Baiquan Sun, Tingting Wu, Bingjun Jiang, Xuegang Sun, Hongchang Jia, Mahmoud Naser, Maoxiang Yang, Xiangyu Yao, Yanhui Sun, Qimeng Li, Peiguo Wang, Liwei Jiang, Shibo Sun, Chao Qin, Shan Yuan, Kunhui He, Wensheng Hou, Cunxiang Wu, Huihui Li, Shi Sun, Tianfu Han

Nature Communications; 2026; IF: 18.1

DOI:10.1038/s41467-026-77316-3

Abstract

Timely flowering and maturity are crucial for plant reproduction and environmental adaptation. Light–dark cycle-associated regulatory networks integrate photoperiodic cues with intrinsic developmental programs and play pivotal roles in flowering, maturity and environmental adaptation. Soybean is a short-day crop with strong photoperiod responsiveness; however, the molecular mechanisms by which these networks mediate soybean adaptation to diverse environments remain largely elusive. Here, we combine genome-wide association analysis with deep learning-based assessment of soybean maturity variation and identify GmRVE4d, a homologue of the Arabidopsis clock-associated REVEILLE, as a maturity-associated locus across both field environments. Genetic analysis reveals evidence of domestication-related artificial selection at GmRVE4d and identifies the late-maturing haplotype GmRVE4dH3. Functional analyses further demonstrate that the GmRVE4d protein directly binds to the promoter of GmPRR5a, a soybean homolog of the Arabidopsis clock-associated component PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR 5, and represses its transcription, thereby delaying soybean flowering and maturity. Taken together, our findings suggest that GmRVE4d is a negative regulator of soybean flowering and maturity that functions by directly repressing GmPRR5a expression and represents a promising molecular target for expanding cultivation latitudes through molecular breeding.