Abstract
Biotechnology can contribute to solving agricultural problems by providing the means to probe the organization and function of plant genomes. One major question is why certain genes are expressed only in particular plant tissues and at specific times during development. This knowledge is essential for creating improved varieties by genetic engineering. Some current research aimed at using gene transfer to study the developmental regulation of plant genes is discussed. Our specific approach to this goal is to examine the expression of a developmentally regulated soybean gene which produces seed lectin only during embryo formation. Before genes of agronomic significance can be manipulated by genetic engineering, they must be identified and isolated. Knowledge of the genes and biochemical pathways that control most plant traits of agronomic importance is very limited. In this regard, the use of transposons to isolate or tag genes whose protein products are unknown holds promise. While a large amount of work exists on transposable elements in Zea mays, little is known in soybean. We describe an element, Tgml, that interrupts the soybean lectin gene and blocks its expression. Tgml has a familial relationship to the En/Spm transposable element of maize. Attempts to correlate the soybean element to other mutable traits or mutations in soybean are described.
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© 1986 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht
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Vodkin, L.O., Rhodes, P.R., Chandlee, J.M., Harding, R.W. (1986). Lectin genes and a transposable element in soybean. In: Augustine, P.C., Danforth, H.D., Bakst, M.R. (eds) Biotechnology for Solving Agricultural Problems. Beltsville Symposia in Agricultural Research, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4396-4_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4396-4_7
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