AT-hook proteins are known to co-regulate transcription of genes through the modification of chromatin architecture. In plants, many genes encoding AT-hook proteins have been shown to be associated with increased seed yield or delayed senescence. In this study, we produced transgenic soybean plants overexpressing chromatin architecture-controlling ATPG8 and ATPG10 genes by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and examined their agronomic traits to identify the yield increase in soybean crop similar to those seen in model plants, Arabidopsis. A total of 16 (3 of pB2GW7.0-ATPG8 and 13 of pCSEN-ATPG10 transformed) transgenic soybean plants were produced and their T₁ seeds were harvested. Healthy and well-grown transgenic lines were selected (lines #1 and #2 from pB2GW7.0-ATPG8, and lines #8 and #9 from pCSEN-ATPG10), and the insertion and transcription level of genes were confirmed by PCR and RT-PCR with expected size. Investigation on agricultural traits confirms the increase in yield, plant height, the number of pods, and total seed weight with statistical significance when compared to wild-type soybean plants. The yield component study suggested that overexpression of ATPG8 and ATPG10 genes conferred positive effect on yield in transgenic soybean.

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• Increased Production of α-Linolenic Acid in Soybean Seeds by Overexpression of Lesquerella FAD3-1
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AT-hook proteins of plant have shown to be involved in growth and development through the modification of chromatin architecture to co-regulate transcription of genes. Recently, many genes encoding AT-hook protein have been identified and their involvement in senescence delay is investigated. In this study, soybean transgenic plants overexpressing chromatin architecture-controlling ATPG7 gene was produced by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and investigated for the positive effect on the important agronomic traits mainly focusing on yield-related components. A total of 27 transgenic soybean plants were produced from about 400 explants. T₁ seeds were harvested from all transgenic plants. In the analysis of genomic DNAs from soybean transformants, ATPG7 and Bar fragments were amplified as expected, 975 bp and 408 bp in size, respectively. And also exact gene expression was confirmed by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) from transgenic line #6, #7 and #8. In a field evaluation of yield components of ATPG7 transgenic plants (T₃), higher plant height, more of pod number and greater average total seed weight were observed with statistical significance. The results of this study indicate that the introduction of ATPG7 gene in soybean may have the positive effect on yield components.

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• Efficient Isolation and Gene Transfer of Protoplast in Korean Soybean (Glycine Max (L.) Merr.) Cultivars
  Chuloh Cho, Dool-Yi Kim, Man-Soo Choi, Mina Jin, Mi-Suk Seo
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Plants have adapted to environmental challenges by expressing many plant genes in response to the stresses. Among those genes, CCCH zinc finger proteins are involved in abiotic and biotic stresses. Transgenic soybean plants overexpressing AtSZF2 were produced to investigate that its ectopic overexpression enhanced salt stress tolerance by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using half-seed explants. Sixteen transgenic lines were chosen to analyze for T-DNA insertion and transcription levels, and most of them were confirmed as positive. In further analysis with Southern blot, stable transformation event and copy number were confirmed. Following high salinity stress on the detached leaf and whole plant of two transgenic lines (#4 and #6) revealed that the ectopic expression of AtSZF2 was correlated with stress tolerance in phenotype, ion leakage and chlorophyll content with statistical significance. In another test with 20% PEG treatment, similar tolerance of transgenic plants was observed with lower ion leakage and higher chlorophyll content, indicating that the damage of cell membrane was prevented in transgenic plants. Finally, expression of various abiotic stress-responding genes was detected by reverse transcriptase and quantitative real-time PCR analysis with the transgenic plants. It could be proposed that introduction of AtSZF2 resulted in the modulation of ABA/stress responsive gene expression in transgenic soybean plants and make them tolerant against salt stress. Considering soybean as a salt-sensitive crop and importance of salt stress tolerance in specific farming region, the introduction of AtSZF2 may provide an approach for crop improvement in soybean breeding.

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A total of 34 T₁ transgenic rice lines overexpressing OgPR1 from wild rice (Oryza grandiglumis) were produced in the previous study. Selection of transgenic plants using hygromycin selection medium was continuously done until T₄ generation to find ten homozygous lines. These ten T₄ lines were established in the Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) field of NICS (National Institute of Crop Science) in the year of 2007. Phenotypic uniformity and performance was evaluated and compared to the control Dongjin. Two lines were selected for Preliminary Yield Trial (PYT) and Replicated Yield Trial (RYT). Based on morpho-agronomic trait performance, the transgenic plants tended to head later than the control. Culm length was similar to the wild-type Dongjin but the panicle length was relatively reduced. In case of panicle number, transgenic lines showed a little increment compared to wild-type. The shape of grain was nearly the same to wild-type. Yield among lines showed a little difference but was statistically not significant. In terms of physiochemical property of the grain, the transgenic lines showed higher amylose content than the wild-type. When OgPR1-expressing transgenic rice plants were tested against rice blast disease, an enhanced resistance against the disease was observed in the transgenic plants.

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