Health beneficial properties of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] isoflavones are well known. The objectives of this study were to determine and compare the isoflavone composition and concentrations of soybean varieties grown in different cultivated regions of Vietnam (i.e., upland and lowland). Total and individual isoflavone composition and concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Total isoflavone concentrations varied from 1153 to 6604~mug~;g-1 and averaging 3354~mug~;g-1 across environments and varieties. In the lowland region, the highest total isoflavones concentration was observed in M103 cultivar (5653~mug~;g-1 ) and the lowest in VX9-3 (1153~mug~;g-1 ), whereas in the upland region the highest and lowest concentrations were in M103 (6604~mug~;g-1 ) and DT93 (1938~mug~;g-1 ), respectively. Across varieties, average total isoflavones concentration was higher in the upland than lowland region (3728 vs. 2980~mug~;g-1 ). The malonylglucosides and acetylglucosides concentrations in upland soybean varieties were higher than those from the lowland region. Despite the presence of Genotype (G) x Environment (E) interactions, varieties with consistently high (M103) and low (VX9-3, DT93) isoflavone concentrations across environments were identified. This is the first report of isoflavones in Vietnamese soybean varieties, revealing large variation in isoflavones concentration and profile among different varieties and cultivated regions. Results will be useful in selecting high-isoflavones soybean varieties for growth in tropical regions.

The objectives of this study were to identify QTLs for agronomic traits using introgression lines from a cross between a japonica weedy rice and a Tongil-type rice. A total of 75 introgression lines developed in the Tongil-type rice were characterized. A total of 368 introgressed segments including 285 homozygous and 83 heterozygous loci were detected on 12 chromosomes based on the genotypes of 136 SSR markers. Each of 75 introgression lines contained 0-9 homozygous and 0-8 heterozygous introgressed segments with an average of 5.8 segments per line. A total of 31 quantitative and 2 qualitative loci were identified for 14 agronomic traits and each QTL explained 4.1% to 76.6% of the phenotypic variance. Some QTLs were clustered in a few chromosomal regions. A first cluster was located near RM315 and RM472 on chromosome 1 with QTLs for 1,000 grain weight, culm length, grain width and thickness. Another cluster was detected with four QTLs for 1,000 grain weight, grain length, grain width and grain length/width ratio near the SSR marker RM249 on chromosome 5. Among the 31 QTLs, 9 (28.1%) Hapcheonaengmi3 alleles were beneficial in the Milyang23 background. ILs would be useful to confirm QTLs putatively detected in a primary mapping population for complex traits and serve as a starting point for map-based cloning of the QTLs. Additional backcrosses are being made to purify nearly isogenic lines (NILs) harboring a few favorable Hapcheonaengmi3 alleles in Milyang23 background.

In a previous study, we mapped 12 QTLs for 1,000 grain weight (TGW) in the 172 BC2F2 lines derived from a cross between Oryza sativa ssp. Japonica cv. Hwaseongbyeo and O. rufipogon. These QTLs explained 5.4 – 11.4% of the phenotypic variance for TGW. Marker-aided selection combined with backcrosses was employed to develop QTL-NILs for each QTL. BC2F2 lines with each target QTL were backcrossed to Hwaseongbyeo twice and then allowed to self to produce BC4F5 populations. SSR markers linked to TGW were employed to select QTL-NILs with the respective target QTL. Six QTL-NILs with the recurrent parent, Hwaseongbyeo were evaluated for nine traits for three years from 2007 and 2009. Differences were observed between each of the 6 QTL-NILs and Hwaseongbyeo in TGW. In addition to TGW, these QTL-NILs displayed differences in other agronomic traits possibly indicating a tight linkage of genes controlling these traits. The direction of the QTL for TGW in 6 QTL-NILs was consistent as in the BC2F2 lines from the same cross. Difference in TGW between each of the QTL-NILs and Hwaseongbyeo was associated with the difference in one or two grain shape traits; grain length, grain width, and grain thickness. SSR markers linked to the QTL for TGW will facilitate selection of the grain shape character in a breeding program to diversify grain shape and provide the foundation for map-based gene isolation. Also, the QTL-NILs developed in this report and the progenies from crosses between the QTL-NILs will be useful in clarifying epistatic interactions among QTLs for TGW.