Updated December 7, 2021:
Gene expression is typically understood to be controlled by their promoters. What controls promoter function is less understood, thus limiting the ability to modify gene expression in plants to obtain desired changes. The discovery of cis-regulatory DNA elements is starting to change our approach to this challenge. These are DNA sequences elsewhere in the genome that affect the ability of promoters to control genes and their expression. We are using newly developed genomic methods to systematically and precisely identify, analyze, and validate cis-regulatory DNA elements important for soybean seed development, including the synthesis and accumulation of oil and protein and their precursors. Thus far, we have produced the data required to identify the location of these critical cis-regulatory elements. Our next steps will be to specifically identify those associated with key genes important for protein and oil production in the seed and to initiate gene editing of these sequences. These edited sequences will produce plants with more or less gene expression and potentially expand the tissues and organs in which the genes are expressed. We cannot at this time predict which of these events will occur, but what we can do is select plants with desired alterations to protein or oil production.