A PP2C-1 Allele Underlying a Quantitative Trait Locus Enhances Soybean 100-Seed Weight

Cultivated soybeans may lose some useful genetic loci during domestication. Introgression of genes from wild soybeans could broaden the genetic background and improve soybean agronomic traits. In this study, through whole-genome sequencing of a recombinant inbred line population derived from a cross between a wild soybean ZYD7 and a cultivated soybean HN44, and mapping of quantitative trait loci for seed weight, we discovered that a phosphatase 2C-1 (PP2C-1) allele from wild soybean ZYD7 contributes to the increase in seed weight/size. PP2C-1 may achieve this function by enhancing cell size of integument and activating a subset of seed trait-related genes. We found that PP2C-1 is associated with GmBZR1, a soybean ortholog of Arabidopsis BZR1, one of key transcription factors in brassinosteroid (BR) signaling, and facilitate accumulation of dephosphorylated GmBZR1. In contrast, the PP2C-2 allele with variations of a few amino acids at the N-terminus did not exhibit this function. Moreover, we showed that GmBZR1 could promote seed weight/size in transgenic plants. Through analysis of cultivated soybean accessions, we found that 40% of the examined accessions do not have the PP2C-1 allele, suggesting that these accessions can be improved by introduction of this allele. Taken together, our study identifies an elite allele PP2C-1, which can enhance seed weight and/or size in soybean, and pinpoints that manipulation of this allele by molecular-assisted breeding may increase production in soybean and other legumes/crops.