Detection of Exogenous Gene Copies in Transgenic Soybean by Taqman Quantitative PCR Technique

[Objective] Taqman Quantitative PCR technique was adopted to detect the copies of exogenous nos terminator in transgenic hybrid soybean.[Method] With soybean Lectin as the endogenous reference gene,and gene complex DNA in non-GMO soybeans as the endogenous reference standard,the method of gradient dilution was used for separately calculate Ct value of endogenous reference gene and plasmid DNA and correlation standard curve equation of logarithm of copies,and then to calculate the copies of samples through substituting thus-obtained Ct into the standard curve equation.[Result] The standard curve equation of endogenous reference gene is y=-3.422x＋35.201,R2=0.998;and the standard curve equation of exogenous gene is y=-3.348x＋34.890,R2=0.999.Nos terminator and its lower boundary sequences in transgenic soybean is of single copy.[Conclusion] The study has provided a theoretical basis for determining exogenous gene copies in transgenic soybean.

Effects of Transgenic DREB Soybean Dongnong 50 on the Diversity of Soil Ammonia-oxidizing Bacteria

ObjectiveThe aim was to understand the effects of transgenic DREB soybean on the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. MethodThe diversity of the cto gene in pot-planted transgenic soybean and near-isogenic non-transgenic soybean under normal water condition and drought stress was analyzed by PCR-DGGE and sequence analysis. ResultRhizosphere community diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria showed no difference between the treatments of transgenic soybean and its non-transgenic isolines, moreover transgenic soybean under normal water condition and drought stress improved the diversity of the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in the harvest time. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that all the sequences of excised DGGE bands were closely related to members of the genus Nitrosovibrio and Nitrosospira of the β-subclass Proteobacteria. ConclusionTransgenic DREB soybean has no adverse impact on soil ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.

Sexual compatibility of transgenic soybean and different wild soybean populations

The introduction of genetically modified(GM) soybean into farming systems raises great concern that transgenes from GM soybean may flow to endemic wild soybean via pollen. This may increase the weediness of transgenic soybean by increasing the fitness of hybrids under certain conditions and threaten the genetic diversity of wild soybean populations. Although pollen-mediated gene flow between GM crops and wild relatives is dependent on many factors, the sexual compatibility(SC)determined by their genetic backgrounds is the conclusive factor. The considerable genetic variation among wild soybean populations may cause compatibility differences between different wild and cultivated soybeans. Thus, an evaluation of the SC between transgenic soybean and different wild soybeans is essential for assessing the environmental consequences of cultivated soybean–wild soybean transgene flow. The podding and seed sets were assessed after artificial hybridization using transgenic glyphosate-resistant soybean as the paternal parent and 18 wild soybean populations as the maternal parents. Then, the average number of filled seeds produced in 200 flowers(AFS) was calculated for each wild soybean under natural self-pollination as well as under artificial crossing with transgenic soybean. Finally, the index of cross-SC was calculated(ICSC) as the ratio of the AFS of wild soybean artificially crossed with transgenic soybean and the AFS of naturally self-pollinated wild soybean. The results demonstrated that after self-pollination and crossing with transgenic soybean, the average podding rates of 18 wild soybean populations ranged within 96.50–99.50% and 4.92–18.03%, and the average filled seed numbers per pod varied from 1.70 to 2.69 and 0.20 to 0.48, respectively. The results showed that approximately 89% of wild soybeans displayed either medium or higher than medium SC with transgenic soybean(ICSC>1.0%). This implied the high possibility of gene flow via pollen from transgenic soybean to wild soybean.

Establishment of TaqMan Real-time Quantitative PCR Assay for Foreign Gene Copy Numbers in Transgenic Soybean

TaqMan quantitative PCR technique was used to detect the copies of exogenous CaMV35S flanks sequence in transgenic soybean. With soybean lectin as the endogenous reference gene, and gene complex DNA in non-GMO soybeans as the endogenous reference standard, the gradient dilution method was used to separately calculate Ct value of endogenous reference gene and plasmid DNA and correlation standard curve equation of logarithm of copies, and then to calculate the copies of samples through substituting thus-obtained Ct into the standard curve equation. The standard curve equation of endogenous reference gene was y =–3.422x＋35.201, R2=0.998; the standard curve equation of exogenous gene was y =–3.495x＋35.303, R2=0.999. The sample copies was got by putting Ct value into the standard curve equation, and it was the ratio of exogenous gene and reference gene. We found that CaMV35S gene in transgenic soy was single copy.

Agronomic Traits of Transgenic Soybean Overexpressing TaDREB3

Dongnong50 was overexpressing TaDREB3, a stress-tolerance gene, and transgenic progenies with TaDREB3 showing stable heredity characters were obtained in this study. The seeds of T4 generation were sowed on saline land of which salt concentration was 0.19% and pH was 8.43, and agronomic traits including growth period, plant height, numbers of main nodes, branching numbers, pods per plant, numbers of seeds per plant, and weight of 100-seed were collected and comparing to control plants Dongnong50 were made. The impacts of TaDREB3 gene on agronomic traits of soybeans under high concentration of salt were discussed. The results showed that the growth period was not altered in transgenic line with TaDREB3 under high concentration of saline and alkali, the extremely significant or significant increase in the numbers of main nodes, pods per plant and in branching numbers and other agronomic traits in transgenic lines in comparing with non-transgenic lines was an indicator of their resistance to saline-alkali stress

Establishment of PCR-ELISA for Detecting Glyphosate Resistant Transgenic Soybean

A PCR-ELISA method for detecting the glyphosate resistant transgenic soybean was established and optimized. The results showed that the key parameters of PCR-ELISA were as follows： the concentration of digoxin tag probe was 0.5 μmol · L^-1, the time of hybridization reaction was 15 min and the chromogenic reaction should last for 30 min. The sensitivity and the repeatability of our PCR-ELISA method were evaluated, and the results showed that it could be detected when the concentration of DNA template from transgenic soybean samples was 0.01% or higher, and the coefficient of variation of this method was less than 5% in our research condition. These results suggested that PCR-ELISA method establishment in this study had good repeatability and high precision for detecting the transgenic soybean samples.

Effects of Transgenic DREB Toybean Dongnong50 on Diversity of Soil Nitrogen-fixing Bacteria

Drought is a bottleneck for worldwide soybean production which is getting more serious as the climate continues to worsen. Dehydration responsive element binding（DREB） is a kind of transcription factor that regulates the expression of stress tolerance-related genes in response to drought, high salinity and cold stress in plant. Soybean with DREB gene possesses the drought resisting capability which is helpful to increase the yield. However, the potential risk of genetically modified plants（GMPs） on soil microbial community is still in debate. In order to understand the effects of transgenic DREB soybean on the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, the diversity of nif H gene in pot experiments planted transgenic soybean and near-isogenic nontransgenic soybean under normal water condition and drought stress condition was analyzed by PCR-DGGE and sequence analysis. The results showed that transgenic soybean under normal water condition decrease the diversity of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the seeding stage and flowering stage, but had no notable effect in other stages. Under drought stress, transgenic soybean reduced the diversity of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the flowering stage, but had no notable effects on other stages. Phylogenic analysis revealed that g7, g13, g15 and g19 had a close relationship with Alphaproteobacteria, g12 had a close relationship with Azonexus, others were related to Betaproteobacteria and Burkholderia.

Regeneration Function Analysis of GmESR1 in Transgenic Soybean

ENHANCER OF SHOOT REGENERATION(ESR1)is an important regulator of plant regeneration in vitro,which promotes regeneration of plant.In this study,transgenic positive plants with normal expression of proteins were screened by molecular assay.Through the study of the transgenic plants and the control Dongnong 50,the difference between immature embryo-induced callus and induced shoot bud was observed.The increase in callus weight indicated that GmESR1 gene accelerated the formations of shoot buds.By measuring the changes of hormone in the process of induction callus of transgenic plants,it was found that the contents of indole-3-acetic acid(IAA)and zeatin(ZT)in transgenic lines were significantly increased.It could be concluded that GmESR1 gene promoted the accumulation of hormone and affected regeneration process.In addition,this study also verified the interaction between GmBIM1 gene and GmESR1 gene by bimolecular fluorescence complementation(BiFC).

Establishment of Event-specific Qualitative PCR Method for Genetically Modified Soybean MON 89788

[Objective] The aim was to establish an event-specific qualitative PCR method for transgenic soybean MON89788.[Method] Firstly,the 3′-junction sequence between host plant DNA and integrated DNA of transgenic MON89788 soybean was isolated using thermal asymmetric interlaced-PCR （TAIL-PCR）,and the specific PCR primers were designed based on the 3′-junction sequence.Secondly,the specificity and sensitivity of the qualitative PCR detection methods employing these primers were tested.[Result] 1 142-bp 3′-junction sequence was obtained.According to the sequence,event-specific qualitative PCR method was established,amplifying a 170-bp product specifically from MON89788 event,and the limit of detection was 0.05%,approximately 40 initial template copies.[Conclusion] The method was highly specific,sensitive,and suitable for detection of MON89788 event.

Resistance identification of bivalent fungi-resistant genes transformed soybean to Phytophthora sojae

Soybean is one of the most important sources of edible oil and proteins in the world. However, it suffers from many kinds of fungal diseases which is a major limiting factor in soybean production. The fungal disease can be effectively controlled by breeding plant cultivars with genetic transformation. In this study, the resistance to Phytophthora sojae of five bivalent transgenic soybean lines was identified using the hypocotyls inoculation technique. The lines were the T2 of the transgenic soybean which were transformed with kidney bean chitinase gene and barley ribosome inactivating protein gene, and were positive by Southern Blot analysis. The resistance difference was studied through comparing the death percentage of transgenic soybean with the control. The results showed that four lines were more resistant to P sojae, whereas other one had no significant difference in comparison with the control. These transgenic soybean lines with enhanced resistance to P sojae will be useful in soybean resistance breeding.

Glyphosate-Residues in Roundup-Ready Soybean Impair Daphnia magna Life-Cycle

Herbicide tolerant plants such as Roundup-Ready soybean contain residues of glyphosate herbicide. These residues are considered safe and previous animal-feeding-studies have failed to find negative effects related to such chemical residues. The present study tests 8 experimental soy- meal diets as feed in groups (each containing 20 individuals) of test-animals (D. magna). The diets have different levels of glyphosate residues and we show that animal growth, reproductive maturity and number of offspring are correlated with these chemicals. The tested soybeans are from ordinary agriculture in Iowa USA and the residues are below the regulatory limits. Despite this, clear negative effects are seen in life-long feeding. The work enhances the need for including analysis of herbicide residues in future assessment of GMO.