Isoflavonoids in root and hypocotyl of soybean seedlings (Glycine max,Fabaceae)

Isoflavonoids, some of which are highly fluorescent, are produced by soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and serve as chemical signals for certain aspects of nitrogen fixation and microbial resistance. This study was conducted to determine whether soybean mutants with nonfluorescent roots contained abnormal concentrations of isoflavonoids. Isoflavonoids were extracted from the root and hypocotyl of 4-d-old wild-type soybean seedlings (cv. Hark) having fluorescent roots and from four nonallelic mutant, near isogenic lines of Hark having nonfluorescent roots. In addition, isoflavonoids were extracted from the root and hypocotyl of 4-d-old seedlings of near isogenic lines of Hark harboring two pairs of the mutant alleles for nonfluorescent roots. Malonyl daidzin, daidzin, malonyl genistin, and genistein were the most abundant isoflavonoids extracted from either the root or hypocotyl of seedlings with either fluorescent or nonfluorescent roots. Extracted malonyl daidzin, malonyl genistin, and malonyl glycitin decomposed readily, yielding daidzin, genistin, and glycitin, respectively. The concentrations of malonyl genistin and genistein, two highly fluorescent compounds, were similar in both fluorescent and nonfluorescent roots. Thus, root fluorescence was not correlated with abundance per se of fluorescent isoflavonoids in roots. In addition, the abundance of isoflavonoids extractable from the hypocotyl did not correlate with root fluorescence.