Since the administration has decided to close the soybean breeding program, the breeding project could not continue accordingly. Therefore, herewith reported is a brief summary of the major accomplishments on the project since July of 2010, serving as a final report ahead of time. Concurrently supported in part by the grants of SDSRPC, United Soybean Board and/or USDAARS, significant accomplishments have been made for the past three years (FY2011-2013):
1) Three new varieties have been released:
• Brookings (2012), RM 1.7, high-yielding, good -quality and disease-resistant;
• Roberts (2013), RM 0.7-0.8, high-yielding, good -quality and disease-resistant;
• Codington (2013), RM 0.9-1.0, high-yielding, high-quality, large-seeded and soyfood merit.
The three varieties are all non-transgenic and well-adapted.
2) Four elite germplasm lines (non-transgenic) have been released:
• SD00-1500 (2011), MG 0, high-protein and good-yielding;
• SD05-767 (2011), MG 0, low-linolenic and good yielding;
• SD06-322 (2012), MG 0, high-oil and high-yielding;
• SD06-525 (2012), MG 0, Phytophthora-resistant and good-yielding.
3) Hundreds of new crosses, breeding populating, and lines have been developed, many of them being integrated with unique traits and/or trait combinations, such as high-yielding, high-oil, high-protein, high-oleic, low-linolenic, and/or disease/pest resistance (soybean aphid, SCN, Phytophthora rot, etc.) as well as drought tolerance.
4) Over 650 germplasm lines (PIs) have been introduced and well or preliminarily evaluated for aphid resistance. Several new aphid-resistant germplasm lines, including the highly resistant line PI 603712, have been identified. The research is still in progress.
5) The inheritance of aphid-resistance in two germplasm lines (PIs) have been studied or initially studied. Our data indicate that the resistance in PI 603432B is controlled by a single dominant gene, most likely Rag2. The research is still in progress.
6) A few recombinant inbred populations have been developed and evaluated for yield, oil, protein and fatty acids in multiple environments, and genotyped using molecular markers. QTL mapping and marker analysis have been conducted and still in progress.
7) Over ten new QTLs for fatty acids have been identified.
8) The relationship or correlation between yield, protein and oil has been analyzed at both statistical and molecular-marker levels. Some QTLs or regions have been identified to be closely linked or pleiotropic for the three traits.
9) Over 320 germplasm lines (PIs) have been evaluated for the biochemical profiles of nutritional traits as well as agronomic characteristics. An association mapping has been initiated and still in progress, to identify the QTLs associated with the traits and provide underlying knowledge of genetic improvement in soybean.
10) Three papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals, and four manuscripts have been submitted to peer-reviewed journals and are still under review. More manuscripts are to be prepared for publication later.
11) Approximately ten posters and/or oral presentations have been presented at professional meetings.
12) The new lines/varieties developed have been requested by and/or distributed to at least twelve outside soybean breeding/research programs (both public sectors and private seeds companies) for use in their soybean breeding/research.