2019
Genome editing and engineering pipeline
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Contributor/Checkoff:
Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
GeneticsGenomics
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
C Neal Stewart Jr, University of Tennessee-Institute of Agriculture
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
19-117-R
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board
$40,000
Institution Funded:
University of Tennessee-Institute of Agriculture
$40,000
Brief Project Summary:

This project continues research focused on genome-edited maturity group 4 soybean with an enhanced fatty acid oil profile. It also includes plans to produce deer-resistant soybeans that may be counted as a "cisgenic" line, since it combines soybean DNA for trypsin inhibitor production in leaves. These experiments aim to directly transform MG 4 germplasm to reduce unnecessary breeding steps and save time during cultivar development. The goal is to produce soybean plants with high expression levels of trypsin inhibitors in leaves by using leaf-specific promoters to overexpress to render soybeans resistant to deer and other herbivores, such as insects.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, agronomists, extension agents, soybean breeders, seed companies

Information And Results
Project Deliverables

Objective 1: Performing these experiments will add to the genetic diversity of our MG IV transformation germplasm and increase the chances of generating an efficient and robust transformation and speed breeding pipeline for Tennessee-adapted germplasm.

Objective 2: Once high performing lines with high oleic and low linoleic oil are identified, they will be immediately made available to the UT soybean breeding team with the goal of ultimately releasing new cultivars to Tennessee soybean farmers. The results will be compared to high oleic lines produced via conventional breeding and transformation.

Objective 3: The goal will be to produce a cisgenic soybean line that may not be regulated by the USDA. In 2019, the team will build engineering vectors for a soybean cisgenic approach (new to UT) and begin the transformation experiments in the top-responding germplasm in the summer.

Final Project Results

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.