Center for Diversity and Genetic Resources

Abstract

Although evidence suggests that cultivated soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) have been domesticated in northern China, current theories suggest that soybeans could have been domesticated in the same way in southern China in the medium or low “Yellow River valley” of central China, northeastern China, or simultaneously in multiple centers. For soybeans, centers of genetic diversity are considered important sources of genetic variability. Plant genetic resources include cultivated plants and wild species of proven value or even potential. These resources have great importance to humankind because they make possible the solutions of numerous agriculture problems in the present and future, which can be found in plant genetic resources. In the case of soybean, an annual species in the subgenus Soja and 22 perennial species within the subgenus Glycine have been reported as related wild species. Therefore, genetic resources are considered for purposes of genetic improvement of the crop. Much of the genetic variability of this crop has been maintained and conserved in Germplasm Banks (BG) in several eastern and western countries. In Brazil, the formation of the Soybean Germplasm Active Bank (BAG/Soybean) started in September 1975, at Embrapa Soybean, in order to gather pure and characterized stocks of genotypes for the use of breeders and geneticists.