Research Progresses on Photoperiodic Flowering and Maturity Genes in Soybean(Glycine max Merr.)

Plant photoperiodism was discovered in 1920 when scientists studied the light response of soybean and tobacco.As a model plant,soybean made a crucial contribution towards establishment of the general concept of photoperiodism.Apart from its palaeopolyploid nature and relative bigger genome size,the unknown molecular identities of major QTL genes controlling flowering time hamper our understanding of the soybean photoperiodism.Since the successful cloning of major QTL genes controlling flowering time,especially the major QTL E1,the unique mechanism in soybean photoperiodic flowering has been generally revealed.Although the details of molecular mechanism of soybean photoperiodism remain unclear,genetic and molecular studies have proven that the E1 and GmFT genes stand as major regulators(integrators) in the regulatory pathway of photoperiodic flowering.The advance on the mechanism of photoperiodic flowering in soybean will provide solid molecular basis for cultivar classification of maturity,proper crop arrangement and molecular breeding of new cultivars.