Soybean germplasm have diverse accessions with great variation in their ability to survive and reproduce under salt stress conditions. In general, cultivated soybeans are more sensitive to salt stress than their wild relatives, however exceptions are found in both the groups. These variations in response to salt stress makes soybean germplasm an interesting collection of genetic resources to be explored for the identification of salt-tolerance genes, and their mechanism of action. Here, in this report we presented a data showing differential response of selected accessions of both cultivated and wild soybeans to salt stress. Two modes of salt treatment; gradual salt stress (GS) as well as salt shock (SS) were used in this study. The GS was found more effective in finding the difference in response of soybean accessions to salt stress. Various genetic marker based methods are in use to identify and isolate the potential genes contributing to the salt tolerance in soybean. Even then there is a paucity of knowledge on the key genes contributing to the salt tolerance in soybean. We expect that a recently developed functional screen based method, like yeast based functional screen, using cDNA library generated from different salt tolerant accessions of soybean could lead to identification of novel genes responsible for salt tolerance in soybean. Also, we propose for the use of RNA isolated from different stages of GS and SS for making cDNA library to be used for functional screening.

In U.S.A. maize breeding, exotic germplasm is considered as high-risk and usually introduced by backcrossing specific traits into elite lines. The U.S.A. maize germplasm base is narrow. Only a few open-pollinated varieties are well represented in current programs. Currently, the barrier in using of exotic germplasm in the U.S.A is less formidable than in the 1980s. The major reason is that U.S.A materials are now used in tropical breeding to accelerate earlier maturity and lodging resistance. These exotic materials, developed with U.S.A germplasm, are being introduced back into the U.S.A.Since1994, the ARS-led Germplasm Enhancement of Maize (GEM) project has sought to help broaden the genetic base of America’s corn crop by promising exotic germplasm and crossing it with domestic lines. New hybrids derived from such crosses have provided corn researchers and the producers. These may include improved or alternative native source of resistance to insect pests such as corn rootworms and diseases like northern leaf blight. GEM’s aim is to provide source of useful genetic maize diversity to help the producers to reduce risks from new or evolving insect and disease threats or changes in the environment or respond to new marketing opportunities and demand. During the 2009 growing season, the Ames (Iowa) and Raleigh (North Carolina) locations managed or coordinated evaluations on 17,200 nursery plots as well as 14,000 yield trial plots in Ames and 12,000 in Raleigh. A new “allelicdiversity” study is devoted to exploring and capturing the genetic variation represented by over 300 exotic corn races. Since 2001, GEM has released 221 new corn lines to cooperators for further development into elite commercial new hybrids. GEM has already identified about 50%-tropical, 50%-temperate families tracing primarily to tropical hybrids that are competitive with commercial checks. In North Carolina State University program, they have examined the potential of tropical inbredand hybrids for U.S.A. breeding by crossing temperate-adapted, 100%-tropical lines to U.S.A hybrids. There should be favorably unique alleles or genomic regions in temperate germplasm that can be helpful in tropical maize improvement as well as utilization of tropical lines in temperate areas.