biostudies-literatureUnknown5(3)Zhang ZSoybean [<i>Glycine max</i> (L.) Merr.] is one of the most important, but a drought-sensitive, crops. Identifying the genes controlling drought tolerance is important in soybean breeding. Here, through a genome-wide association study, we identified one significant association locus, located on chromosome 8, which conferred drought tolerance variations in a natural soybean population. Allelic analysis and genetic validation demonstrated that <i>GmACO1</i>, encoding for a 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase, was the causal gene in this association locus, and positively regulated drought tolerance in soybean. Meanwhile, we determined that <i>GmACO1</i> expression was reduced after rhizobial infection, and that <i>GmACO1</i> negatively regulated soybean nodule formation. Overall, our finaBIOTECH351-355https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11399508biostudies-literatureNatural <i>GmACO1</i> allelic variations confer drought tolerance and influence nodule formation in soybean.PMC11399508Yang XLiang STian ZLiu YZhang ZMa JZhou GZhang MLiu SShen YLiang QYuan YfalseNatural <i>GmACO1</i> allelic variations confer drought tolerance and influence nodule formation in soybean.Soybean [<i>Glycine max</i> (L.) Merr.] is one of the most important, but a drought-sensitive, crops. Identifying the genes controlling drought tolerance is important in soybean breeding. Here, through a genome-wide association study, we identified one significant association locus, located on chromosome 8, which conferred drought tolerance variations in a natural soybean population. Allelic analysis and genetic validation demonstrated that <i>GmACO1</i>, encoding for a 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase, was the causal gene in this association locus, and positively regulated drought tolerance in soybean. Meanwhile, we determined that <i>GmACO1</i> expression was reduced after rhizobial infection, and that <i>GmACO1</i> negatively regulated soybean nodule formation. Overall, our fin2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Sep2025-04-21T14:48:49.678Z2025-04-21T14:48:49.678ZS-EPMC113995083927985510.1007/s42994-024-00160-w