Soybean Haplotype Map (GmHapMap): A Universal Resource for Soybean Translational and Functional Genomics

Here we describe a first worldwide haplotype map for soybean (GmHapMap) constructed using whole-genome sequence data for 1,007 Glycine max accessions and yielding 15 million variants. The number of unique haplotypes plateaued within this collection (4.3 million tag SNPs) suggesting extensive coverage of diversity within the cultivated germplasm. We imputed GmHapMap variants onto 21,618 previously genotyped (50K array/210K GBS) accessions with up to 96% success for common alleles. A GWAS performed with imputed data enabled us to identify a causal SNP residing in the NPC1 gene and to demonstrate its role in controlling seed oil content. We identified 405,101 haplotypes for the 55,589 genes and show that such haplotypes can help define alleles. Finally, we predicted 18,031 putative loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in 10,662 genes and illustrate how such a resource can be used to explore gene function. The GmHapMap provides a unique worldwide resource for soybean genomics and breeding.