Pod shattering resistance associated with domestication is mediated by a NAC gene in soybean

Loss of seed dispersal is a key agronomical trait targeted by ancient human selection and has been regarded as a milestone of crop domestication. In this study, in the legume crop soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr. which provides vegetable oils and proteins for humans, we show that the key cellular feature of the shattering-resistant trait lies in the excessively lignified fibre cap cells (FCC) with the abscission layer unchanged in the pod ventral suture. We demonstrate that a NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2 and CUC2) gene shattering1-5 (SHAT1-5) functionally activates secondary wall biosynthesis and promotes the significant thickening of FCC secondary walls by expression at 15-fold the level of the wild allele, which is attributed to functional disruption of the upstream repressor. We show that strong artificial selection of SHAT1-5 has caused a severe selective sweep across ~ 116 kb on chromosome 16. This locus and regulation mechanism could be applicable to legume crop improvement.