Saherwala 1

Abdeali.Saherwala
SBI4U
Mr.Jonade
5/14/2015
Genetics- Soybeans
In this article, geneticist Ram Singh has
successfully managed to crossbreed a popular
soybean variety ("Dwight" Glycine max) with a
related wild, perennial plant that grows like a
weed in Australia; thus producing the first fertile

Figure 2: Ram Singh holding his genetically

modified soybeans.

soybean plants that are resistant to soybean rust, soybean cyst nematode and other pathogens of
soybeans. At the University of Illinois in the department of crop sciences, Ram Singh has
worked arduously to combine the desirable attributes of wild, perennial Glycine species into
soybean plants. His research at the University of Illinois began in 1983, after the U.S.
Department of Agricultural Research Program endowed him with an expensive grant. This was
followed by thousands of experiments in which Singh had to isolate the genes that were resistant
to soybean rust and soybean cyst nematode. After isolating these
genes, Singh had to crossbreed these resistant genes into the
current variety of soybeans. Also, Singh had to develop a
hormone treatment that prevented immature hybrid seeds from
sterility, so the parent seeds could pass their desirable traits to

Figure 1: Soybean Cyst Nematode

their offspring seeds as the plants matured. Soybeans are the second most profited plant, after
corn in the United States with more than four billion dollars worth of soybean production
annually. Soybeans have been constantly sprayed with pesticides that stunt the growth of a

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parasitic roundworm known as soybean cyst nematode. A
soybean cyst nematode infects the roots of soybeans causing
chlorosis (loss of chlorophyll) of the leaves and stems, root
necrosis, loss in seed yield and suppression of root and shoot
growth. Also, soybeans are often infected with a fungus that

Figure 3: Soybean Rust

causes leaves to be tainted and eventually defoliates the entire plant. In the article Ram Singh
states, There are 26 wild species of Glycine perennials that grow in Australia One species,
Glycine tomentella, was of particular interest because it has genes for resistance to soybean rust
and to soybean cyst nematode Many people tried to hybridize it with soybean plants, starting
back in 1979 at the University of Illinois But the hybrids produced only sterile plants, and
they decided it was impossible (Singh & Nelson, 2015). I have learned that there are specific
desirable traits in certain living organisms that can be crossbred into plants and animals, which
possess the capability to successfully exhibit the inputted desirable traits. Crossbreeding is done
through DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) because first, DNA is transcribed into RNA (ribonucleic
acid) in order to protect the DNA from damage and preserve the DNA in the nucleus. Codons in
RNA are translated into different proteins by the translation initiation complex located on the
ribosomes. Proteins are macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid.
Proteins are created into large polypeptide chains with the help of methanine (start codon) and
end codon that are translated with the aid of translation initiation complex. When these long
polypeptide chains are created, they automatically fold, twist and turn due to the strong and weak
intramolecular forces (hydrogen bond, ionic bonds) of the polypeptide chain. If these proteins are
not automatically folded due to the intramolecular forces, then the proteins are folded with the
aid of molecular chaperones that fold proteins into their native states. These proteins perform

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several types of functions, but a major function of a protein is to exhibit the genetic traits in a
persons DNA because DNA is transcribed into RNA and RNA is translated into proteins
(central dogma of biology). There are several examples in which desirable traits from one living
organism is extracted and inputted into another living organism by crossbreeding the genetic
code between the two organisms. An example of crossbreeding is when a tobacco plant is
expressing the glowing gene of a firefly by producing a protein called luciferase. Basically, this
is the same method that Ram Singh has utilized in order to create soybeans that are naturally
resistance to soybean rust and soybean cyst nematode. Also, Ram Singh believes that these
genetically modified soybeans could be further modified to possess higher protein content by
crossbreeding the desirable traits of other soybean variations. I believe that genetic modification
of crops is a brilliant technique that could reduce the prices of crops, increase the yield of certain
staple crops and could create crops with higher nutritional value. Overall, Ram Singhs
contribution to genetics is enormous because his genetically modified soybean will increase the
production of soybean due to the soybeans natural resistance to soybean rust and soybean cyst
nematode.

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Bibliography
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (2015, May 12). Plant breeder boosts soybean
diversity, develops soybean rust-resistant plant.ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 5, 2015
from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/05/150512124140.htm
Additional resources
Rupe, J., & Sconyers, L. (2014, August 20). Soybean rust. Retrieved June 5, 2015, from
http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/lessons/fungi/Basidiomycetes/Pages/SoybeanRus
t.aspx
Tylka, G. (2010, September 13). Soybean Cyst Nematode. Retrieved June 5, 2015, from
http://nematode.unl.edu/scn/scnisu.htm