Scientists sequence soy genome

U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists are part of a team that has sequenced the majority of the soybean genome. The team from 18 federal, state, public and private organizations published its research January 13 in the journal Nature.
"This new information about soybean's genetic makeup could lead to plants that produce more beans that contain more protein and oil, better adapt to adverse environmental conditions, or are more resistant to diseases," said Molly Jahn, USDA deputy under secretary for research, education and economics.
"We've mapped the locales for about 90 important traits affecting soybean growth and development, seed yield, seed protein and oil, and disease resistance, to name but a few," said USDA geneticist Randy Shoemaker. Integrating the new sequence with existing physical and genetic maps of soy will move researchers closer to linking observable physical traits of soy to their associated genes and alleles (alternate versions of genes), he said. Using such markers, soy breeders can rapidly determine which offspring plants have inherited these traits without growing them to maturity, saving time, money and resources.
Some key discoveries already gleaned from the whole-genome sequence include the first soybean gene conferring resistance to Asian soybean rust, which can cause soy losses of 10 to 80 percent; a mutation that could make soybeans easier to digest by producing lower levels of a carbohydrate called stachyose; a mutation for higher levels of production of the enzyme phytase that could enable livestock to absorb more phosphorus from soybean feed so less gets excreted as a potential water contaminant; and 52 genes that orchestrate development of soy plant root nodules, where symbiotic bacteria transform atmospheric nitrogen into a form soy and other crops can use for their growth and development.
This sequencing of the soy genome is the culmination of more than 15 years of collaborative research. The team used a so-called "whole-genome shotgun" approach to sequence 85% of the 1.1 billion nucleotide base pairs that spell out the entire DNA code of the soy plant. The sequence also provides researchers with a reference to use in deciphering the genetics of some 20,000 other legume species.
The Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute; Purdue University at West Lafayette, Ind.; the University of Missouri at Columbia; and the University of Arizona at Tucson also participated in the soybean sequencing project, which was supported by the National Science Foundation and USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.