Gene Important in Soybean Protein Content Found After 30-Year Search

Soybeans outmatch all other legumes as the protein powerhouses of the plant kingdom, providing a key protein source for humans and livestock around the world. And now, after 30 years, University of Illinois scientists have identified the gene with the largest impact on seed protein in soybean. “Soybeans are around 40% protein, and this gene increases that about 2%. It doesn't sound like a lot, but compared to any other seed-protein gene that's been mapped for soybean, it's at least double,” says Brian Diers, PhD, the Charles Adlai Ewing Chair of Soybean Genetics and Breeding in the Department of Crop Sciences and co-author of the study in The Plant Journal. The open-access article was published online on January 3, 2022 and is titled “Fine Mapping and Cloning of the Major Seed Protein Quantitative Trait Loci on Soybean Chromosome 20.”