Genetic dissection of seed appearance quality using recombinant inbred lines in soybean

Soybean seed appearance quality greatly affects the marketability. The objective of this study was to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that control the appearance quality of soybean seeds. A total of 256 recombinant inbred lines from Qi Huang No.34 × Ji Dou No.17 were utilized for QTL mapping. We innovatively applied a machine vision system to quantify the seed appearance of each line. As a result of QTL mapping, a total of 145 QTLs for the machine vision parameters were detected across three environments. We integrated QTLs mapped overlapped and obtained 16 QTL hotspots in total. Of these hotspots, hotspot-4–1 was suggested to be a major locus controlling seed size, and hotspot-15 was identified to affect the seed color and texture. The mapping for principal components of the seed appearance also supported it. This study comprehensively dug up the QTLs for seed appearance quality of soybean cultivars while providing an efficient method for phenotyping of seed appearance. These results would contribute to dissecting the genetic bases of seed appearance quality for the improvement of soybean.