Current management recommendations to reduce soybean aphid pressure include cultural, genetic, economic and chemical controls. Researchers will use a biotechnological approach to enhance soybean immunity. The genetic manipulation of the plant’s own defense signaling pathways offers a strategy for boosting plant defenses. A defense regulatory gene, PHYTOALEXIN DEFICINT4 (PAD4), is an excellent candidate for over-expression soybean plants due to its role in defenses against a broad spectrum of pathogens. Researchers developed transgenic soybean plants that over-express the PAD4 gene under the control of a constitutive promoter. Soybean infestation assays indicate the transgenic plants display enhanced resistance to aphids. Researchers will continue screening of T3 transgenic plants for aphid and soybean cyst nematode response.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, plant breeders, agronomists, entomologists