Osmotin-like Protein from Black Nightshade Confers Drought Resistance in Soybean

Drought is the most important environmental factor causing yield losses in soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. To address this, Maria Fátima Grossi-de-Sa and Maria Helena Bodanese-Zanettini from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, transferred a gene (SnOLP) encoding an osmotin-like protein from Solanum nigrum var. americanum (black nightshade) into soybean and produced two transformed soybean lines expressing SnOLP.

Transgenics performed better than the control when exposed to water deficit. Leaf physiological measurements revealed that transgenic soybean plants maintained higher leaf water potential at predawn, higher net CO2 assimilation rate, higher stomatal conductance and higher transpiration rate than non-transgenic plants. Decrease in productivity and 100-grain weight were observed for both transgenic and non-transgenic plants under water deficit, but was more pronounced in non-transgenic plants.

Expression of SnOLP in transgenic soybeans improved physiological responses and yield components of plants when subjected to water deficit, highlighting the gene's importance.

For more information, the full article is available here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/s12870-014-0343-y.pdf