Project Number: 3622-21000-029-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Mar 20, 2006
End Date: Mar 19, 2011

Objective:
1. The long-term goal of this Objective is to develop soybean seeds that have increased oil levels derived at the expense of non-structural carbohydrates. 2. Molecular biology techniques will be used to improve the nutritional quality of soybean seed proteins. 3. To develop the molecular basis for modification of the fatty acid components of soybean oil and anti-nutritional components in soybean meal to use in accelerated breeding programs. 4. Identify effects on key performance determinants of crop seed quality resulting from modified seed composition using traditional or non-traditional genetic methods.

Approach:
To reach the overriding objective of the modification of soybean seed composition for food, feed, and industrial uses requires a team approach that spans the complete range from basic biochemical assessment of possible target sites to the evaluation of the agronomic properties and value of modified soybeans. Basic biochemical approaches will be used to assess the effect of manipulating the expression of a key enzyme complex that is at the interface of carbon partitioning into oil or carbohydrates. A proteomic approach to the analysis of soybean seed development will allow for the discovery of other key regulatory events that offer possibilities for manipulation. Transgenic approaches will be used to modify the protein content and constitution of the soybean seed such that the nutritional quality as feed can be improved. A similar approach combined with classical molecular genetic approaches to plant breeding will be directed at altering the fatty acid components and anti-nutritional compounds of soybean seed to improve not only the nutritive value of the seed but also the health aspects of soybean consumption. A classical physiological approach serves to address the efficacy of the targeted modifications as they relate to agronomic concerns of yield, seed quality, and storage.