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Abstract Increasing rate of genetic gain for key agronomic traits through genomic selection requires the development of new molecular methods to run genome‐wide single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The main limitation of current methods is the cost is too high to screen breeding populations. Molecular inversion probes (MIPs) are a targeted genotyping‐by‐sequencing (GBS) method that could be used for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] that is both cost‐effective, high‐throughput, and provides high data quality to screen breeder's germplasm for genomic selection. A 1K MIP SNP set was developed for soybean with uniformly distributed markers across the genome. The SNPs were selected to maximize the number of informative markers in germplasm being tested in soybean breeding programs located in the northern‐central and middle‐southern regions of the United States. The 1K SNP MIP set was tested on diverse germplasm and a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population. Targeted sequencing with MIPs obtained an 85% enrichment for the targeted SNPs. The MIP genotyping accuracy was 93% overall, whereas homozygous call accuracy was 98% with

Adaptation of soybean cultivars to the photoperiod in which they are grown is critical for optimizing plant yield. However, despite its importance, only the major loci conferring variation in flowering time and maturity of US soybean have been isolated. By contrast, over 200 genes contributing to floral induction in the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana have been described. In this work, putative alleles of a library of soybean orthologs of these Arabidopsis flowering genes were tested for their latitudinal distribution among elite US soybean lines developed in the United States. Furthermore, variants comprising the alleles of genes with significant differences in latitudinal distribution were assessed for amino acid conservation across disparate genera to infer their impact on gene function. From these efforts, several candidate genes from various biological pathways were identified that are likely being exploited toward adaptation of US soybean to various maturity groups.

Liquefied dimethyl ether (DME) was used as the dewatering solvent to remove water from Tectona grandis L.f. (T. grandis L.f.), Shorea sp., and Cinnamomum camphora (C. camphora) biomass wood. The experiments were performed at 27 °C (room temperature) and at a pressure of ∼0.59 MPa using a batch system. The results showed that 13–25 g of liquefied DME removed 1 g of water from the wood chip biomass matrix with a water content of 10%–40%. The UV–vis spectra of the collected liquid extract indicated the presence of some wood biomass-derived​ compounds. The FT-IR spectra revealed that the functional group compositions of the wood chip biomass samples before and after DME dewatering were identical. In addition, the heating value of wood chip biomass samples increased by 754–1570 kJ/kg after dewatering.