The Soybean Genetics Committee met February 22, 1999 at the Sheraton Inn, St. Louis, MO in conjunction with the Soybean Breeder's Workshop. Committee members attending the meeting included P.R. Arelli, G.R. Buss, E.R. Cober, P.B. Cregan, B.W. Diers, R.J. Fioritto, R.L. Nelson, and T.W. Pfeiffer. G.R. Buss and E.R. Cober were elected by mail ballot to serve three-year terms on the committee. P.R. Arelli was elected chair for the year ending February, 2000. Current members and February expiration dates for their terms on the committee are:
P.R. Arelli (2000) (Chair) agroara@showme.missouri.edu
G.R. Buss (2002) gbuss@vt.edu
E.R. Cober (2002) Coberer@em.agr.ca
P.B. Cregan (2001) pcregan@nal.usda.gov
B.W. Diers (2000) bdiers@uiuc.edu
R.J. Fioritto (ex officio) fioritto.1@osu.edu
D.G. Lohnes (ex officio) lohnes.2@osu.edu
R.L. Nelson (ex officio) rnelson@uiuc.edu
T.W. Pfeiffer (2001) tpfeiffe@ca.uky.edu
Procedure
As in the past, manuscripts concerning gene symbols and linkages should be sent to the Chairperson of the Soybean Genetics Committee for review. To facilitate the review process, the Committee will proceed as follows:
1. The review will only be for 'validity of the genetic interpretation' and 'appropriateness of gene symbol.' Manuscripts will not be reviewed for style except as this influences the clarity of interpretation. Authors may submit unpolished (but comprehensible) manuscripts for review which should reduce delays involved in publishing a paper.
2. Reviewers of manuscripts will be given a deadline of four weeks to return the reviewed manuscript to the Chairperson who will then return it to the author as soon as possible. If the reviewers have not returned the manuscript by this time or have not phoned in their comments, a phone call will be made to remedy the situation. If authors have not received a reply within two months of submission, they should contact the Chairperson of the Soybean Genetics Committee.
Assignment/Approval of Gene Symbols
Seed samples containing named genes, and especially those from induced mutants, variants from heterogeneous populations, or from transgenic changes should be deposited in the Genetic Type Collection. Dr. R.L. Nelson is the curator for all maturity groups. Click here for an application form.
Gene symbols will be approved in cases where the relevant (germplasm) material is made available for subsequent allelism testing. The Committee encourages authors not to assign any symbol when they are doing genetic work on material that will not be made publicly available. (Publication of genetic interpretation does not depend upon symbols, in most cases.) The purpose of assigning a symbol is to ensure constancy when others use the material for subsequent studies. If the material is not made available, a symbol is not necessary.
New Business
There was discussion at the committee meeting on whether reports from the coordination sessions of the Soybean Breeder's Workshop should be posted on the internet as part of the Soybean Genetics Newsletter Website. Both the benefits and disadvantages of posting this information were discussed. A decision was made that this information should not be posted on the internet at this time.
Gene Symbols/Linkages assigned March 1998 - February 1999.
Date Author Trait Gene/Linkage
4-28-98 T.R. Cary & C.D. Nickell Short petiolule Lc and lc
3-19-99 R.G. Palmer Genic male-sterile Ms7 and ms7
female-fertile Ms8 and ms8
mutants Ms9 and ms9
Ms2 ms2 (Ames)
Change T259H Ms2 ms2 to T259 Ms2 ms2 (Eldorado)