Improving Phosphorus Availability of Soybeans
A transgenic approach was used to alter soybean seed phytate by inserting a soybean phytase gene (GmPhy) during seed development to degrade accumulating phytic acid. Plants from four independent transgenic lines were analyzed for transgene integration and seed phytic acid levels. Results indicated they were successful in increasing the expression of phytase mRNA and phytase activity during seed development resulting in reduced levels of phytic acid in the soybean seed compared to the controls. This research suggests a transgenetic approach could be an effective strategy for reducing the phytate content of soybean seed.

Chiera, J.M. and co-workers. 2004. Ectopic expression of soybean phytase in developing seed of Glycine max to improve phosphorus availability. Plant Molecular Biol. 56(6): 895-904.