Location of Impact
This proposal provides a vision for improved soybean traits, tailored to the needs to Minnesota soybean farmers. Minnesota farmers will possess improved soybean varieties based on the novel traits developed by this project, with an emphasis on improved architecture and stress tolerance traits. This proposal aligns with Category III, particularly the following: “Soybean Farmers continually need new high yielding varieties with genetic traits that will reduce the impact of diseases, pests, and other yield limiting factors across the wide array of relative maturities across Minnesota” and “Soybean Farmers need molecular and functional genomics research to complement existing University of Minnesota public breeding efforts. Research should focus on identification of new resistance to yield limiting pests such as SCN, IDC, insects, and plant diseases and integration of identified genetics into existing breeding lines adapted across Minnesota relative maturities.” Results from this proposal will be used to integrate superior genes into soybean germplasm adapted to Minnesota.

Furthermore, breakthroughs from leveraged projects, including North Central, USDA and NSF sponsored efforts to addresses traits like seed composition and herbicide resistance, will also be of great value to genetic improvements for seed varieties grown in Minnesota.

Materials and Methods
The Stupar research group has recently developed a system that can either add a new gene to the genome (standard transformation) or reliably generate targeted DNA changes for specific genes (using a CRISPR/Cas9 system )(Michno et al. 2015; Liu et al. 2019). For the proposed project, both of these methods will be used to create new traits in soybean plants for genes involved in IDC tolerance and plant architecture. A list summarizing the target genes for this project is shown below:

1. IDC genes: We have used genetics and genomics to identify a leading candidate gene for IDC tolerance on soybean chromosome 5. We are also aware of a previously characterized gene believed to enhance IDC tolerance on chromosome 3. We can directly test the actions of this genes by mutating them in ‘Bert’ at UMN and phenotyping in IDC conditions in subsequent generations. Identification of these genes will lead to new insight into IDC mechanisms in soybean and lead to new genetic and/or management strategies that target the functions of these pathways.
2. Architecture genes: Numerous genes have been identified in other plant species that regulate shoot architecture. Genes that exhibit a large effect and appear to be conserved across plants are the LATERAL SUPPRESSOR (LAS) and TEOSINTE BRANCHED1 (TB1) genes, and the MORE AXILLARY GROWTH (MAX) gene family. We plan to examine the function of these genes in soybean. This information will be used to identify a stronger architecture type that informs molecular breeding efforts for more robust soybean varieties.