Leveraging Model Legume Information to Find Candidate Genes for Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome Using the Legume Information System

Comparative genomics is an emerging and powerful approach to achieve crop improvement. Using comparative genomics, information from model plant species can accelerate the discovery of genes responsible for disease and pest resistance, tolerance to plant stresses such as drought, and enhanced nutritional value including production of anti-oxidants and anti-cancer compounds. We demonstrate here how to use the Legume Information System for a comparative genomics study, leveraging genomic information from Medicago truncatula (barrel medic), the model legume, to find candidate genes involved with sudden death syndrome (SDS) in Glycine max (soybean). Specifically, genetic maps, physical maps, and annotated tentative consensus and expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences from G. max and M. truncatula can be compared. In addition, the recently published M. truncatula genomic sequences can be used to identify M. truncatula candidate genes in a genomic region syntenic to a quantitative trait loci region for SDS in soybean. Genomic sequences of candidate genes from M. truncatula can then be used to identify ESTs with sequence similarities from soybean for primer design and cloning of potential soybean disease causing alleles.