近期，中科院东北地理与农业生态研究所大豆分子育种组夏正俊博士与日本农业生物资源研究所有关研究者经多年的潜心研究，利用经典的图位克隆法成功破译了大豆生育期基因E2。其研究成果发表在遗传学杂志《遗传学》（Genetics）上，为该研究团队克隆出的大豆生育期及生长习性等相关基因家族（E4、E3、FT与Dt1）中又添了一名重要新成员。
因大豆生育期基因的独特性一直不明确，阻碍了人们进一步深入了解大豆光周期本质及综合利用。不同大豆生育期基因具有各自的独特性。E2基因虽然没有像E1基因那样对生育期的影响效果明显，但其表现出稳定效果不受日照时长的影响，该特点对今后培育广适应性品种具有重要意义。在拟南芥中GI-CO—FT开花期通路研究最深，虽然大豆中克隆出的E2为拟南芥GI的一个同源序列，但所表现出的生物学特征与拟南芥中的GI大相径庭，其作用机理有待进一步研究。
总之，该基因的成功克隆，对人们揭示大豆生育期基因调控网络及光周期反应本质具有重要的理论价值，同时也为分子育种设计提供了重要的分子元件。
此外，同组的夏正俊博士、吴红艳与国外合作者将玉米Stenocarpella maydis病菌的研究成果总结发表在Journal of Food Protection（2011， 74 （4）：676–680）上。该玉米病害多发生在北美、亚非地区，在我国南方亦有分布。通过在该病菌的超微结构进行观察，研究明确了该病菌的侵染规律及生物学特性，为综合防治该病害打下了理论基础。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Genetics doi: 10.1534/genetics.110.125062
A Map-Based Cloning Strategy Employing a Residual Heterozygous Line Reveals that the GIGANTEA Gene Is Involved in Soybean Maturity and Flowering
Satoshi Watanabe, Zhengjun Xia, Rumiko Hideshima, Yasutaka Tsubokura, Shusei Sato, Naoki Yamanaka, Ryoji Takahashi, Toyoaki Anai, Satoshi Tabata, Keisuke Kitamura?? and Kyuya Harada
Flowering is indicative of the transition from vegetative to reproductive phase, a critical event in the life cycle of plants. In soybean (Glycine max), a flowering quantitative trait locus, FT2, corresponding to the maturity locus E2, was detected in recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the varieties “Misuzudaizu” (ft2/ft2; JP28856) and “Moshidou Gong 503” (FT2/FT2; JP27603). A map-based cloning strategy using the progeny of a residual heterozygous line (RHL) from the RIL was employed to isolate the gene responsible for this quantitative trait locus. A GIGANTEA ortholog, GmGIa (Glyma10g36600), was identified as a candidate gene. A common premature stop codon at the 10th exon was present in the Misuzudaizu allele and in other near isogenic lines (NILs) originating from Harosoy (e2/e2; PI548573). Furthermore, a mutant line harboring another premature stop codon showed an earlier flowering phenotype than the original variety, Bay (E2/E2; PI553043). The e2/e2 genotype exhibited elevated expression of GmFT2a, one of the florigen genes that leads to early flowering. The effects of the E2 allele on flowering time were similar among NILs and constant under high (43°N) and middle (36°N) latitudinal regions in Japan. These results indicate that GmGIa is the gene responsible for the E2 locus and that a null mutation in GmGIa may contribute to the geographic adaptation of soybean.
