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ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Plant Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #100524
Title: GENOTYPIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION IN SOYBEAN SEED CELL WALL POLYSACCHARIDES

Author
item STOMBAUGH, SUSAN - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item Jung, Hans Joachim
item ORF, JAMES - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item SOMERS, DAVID - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/3/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Soybeans are the major source of vegetable oil production in the U.S., and the soybean meal remaining after oil extraction is the most important protein supplement feedstuff used in livestock production. Soybean breeders have been selecting the crop for increased production of oil and protein to increase its economic worth. Cell wall polysaccharides are the other major component of soybeans, and this part of the crop is of limited feeding value. Selection of soybeans for reduced amounts of cell wall polysaccharides may increase oil and protein production; however, little is known about the degree of genetic variation that exists in soybeans for cell wall polysaccharides. We found that cell wall polysaccharide content varied among 14 soybean cultivars and that growth environment did not influence the amount of cell wall polysaccharides in soybeans. The soybean hull (seed coat) accounted for most of the cell wall polysaccharides in soybean seeds, and the type of cell wall polysaccharides in the hull were the less digestible ones. Our results indicate that it should be possible for plant breeders to develop soybean cultivars with reduced levels of cell wall polysaccharides in soybeans and increase oil and protein yield from this important crop.

Technical Abstract: Genotypic and environmental effects on soybean [G1ycine max (L.) Merr.] seed cell wall polysaccharides need to be determined to provide information for plant breeding. Correlations between seed cell wall polysaccharides (CWP), protein, and oil concentration would indicate whether reduced CWP corresponds to increased protein or oil. We used the Uppsala total dietary yfiber method to quantify monosaccharides of CWP in soybean seeds. CWP concentration of whole seed varied from 158 to 176 g/kg dry matter. Genotypic but not environmental effects were significant for total CWP concentration. Genotypic and environmental effects were present for individual monosaccharide concentrations. Seed coats and cotyledons were separated to analyze the contribution of each fraction to the composition of soybean seed CWP. Glucose plus xylose constituted 34.8 and 20.5 g/kg of the whole seed dry matter in seed coat and cotyledon, respectively. Pectin naccounted for 14.6 and 80.8 g/kg of the whole seed dry matter in seed coat and cotyledon, respectively. The correlation between CWP concentration and protein plus oil concentration was r = -0.724, which suggests that an increase in protein plus oil content is associated with a reduction of CWP concentration. Genotypic variation for CWP concentration was mostly in cotyledon and not seed coat indicating that decreased CWP in cotyledon would likely result in increased protein and oil. The genotypic variation observed suggests that it is possible to breed for reduced CWP. However, genotypic variation for some monosaccharides was limited, suggesting that other methods of genetic manipulation may be more efficient in reducing these monosaccharides.