soy intake and breast cancer[6,7,8,9,10,11] showed that increased amounts of soybean in daily diet reduce the risk of breast cancer in Asian women, which is partly attributed to the presence of www.nature.com/scientificreports/. The amount and the composition of isoflavones in soybeans are affected by the environment, primarily by the temperature during the vegetation period and storage[20,21,22,23]
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