Soybean: Germplasm, Breeding, and Genetics

Abstract

Soybean belongs to the family Fabaceae, subfamily Papilionoideae, tribe Phaseoleae, subtribe Glycininae. In 2012, world soybean production was 268.0 million metric tons. Soybean accounts for 67% of the world protein meal supply. Major Glycine germplasm collections exist in many countries for the cultivated species Glycine max (L.) Merr., the wild annual species G. soja Sieb. & Zucc., and the wild perennial Glycine species. Soybean originated in China, and traditional soyfood includes ‘miso,’ ‘tempeh,’ ‘tofu,’ and soy sauce. Specialty cultivars for value-added traits have been released. Glycine max accessions form the basis for modern soybean cultivar improvement programs. Soybean is a highly self-pollinated species, and all cultivars are either pure lines or mixtures of pure lines. All cultivars released today in the major soybean-growing areas of the world are the result of sexual hybridization followed by selection. The cyclic process of hybridization, inbreeding, and evaluation/selection forms the basis for soybean cultivar development. Future prospects for soybean improvement will be plant breeding coupled with recent advances in genomics.