NSF Funds $2.1 Million Soybean Disease Project at ISU

Iowa is the US’s leading soybean producer, but every year, an estimated loss of 400 million bushels is caused by diseases such as soybean mosaic virus, Asian soybean rust, and soybean cyst nematode. Scientists know little about specific genes in-charge of defending the soybean plant against these diseases. With the National Science Foundation Grant of $2.1 million to Iowa State University (ISU), genes essential for the soybean plant’s defense against these three major diseases can be identified. Steve Whitham, an associate professor of plant pathology of ISU, said “We expect that information resulting from the research will help improve soybean cultivars for disease resistance by accelerating plant breeding programs and by enabling the engineering of new disease resistance traits”.

To this end, the scientists will utilize the virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technology which uses a virus equipped with a small segment of genetic material matching a soybean gene of interest. Upon viral attack the soybean plant recognizes the invader and begins defending itself. The plant destroys the genetic material that matches what is carried by the virus, preventing it from making the genetic product – thus silencing it.

For more details, see press release at http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=677