New Technology to Improve Soybean Traits

Federal researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Science Institute’s Soybean Genomic and Improvement Laboratory are using a new technology to study the storage proteins in soybeans. They are using a new proteomic approach to separate, identify and study the two major storage proteins, beta-conglycinin and glycinin, in wild (Glycine soja) and cultivated (Glycine max) soybean seeds. They are using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with three immobilized pH gradient strips to separate the storage proteins in these two genetic sources of soybeans. The total number of storage protein spots detected in wild and cultivated soybean germplasm sources were approximately 44 and 34, respectively. This is the first report comparing the protein profiles of wild and cultivated genotypes of soybean seed using proteomic tools.

Natarajam, S.S. and co-workers. 2006. Characterization of storage proteins in wild (Glycine soja) and cultivated (Glycine max) soybean seed using proteomic analysis. J. Agric. and Food Chem. 54(8): 3114-3120.