Soybean steroids improve crop abiotic stress tolerance and increase yield.

Sterols have long been associated with diverse fields, such as cancer treatment, drug development, and plant growth; however, their underlying mechanisms and functions remain enigmatic. Here, we unveil a critical role played by a GmNF-YC9-mediated CCAAT-box transcription complex in modulating the steroid metabolism pathway within soybeans. Specifically, this complex directly activates squalene monooxygenase (GmSQE1), which is a rate-limiting enzyme in steroid synthesis.

GmDof41 regulated by the DREB1-type protein improves drought and salt tolerance by regulating the DREB2-type protein in soybean.

Despite their essential and multiple roles in biological processes, the molecular mechanism of Dof transcription factors (TFs) for responding to abiotic stresses is rarely reported in plants. We identified a soybean Dof gene GmDof41 which was involved in the responses to drought, salt, and exogenous ABA stresses. Overexpression of GmDof41 in soybean transgenic hairy roots attenuated HO accumulation and regulated proline homeostasis, resulting in the drought and salt tolerance.

Proteomics analysis reveals that foreign gene regulates the levels of shikimate and branched pathways in genetically modified soybean line H06-698.

Although genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-resistant soybeans with gene have been widely planted all over the world, their proteomic characteristics are not very clear. In this study, the soybean seeds of a GM soybean line H06-698 (H) with gene and its non-transgenic counterpart Mengdou12 (M), which were collected from two experiment fields in two years and used as 4 sample groups, were analyzed with label-free proteomics technique. A total of 1706 proteins were identified quantitatively by label-free quantification, and a total of 293 proteins were detected as common differential abundance proteins (DAPs, FC is not less than 1.

The WRKY Transcription Factor GmWRKY12 Confers Drought and Salt Tolerance in Soybean.

WRKYs are important regulators in plant development and stress responses. However, knowledge of this superfamily in soybean is limited. In this study, we characterized the drought- and salt-induced gene based on RNA-Seq and qRT-PCR.

Development and utilization of a new chemically-induced soybean library with a high mutation density .

Mutagenized populations have provided important materials for introducing variation and identifying gene function in plants. In this study, an ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-induced soybean (Glycine max) population, consisting of 21,600 independent M lines, was developed. Over 1,000 M families, with diverse abnormal phenotypes for seed composition, seed shape, plant morphology and maturity that are stably expressed across different environments and generations were identified.

Co-expression of G2-EPSPS and glyphosate acetyltransferase GAT genes conferring high tolerance to glyphosate in soybean.

Glyphosate is a widely used non-selective herbicide with broad spectrum of weed control around the world. At present, most of the commercial glyphosate tolerant soybeans utilize glyphosate tolerant gene CP4-EPSPS or glyphosate acetyltransferase gene GAT separately. In this study, both glyphosate tolerant gene G2-EPSPS and glyphosate degraded gene GAT were co-transferred into soybean and transgenic plants showed high tolerance to glyphosate.

Functional marker development of miR1511-InDel and allelic diversity within the genus Glycine.

Background: Single-stranded non-protein coding small RNAs, 18-25 nucleotides in length, are ubiquitous throughout plants genomes and are involved in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Several types of DNA markers have been reported for the detection of genetic diversity or sequence variation in soybean, one of the most important legume crops in worldwide for seed protein and oil content. Recently, with the available of public genomic databases, there has been a shift from the labor-intensive development of PCR-based markers to sequence-based genotyping and the development of functional markers within genes, often coupled with the use of RNA information.

Salinity tolerance in soybean is modulated by natural variation in GmSALT3.

The identification of genes that improve the salt tolerance of crops is essential for the effective utilization of saline soils for agriculture. Here, we use fine mapping in a soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.

Role of physiological mechanisms and EPSPS gene expression in glyphosate resistance in wild soybeans (Glycine soja).

The physiological mechanisms underlying glyphosate resistance in wild soybean germplasm and relevant EPSPS gene expression were evaluated. These germplasms were selected by gradually increasing glyphosate selection pressure started from 2010. As indicated by a whole-plant dose response bioassay, ZYD-254 plants were resistant to glyphosate at concentrations of 1230gaeha(-1), but the susceptible plants (ZYD-16) were unable to survive in the presence of 300gaeha(-1) glyphosate.

Molecular footprints of domestication and improvement in soybean revealed by whole genome re-sequencing.

Background: Artificial selection played an important role in the origin of modern Glycine max cultivars from the wild soybean Glycine soja. To elucidate the consequences of artificial selection accompanying the domestication and modern improvement of soybean, 25 new and 30 published whole-genome re-sequencing accessions, which represent wild, domesticated landrace, and Chinese elite soybean populations were analyzed.

Results: A total of 5,102,244 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 707,969 insertion/deletions were identified.

Glyphosate effects on the gene expression of the apical bud in soybean (Glycine max).

Glyphosate is a broad spectrum, non-selective herbicide which has been widely used for weed control. Much work has focused on elucidating the high accumulation of glyphosate in shoot apical bud (shoot apex). However, to date little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the sensitivity of shoot apical bud to glyphosate.

A comparative miRNAome analysis reveals seven fiber initiation-related and 36 novel miRNAs in developing cotton ovules.

An increasing number of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to play crucial regulatory roles in the process of plant development. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing combined with computational analysis to characterize miRNAomes from the ovules of wild-type upland cotton and a fiberless mutant during fiber initiation. Comparative miRNAome analysis combined with northern blotting and RACE-PCR revealed seven fiber initiation-related miRNAs expressed in cotton ovules and experimentally validated targets of these miRNAs are involved in different cellular responses and metabolic processes, including transcriptional regulation, auxin and gibberellin signal transduction, actin bundles, and lignin biosynthesis.

Molecular characterization of three ethylene responsive element binding factor genes from cotton.

Ethylene-responsive factors (ERFs) are important regulators of plant gene expression. In this study, three novel ERF genes, GhERF2, GhERF3 and GhERF6, were isolated from cotton (Gossypium hirstum) using rapid amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction. Transient expression analysis using GhERF-green fluorescent protein fusions showed that these three proteins were targeted to the nucleus.

Molecular cloning, expression profile and promoter analysis of a novel ethylene responsive transcription factor gene GhERF4 from cotton (Gossypium hirstum).

Ethylene-responsive element binding factors (ERFs) are plant-specific transcription factors, many of which have been linked to stress responses. A novel ERF gene, designated GhERF4, was isolated by RACE-PCR from Gossypium hirsutum. The GhERF4 cDNA has a total length of 1061bp with an open reading frame of 669bp, encoding a protein of 222 amino acids with a molecular weight of 23.

Molecular cloning and functional characterization of a DREB1/CBF-like gene (GhDREB1L) from cotton.

The transcription factors DREB1s/CBFs play important roles in the regulation of plant resistance to environmental stresses and are quite useful for generating transgenic plants tolerant to these stresses. In the present work, a cDNA encoding DREB1/CBF-like protein (GhDREB1L) from cotton was isolated, and its sequence features, DNA binding preference, and expression patterns of the transcripts were also characterized. GhDREB1L contained one conserved AP2/ERF domain and its amino acid sequence was similar to the DREB1/CBF group of the DREB family from other plants.

Identification and characterization of the novel gene GhDBP2 encoding a DRE-binding protein from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum).

A cDNA encoding one novel DRE-binding protein, GhDBP2, was isolated from cotton seedlings. It is classified into the A-6 group of DREB subfamily based on multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic characterization. Using semi-quantitative RT-PCR, we found that the GhDBP2 transcripts were greatly induced by drought, NaCl, low temperature and ABA treatments in cotton cotyledons.