October 21, 2005

US scientist heads study on soybean genome 

The US National Science Foundation has awarded a grant of US$4.5 million to a research team led by Purdue University plant geneticist Scott Jackson, towards a study on the soybean genome.

Jackson said the study would provide new methods of improving crops. This in turn might benefit farmers and consumers.

Currently, the US produces over 2.74 billion bushels of soybeans a year. Jackson commented that compared with the study of corn or rice, relatively little had been done to study the genetic makeup of soybeans.

Once the entire genome was sequenced, researchers would be able to select plants based on their genetic makeup. The plants might have certain traits such as drought resistance, resistance to sudden death syndrome, soybean rust and other factors that were detrimental to soybean output.