Chinese scientists have released a new high-quality soybean genome for a
Chinese soybean "Zhonghuang 13". This genome, together with a subsequently
established comprehensive gene co-expression network, facilitates important
agronomic genes mining and provides valuable information for future soybean
elite cultivar improvement.

The current soybean reference genome sequenced from Williams 82 is a
cultivar domesticated in America. As Asia is one of the largest soybean
planting and consuming regions, its soybean production is essential for
global food security, and a new high-quality soybean genome from Asian
soybean accessions is necessary.

The researchers identified a large number of genetic variations between this
genome with a commonly used soybean reference genome, including 1,404
translocations, 161 inversions, 1,233 translocation and inversions, 505,506
indels (1-99 bp), and 17,409 accession specific insertions (>=100 bp). A
total of 36,429 transposable elements and 52,051 protein coding genes were
annotated in the new genome.

[english.cas.cn]