Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of wild perennial relatives of soybean

Total DNA from callus tissue of 28 accessions representing seven wild perennial Glycine species was compared using recombinant genomic probes derived from G. max, the soybean. Using two probes, we show that this molecular approach both confirms and extends the model for the taxonomic relationships between the species derived from morphological and cytogenetic data, and that it provides clear evidence that RFLP analysis of genomic sequences has the potential for revealing the derivation of the member species of the wild perennial Glycine taxon. Although, in this preliminary report, the sample size for each species is small, it is clear that the greatest between-accession variation occurs in G. tabacina (B2B2) and G. clandestine (A1A1), suggesting that these may be the taxa from which further speciation occurred in the subgenus.