A better understanding of the chromosomal regions and genes underlying important agronomic and seed quality traits in soybean will make the breeding programs more efficient. To reveal the genetic control of important traits, including seed yield, oil and protein concentrations, fatty acid profile, and amino acid composition, high-throughput molecular techniques and statistical methods have been used to analyze phenotypic divergences within and between our breeding populations. To detect QTL and genes associated with the traits of interest, we use linkage disequilibrium and association mapping methods and the candidate gene approach.
