Agrobacterium-mediated Soybean Transformation

Soybean is a major crop in The United States. Frost and drought conditions pose serious hazards to the yield and quality of all crops. It is desirable to increase tolerance to drought and cold. Inositol Polyphosphatase 5-Phosphatase (InsP 5-Phospatase ) hydrolyzes soluble inositol phosphates, which are related to the plant’s response to stress. One such inositol phosphate (InsP3) causes the plant to release Ca2+ from intracellular storage and lose water during drought stress. InsP 5-Phospatase has the potential to blunt this harmful response to drought and cold stress by hydrolyzing phosphates such as InsP3, resulting in harmful pathway termination. In this project we are attempting to insert the gene InsP 5-Phospatase into soybeans via the agrobacterium-mediated transformation method in an effort to increase tolerance to drought and cold condition.