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Abstract

The amounts of protein and seed oil are two quantitatively important traits in soybeans. Increasing the protein and oil content of soybeans is one of the important goals of breeding programs. Previous studies have shown that most of the quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with protein and seed oil content share the same genetic background. Seed protein and oil content are considered to be two of the most important quantitative traits in soybeans. Enhancing the protein and oil levels within soybean seeds stands as a key objective across multiple breeding initiatives. Previous studies have suggested that the genetic background associated with the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for seed protein and oil content tends to be consistent. This current investigation seeks to uncover new QTLs associated with protein content (PC) and oil content (OC) in soybean seeds grown under varied environmental conditions. The main objective of this study was to identify and validate quantitative trait loci (QTLs) linked to protein content (PC) and oil content (OC) in two separate cohorts of recombinant inbred lines (RILs). The initial population comprised 134 Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) derived from the crossing of Dongnong L13, characterized by a protein content of 45.50% and an oil content of 18.74%, with Heihe 36, possessing a protein content of 39.80% and an oil content of 19.28%. Additionally, another RIL population (6013) consisted of 156 RILs resulting from the hybridization of Dongnong L13 with Henong 60, the latter exhibiting a protein percentage of 38.47% and an oil percentage of 22.25%. Epistatic and additive effects were detected for protein and oil content. Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) relies fundamentally on epistatic influences and cumulative interactions with environmental conditions. At Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin, China, F2:6 populations were grown utilizing the single-seed descent method. Our study uncovered four quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with epistatic effects, comprising two for protein content (qPro-A1-1, qPro-M-1) and two for oil content (qOil-H-1, qOil-D1-1). Therefore, we detected a combined total of four QTLs associated with oil content across two distinct populations. qOil-A2-1 is located in the interval (Sct_067-Satt589) on linkage group A2-1 with a main effect heritability of 0.0223% and a genotype-by-environment effect heritability of 0.0073%. In the current study, four epistatic effect QTLs were detected, including two pairs for protein and two for oil content. qPro-A1-1, in interval sat_sat_171-sat_267 on linkage group A1-1, and qPro-M-1, located in interval Satt536-Satt626 on linkage group M-1, had main epistatic effects that were positive in the first environment and negative in the second and third environments. In a study analyzing petroleum data from four environments, four QTL pairs showed additive × epistatic effects as well as additive interaction effects with the environment. For these four different pairs of epistatic QTL, the phenotypic variance explained by the epistasis QTL ranged from 1.71% to 2.4%, and the phenotypic variance explained by the additive effects of epistasis and environment ranged from 0.41% to 1.96%. per locus. The results suggest that employing marker-assisted selection could be an effective method for improving the protein and oil levels in soybeans. These newly located QTLs will be very valuable for breeding and developing efficient cultivars with better yield potential and nutritional quality. It demonstrates the ability of the analysis to investigate the genetic factors influencing the quantitative traits and illustrates the relative significance of the various components as the genetic basis of protein and oil content in these populations.

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