Restriction fragment length polymorphisms as genetic markers in soybean, Glycine max (L.) merrill

Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLP) have been identified between widely distant cultivars ('Minsoy' and 'Noir 1 ') of soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill. Using as probes randomly chosen clones of DNA, one in five probes revealed a polymorphism. More than half of these polymorphisms appear to result from rearrangements of the genomic DNA. Twenty seven markers were analyzed for linkage in F₂ plants. Eleven of these markers were contained in four linkage groups. Five cultivars were compared in a search for new alleles. When RFLP markers corresponding to low copy DNA were used to analyze three other cultivars - 'Sooty', 'Forrest' and 'Mandarin (Ottawa)' - few new alleles were found. Using these probes, five different markers could be used to differentiate the five cultivars. Complex probes, which correspond to repeated DNA, revealed different polymorphisms in different cultivars and a single such probe could be used to distinguish the five cultivars from each other.