Fine-scale phylogenetic structure and major events in the history of the current wild soybean (Glycine soja) and taxonomic assignment of semi-wild type (Glycine gracilis Skvortz.) within the Chinese subgenus Soja.

Wild and cultivated species of soybeans have coexisted for 5000 years in China. Despite this long history, there is very little information on the genetic relationship of Glycine soja and G. max. To gain insight into the major events in the history of the subgenus Soja, we examined 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers of a large number of accessions (910). The results showed no significant differences between wild and semi-wild soybeans in genetic diversity but significant differences between G. soja and G. max. Ancestry and cluster analyses revealed that semi-wild soybeans should belong to the wild category and not to G. max. Our results also showed that differentiation had occurred not only among G. soja, G. gracilis, and G. max but also within G. soja and within G. gracilis. Glycine soja had 3 clear genetic categories: typical small-seeded (≤2.0 g 100-seed weight), dual-origin middle-seeded (2.0-2.5 g), and large-seeded plants (2.51-3.0 g). These last were genetically close to G. gracilis, their defining some traits having been acquired mainly by introgression from soybeans. Small-seeded G. gracilis (3.01-3.5 g) were genetically different from larger seeded ones (from 3.51 to 4.0 to over 10 g). Seed size predominated over seed coat color in evolutionary degree. Typical and large-seeded G. soja were found to have 0.7% and 12% introgressive cultivar genes, respectively. The genetic boundary of G. gracilis was at the range of 2.51-3.0 g of G. soja. In the great majority of wild accessions, traits such as white flowers, gray pubescences, no-seed bloom, and colored seed coats were likely introgressive from domesticated soybeans.