Interspecific hybridisation of soybeans and perennial Glycine species indigenous to Australia via embryo culture

Abstract

Five sterile hybrids (2n=59) between a synthetic amphiploid of Glycine tomentella (2n=38) and G. caneseens (2n=40) as female and soybean cultivars Lincoln and Hark as males have been produced by embryo or ovule culture using transplanted endosperm. The hybrid plants are twining perennials like the female parent but possess a number of morphological characters which reflect the presence of the soybean genome. Indophenol oxidase isozymes from leaf extracts also provide good evidence of the hybrid nature of the cultured plants. These hybrids open the way for the exploitation of the diverse germplasm resources of the perennial Glycine species in soybean breeding.