Database Research Summaries2018 Development of High-yielding, High-protein Germplasm by Enhancing N Acquisition and its Transport to Seed
Research Focus
The focus of this project is to further develop commercial soybean varieties and increase the value for the entire chain.
Objectives
- Characterize the performance of soybean plants overexpressing UPS1 ureide transporter under field conditions, and introgress UPS1 overexpression into indeterminate genotypes.
- Enhance transport of amino acids from leaves to seeds as well as their import into seeds to increase yield, seed protein levels and protein composition.
- Produce transgenic plants overexpressing the AAP1 amino acid transporter simultaneously in the leaf phloem and seed cotyledons.
- Produce transgenic plants that combine sulfur allocation from leaves to seeds with import of amino acids (including methionine) into seeds by overexpressing the MMP1 S-methyl-methionine transporter in the phloem AND the AAP1 amino acid transporter in the cotyledons.
Results
- Seed increase for 2018: Three different transgenic events of UPS1-overexpressing (UPS1-OE) soybean and the non-transgenic control were grown in Columbia, MO in 2017. Plant tissue samples were collected from all plots to confirm transgenicity and seed was harvested at maturity. DNA extraction and screening for transgene presence is ongoing.
- We acquired vectors from the MU Plant Transformation Core Facility and the available relevant constructs were mailed from WSU to MU. Confirmation of the constructs and preparation of vectors for transformation is ongoing.
- Strategies for production of additional promoter-transport constructs (AtAAP1 promoter-ScMMP1 transporter; CmGAS promoter-ScMMP1 transporter; AtACR4 promoter-PsAAP1 transporter) have been developed.
Importance
This approach will aid in the development of commercial soybean varieties with an improved nutritional bundle.
For more information about this research project, please visit the National Soybean Checkoff Research Database.
Funded in part by the soybean checkoff.
