The current status of photoperiod adaptability in soybean

Flowering represents the transition from vegetative stage to reproductive stage. As a photoperiod- sensitive crop, soybean can perceive changes in photoperiod to regulate flowering and reproductive periods, thereby influencing soybean yield and other agronomic traits, and determining the photoperiodic adaptability. Therefore, understanding the regulatory mechanisms of photoperiod on flowering and reproductive periods in soybean is one of the hotspots in soybean research. In this review, we introduce the molecular mechanisms of early flowering and early maturation during soybean domestication, and the molecular regulatory pathways of cultivated soybean expansion from the origin to high and low latitudes, respectively. At last, we summarize the research progress on photoperiod adaptability in wild soybean. Analyzing the regulatory mechanisms of photoperiod on soybean life history and domestication will provide valuable insights for the breeding of superior soybean varieties.