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Identification of a plant introduction soybean line with genetic lesions affecting two distinct glycinin subunits and evaluation of impacts on protein content and composition

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Abstract

Unlike other oilseeds, soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr) is also valuable due to its direct conversion into human food. One notable example is the cheese-like product tofu. The quality of tofu is improved when protein subunits derived from two glycinin genes, Gy1 and Gy4, are reduced or absent. Here we report the discovery that one exotic soybean plant introduction line, PI 605781 B, has not only a previously described loss-of-expression mutation affecting one glycinin gene (gy4), but also bears an extremely rare, potentially unique, frameshift mutation in the Glycinin1 gene (gy1-a). We analyzed glycinin gene expression via qRT-PCR with mRNA from developing seeds, which revealed that the novel allele dramatically reduced Gy1 mRNA accumulation. Similarly, both A4A5B3 and A1aB1a protein subunits were absent or at undetectable levels, as determined by two-dimensional protein fractionation. Despite the reduction in glycinin content, overall seed protein levels were unaffected. The novel gy1-a allele was found to be unique to PI 605871B in a sampling of 247 diverse germplasm lines drawn from a variety of geographic origins.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the superb technical assistance of Sungchan Jang, Jeremy Mullis and Nathan Oehrle. This research was supported by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, University of Missouri-Columbia, 205 Curtis Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA

    Won-Seok Kim, Jason D. Gillman & Hari B. Krishnan

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  1. Won-Seok Kim
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  2. Jason D. Gillman
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  3. Hari B. Krishnan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hari B. Krishnan.

Additional information

Won-Seok Kim and Jason D. Gillman contributed equally to this work.

Mention of a trademark, vendor, or proprietary product does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the USDA and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that may also be suitable.

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Supplementary Figure 1

Typical genotyping “melting peak” analyses for Gy1 and Gy4 SimpleProbes. Colors: Light blue line indicates negative control, dark blue indicates homozygote mutant, red indicates homozygote wild type, green indicates heterozygote. Analysis was run on a Lightcycler 480 II (Roche). (PPTX 153 kb)

Supplementary Figure 2

One dimensional protein gel electrophoresis of lines selected via genotyping assays. 40 micrograms of seed protein were separated on 12.5 % SDS-PAGE gels. C indicates protein from ‘Patriot’ seeds and PI indicates protein from PI 605871 B seeds, numbered samples were F2:3 seeds from F2 selections for gy4 or Gy4 homozygotes identified by SimpleProbe assay (genotype is indicated at bottom of chart). * indicates either A4 or B5 glycinin subunit, encoded by the Gy4 gene. (PPTX 351 kb)

Supplemental Table 1

Glycinin primers used in this work (XLSX 12 kb)

Supplemental Table 2

Distribution of Gy1 alleles in a diverse sampling of 247 genotypes (XLSX 32 kb)

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Kim, WS., Gillman, J.D. & Krishnan, H.B. Identification of a plant introduction soybean line with genetic lesions affecting two distinct glycinin subunits and evaluation of impacts on protein content and composition. Mol Breeding 32, 291–298 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-013-9870-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-013-9870-8

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