2015
Evaluation of Soybean Transgenics Expressing a Host Defense Regulatory Gene, PHTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4 (PAD4) for Enhancing Resistance to Soybean Aphid
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Contributor/Checkoff:
Indiana Soybean Alliance
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
Biotic stressCrop protectionField management Pest
Parent Project:
This is the first year of this project.
Lead Principal Investigator:
Vamsi Nalam, Indiana University - Purdue University
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Indiana Soybean Alliance
(n/a)
Institution Funded:
Purdue University
(n/a)
Brief Project Summary:

The soybean aphid is an an important pest in major soybean growing regions. The current consensus management recommendations developed over more than a decade of research include cultural, genetic, economic, and chemical controls. Although these strategies reduce the threat, they do not completely eliminate soybean aphid as a pest. As a complement to current management practices, researchers will utilize a biotechnological approach to enhance plant immunity. The genetic manipulation of components of the plants own defense signaling pathways offers an attractive strategy for boosting plant defenses. The project goal is to the development of transgenic soybean constitutively over-expressing PAD4 (PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4) gene to aid the management of soybean aphid.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, plant breeders, agronomists, entomologists

Information And Results
Final Project Results

Update:
final results will be posted.

The soybean aphid is the most important arthropod pest of soybean in North America. The prevalence of the aphid in soybean fields has resulted in increased time spent on scouting and the increased use of insecticides as both seed treatments and foliar sprays leading to a significant increase in the cost of production. The current strategy to limit the economic losses caused by the aphid is to increase host plant resistance. The discovery of several aphid resistant genes in various cultivars have greatly aided the process. However, specific soybean aphid biotypes have already been identified around the country that specifically overcome the resistant genes. In order to overcome this adaptation, the goal of this work was to genetically manipulate an important soybean defense regulatory gene, PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4 (PAD4) gene. The aim of the proposal was to develop stable soybean transgenic plants that over-express PAD4 with the aim of observing enhanced resistance against the soybean aphid. Towards this end, the PAD4 gene from soybean was identified based on amino acid sequence similarity to the previously identified PAD4 gene from the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, primers were developed to isolate the PAD4 gene from soybean plants. The soybean PAD4 gene was isolated from RNA isolated from aphid infested soybean plants. The PAD4 gene was then cloned into a plant transformation vector, p1500GmUbi. The resulting plant transformation vector, pVN001 was isolated in sufficient quantities and sent to the Plant transformation facility run by Dr. John Finer at OARDC. At the plant transformation facility, particle bombardment was used to introduce the gene into soybean embryogenic tissue. Embryogenic tissue from the cultivar Jack was bombarded and 5 putative transformation events were obtained. The T0 transgenic seeds obtained from the plant transformation facility will be evaluated for soybean aphid resistance. Preliminary data obtained from this research has been presented at shop talks and also in regional, national and international conferences.

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.