Development of high-yielding soybean cultivars & germplasm with optimum oil and protein content

This project will work towards the development of soybean cultivars and germplasm that have high yield with optimum oil and protein content in order to maximize production value of soybean on a per acre basis. Furthermore, we aim to incorporate innovative oil products through the addition of the essential fatty acids, omega-3and omega-6, to create a value-added oil. To do this, the project integrates the team’s expertise in plant breeding, genetics, genomics, biotechnology and biochemistry for an interdisciplinary approach which includes the development of a selection index module which incorporates andestimated processing value based on multi-year market trends; identification, assessment, and utilization of key alleles which reduce the negative association between protein and oil; identification of metabolic bottlenecks; use of the metabolic information to design genetic strategies to meet our target outcomes; evaluation, characterization, and incorporation of transgenes for the development of potentially high-value innovative oils such as those containing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.