Biotech Updates

U of I Researcher Receives USDA Grant to Study Soybean Flowering Response

February 25, 2011

Assistant professor Yoshie Hanzawa of the University of Illinois (U of I) received a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant to study the flowering response of seasonal photoperiod changes in soybean. According to Hanzawa, flowering is a key trait that determines plant survival and productivity. Thus, studying the molecular basis of photoperiodic flowering will aid plant breeders in maximizing yield potential.

"We want to help open up a new frontier in soybean breeding," Hanzawa said. "We have a huge variation in day length from northern to southern United States. Our goal is to develop germplasm that fits each microenvironment by modifying the response of the soybean plant to day length."

Hanzawa will work in partnership with Randall Nelson, USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection Curator and professor in the Department of Crop Sciences.

Read the original article at http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news5604.html.