Confirmation of the pleiotropic control of leaflet shape and number of seeds per pod by the gene in induced soybean mutants.

Most soybean cultivars possess broad leaflets; however, a recessive allele on the locus is known to cause the alteration of broad to narrow leaflets. The recessive allele has also been considered to increase the number of seeds per pod (NSP) and has the potential to improve yield. Recently, (), a gene controlling , has been shown to complement leaf shape and silique length in mutants. However, whether is responsible for those traits in soybean is not yet known. In this study, we investigated the pleiotropic effect of soybean gene on leaflet shape and NSP by using two independent soybean mutants and four near isogenic lines (NILs). The leaflet shape was evaluated using a leaf image analysis software, SmartLeaf, which was customized from SmartGrain. The leaflets of both the mutants were longer and narrower than those of the wild-type plants. Interestingly, the image analysis results clarified that the perimeter of the mutant leaflets did not change, although their leaflet area decreased. Furthermore, one mutant line with narrow leaflets showed significantly higher NSP than that in the wild (or ) genotype, indicating that soybean gene pleiotropically controls leaflet shape and NSP.