To achieve maximum profitability, US producers are dependent upon locally adapted, high-yielding soybean varieties that generate opportunities and prosperity throughout the soy value chain. High oleic and low linolenic (HOLL) soybean varieties provide a high value, market-driven functional soybean oil with zero trans fats, and an innovative solution to labeling and ingredients rules set in motion by trans fats issues. Federal regulations concerning trans fats have devalued commodity soybean oil and decreased or eliminated soybean oil demand and utilization in many downstream products. The SOYLEIC™ trait has been identified as the trait package best suited to fulfill the functionality requirements for the lost, and future, oil market. It is also the simplest and most efficient platform to rapidly advance HOLL soybean into the market. Our breeding effort is focused on developing HOLL varieties using genetics discovered through USB support and marketed under the SOYLEIC™ brand name. This HOLL trait is non-transgenic which offers marketing advantages, particularly internationally, and it avoids the enormous regulatory costs in time and dollars to develop a transgenic event or to stack the trait with other transgenic events such as herbicide resistance. Support by USB to develop SOYLEIC™ varieties capitalizes and builds on USB’s investment in soybean breeding at public institutions and furthers USB’s goals of increased HOLL acres by providing a wider choice of varieties in all maturity groups. The public non-transgenic source of HOLL offers a wide source of genetic diversity and agronomic/defense trait packages, providing a broad variety choice for US producers.
This ongoing project continues to develop commercial HOLL varieties, building upon years of investment by USB. During the current reporting year of the project, our team has released 7 HOLL cultivars, executed 8 commercial licenses, and executed 17 material transfer agreements with both public and private entities.