Methods for producing hybrids between domestic and wild soybean that are
fertile and can be further bred with other soybean plants are provided,
thus allowing transfer of desirable traits and genes from the wild
soybean into the domestic soybean. This invention also provides novel
media for producing callus and multiple somatic embryos, as well as novel
media for producing multiple shoots from the embryos. The hybrid plants
are made fertile by colchicine treatment to double their chromosome
number so that they can be backcrossed into domestic soybean. These
methods and media allow the production of elite soybean lines containing
traits or genes from wild soybean as well as a minimum amount of
additional wild soybean DNA. Backcrosses containing only one wild soybean
chromosome can be produced, as well as sets of such backcrossed lines
that each contain one chromosome from the wild ancestor, but collectively
all the wild chromosomes from the hybrid ancestor. Plants and plant
progeny and plant tissue (tissue including seeds) of plants produced by
the foregoing methods are also provided. The methods do not require
genetic modification, and thus this invention allows production of
domestic soybean plants that are not genetically-modified organisms
(non-GMO) but that express desirable traits derived from wild soybean.