[Identification of drought tolerant germplasm and inheritance and QTL mapping of related root traits in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)].

Fifty nine accessions of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) selected from 301 ones in Huang-Huai-Hai and Middle-Lower Changjiang Valleys were tested in two years for their tolerance to drought by using the mean membership index value averaged over those of plant height,leave number,dry root weight and dry stem and leaf weight. Four most tolerant accessions (Rank 1) and two most sensitive ones (Rank 5) were identified. There existed very significant correlations between drought tolerance and relative values of dry root weight,total root length, and root volume (per plant dry weight basis), respectively,which could be used as root indicators of drought tolerance. The RIL population derived from Kefeng 1 x Nannong 1138-2 was used to analyze the inheritance of the three related root traits by using the segregation analysis of quantitative traits under the major gene plus polygene mixed inheritance model. The results showed that between the two parents (Rank 1 x Rank 4), the relative values of dry root weight,total root length and root volume were respectively controlled by two major genes (linked together for the latter two traits, recombination value being 4.30% and 1.93%, respectively) plus polygenes with their major gene heritability values of 62.26%-91.81% and polygene heritability values 2.99%-24.75%, indicating that the major genes,especially the one with larger effect,accounted for a major part of the genetic variation between the two parents. It was identified that five, three, and five QTLs located on N6-C2, N8-D1b + W, N11-E, and N18-K linkage groups for relative dry root weight, total root length and root volume, respectively. Each of the traits appeared to have one locus (Dw1, R/1, and Rv1) with relatively large effect in comparison with their other loci, and those major ones were located near the same site of the same linkage group N6-C2. The results of segregation analysis and QTL mapping appeared pretty consistent with each other, which could be used as a demonstration of each other.