Inheritance of sterility in mutants of soybeans

In the summer of 1978 crosses were made between maintainer lines of ms₁ and ms₂ and a soybean mutant of D68-127 segregating for sterility. D68-127 originated from the cross Dyer/Bragg. Sterile mutants of D68-127 resulted from treatment of seed with the mutagenic agents diethyl sulfate and fission neutrons.

F₁ plants were grown in the greenhouse during the winter of 1978-79 and F₂ populations were grown in the field during the summer of 1979. Near maturity, all plants were classified on the basis of phenotype as being fertile or sterile.

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the sterility mutant of D68-127 is a male-sterile mutant conditioned by a single gene, either ms₁ or ms₂. Based on the results obtained it appears that the gene involved in the sterility of D68-127 is a single recessive gene and that it is male-sterile. The F₂ segregation data best support ms₁ as being the gene involved in the sterility of D68-127. However, the possibility of ms₂ or other ms genes could not be ruled out. Sterile plants, or those remaining green at maturity, of ms₁, ms₂ and D68-127 mutant produced variable amounts of viable pollen which resulted in seed production in many instances indicating that none of the genes provided complete male-sterility.