Soybean Yield Formation Physiology - A Foundation for Precision Breeding Based Improvement.

The continued improvement of crop yield is a fundamental driver in agriculture and is the goal of both plant breeders and researchers. Plant breeders have been remarkably successful in improving crop yield, as demonstrated by the continued release of varieties with improved yield potential. This has largely been accomplished through performance-based selection, without specific knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underpinning these improvements.

Overexpression of the Transcription Factor Improves Transformation of Dicot and Monocot Species.

Successful regeneration of genetically modified plants from cell culture is highly dependent on the species, genotype, and tissue-type being targeted for transformation. Studies in some plant species have shown that when expression is altered, some genes regulating developmental processes are capable of triggering plant regeneration in a variety of plant cells and tissue-types previously identified as being recalcitrant to regeneration. In the present research, we report that developmental genes encoding GROWTH-REGULATING FACTORS positively enhance regeneration and transformation in both monocot and dicot species.

T-DNA locus structure in a large population of soybean plants transformed using the Agrobacterium-mediated cotyledonary-node method.

Designing transformation experiments for either functional genomics or crop improvement requires knowledge of the transgene locus structure, number, transmission and expression resulting from a specific transformation method. We recently reported an improvement to the soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] cotyledonary-node transformation method that resulted in the efficient production of transgenic plants.

Soybean (Glycine max) transformation using mature cotyledonary node explants.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of soybeans has been steadily improved since its development in 1988. Soybean transformation is now possible in a range of genotypes from different maturity groups using different explants as sources of regenerable cells, various selectable marker genes and selective agents, and different A. tumefaciens strains.

Efficient soybean transformation using hygromycin B selection in the cotyledonary-node method.

The efficiency of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] transformation was significantly increased from an average of 0.7% to 16.