Headline : Gene seekers discover atypical genes that control multiple valuable soybean traits

Read more from the original article on here at www.purdue.edu.

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Purdue University PhD student Chance Clark (left), agronomy professor Jianxin Ma and their associates have discovered two long, noncoding RNA genes in soybeans that control multiple desirable traits for crops. (Purdue Agricultural Communications/Tom Campbell)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A team led by Purdue University soybean geneticist Jianxin Ma has developed a new biotechnological tool for the domestication of desirable traits from wild soybeans, such as resistance to leafhopper insect pests. The use of such tools, called de novo domestication, makes it easier for scientists to engineer crop improvements from wild soybeans. 

“Domestication of a specialty crop from its wild progenitor used to take ancient farmers thousands of years. Now it may take us only a few years,” said Ma, professor of agronomy and the Indiana Soybean Alliance Endowed Chair in Soybean Improvement. Using relatives of wild soybean, scientists can use gene-editing methods to modify genes that create new varieties more suitable for agricultural production 

Making this possible is the discovery of two long noncoding RNA genes (lncRNA) with an unusual property. The genes share the same genetic locus — they sit side by side on the same chromosome. But these genes control multiple traits. Generally, one gene controls one trait.

Read more from the original article on here at www.purdue.edu.

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