Updated January 24, 2021:
Final Report
Raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) present in soybean meal reduce metabolizable energy for monogastric animals; therefore, development of low RFO soybean meal is of great interest to the swine and poultry industries. Modified carbohydrate composition is considered the most promising meal trait due to the potential value to the animal industry and the lack of negative agronomic impacts. Previous results from poultry feeding studies conducted by this team indicate that a statistically significant improvement in feed conversion ratio in chickens can be obtained from reducing RFOs and increasing sucrose in soybean seeds. With a multi-institutional team with broad expertise, we develop new soybean varieties with improved soluble carbohydrate composition and an improved nutritional bundle in a range of maturity groups (MG I-V). There is a large discovery effort using multiple approaches to identify new genetic variation across several candidate loci involved with soluble carbohydrate production in soybean seeds. In support of building new markets, this project engages in a range of data collection efforts on value-added soybean performance and meal quality, and animal nutrition.