Gene Added to Soybean Plants Adds Protein to Seeds

Soybean field (Agricultural Research Service/USDA)

Research conducted at Iowa State University in Ames found an external gene introduced to soybeans can substantially increase the amount of protein in soybean seeds. The university has filed a patent and aims to commercialize the technology.

Professor of genetics Eve Wurtele and adjunct professor Ling Li placed a gene found only in Arabidopsis plants into soybean plants. Arabidopsis is a small, flowering plant in the mustard family that is often used in scientific research.

However, the gene in the Arabidopsis known as QQS has a DNA sequence dissimilar from other plant genes. Li had originally discovered the QQS gene in 2004.

When the researchers neutralized the gene in Arabidopsis, they first discovered the gene was involved in regulating starch accumulation in a process called deposition. Further tests found the altered QQS affected activities of other genes, which led to a hunch that QQS did more than regulate starch.

Wurtele and Li tested that hunch by transferring the gene to soybeans, an agronomically important plant species that has a seed and is an important source of vegetable protein and oil. Their research found that the QQS transgene increased protein production  in the soybean seed by 30 to 60 percent.

The findings with soybeans suggest that the QQS transgene could increase the protein content of other crop species, such as potatoes and cassava, particularly where populations face protein deficiencies. Longer term, the discovery may lead to a better understanding of other genes like QQS that do not have recognizable functionalities based on their DNA sequences.

The university’s technology transfer office, the Iowa State University Research Foundation, has applied for a patent for the technology and is seeking licensees for commercialization.

Read more: Patent Awarded for Engineered Soybean to Control Parasite

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