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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Comparative analysis of nutritional composition of seeds of wild-type soybean and lines overexpressing GmWRI1a

Mingming Yang A # , Chao Yang A # , Qingyan Zhang A # , Meng Li A , Yuanzhuo Wang A , Ping Shang A , Baizheng Ren A , Zhaohui Zuo A , Siqi Xing A , Weili Teng A * and Zhikun Wang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6720-2545 A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Key Laboratory of Soybean Biology of Ministry of Education China/Key Laboratory of Soybean Biology and Breeding (Genetics) of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China.

# These authors contributed equally to this paper

Handling Editor: Marta Santalla

Crop & Pasture Science 74(4) 334-343 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP22161
Submitted: 7 January 2022  Accepted: 5 July 2022   Published: 8 August 2022

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context: With the widespread use of transgenic soybeans (Glycine max (L. ) Merr.), their nutritional assessment for human food and animal feed is an important aspect of safety evaluation. WRINKLED 1 (WRI1) is a transcriptional activator of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis.

Aims: We aimed to evaluate the effect of overexpression of GmWRI1a in soybean on the nutritional profile of soybean seeds.

Methods: Using molecular biology techniques, we identified three transgenic soybean lines stably overexpressing GmWRI1a (GmWRI1a-OE). We quantified the nutritional and anti-nutritional components in seeds of GmWRI1a-OE and wild-type (DN50) soybean, and compared them on the basis of the principle of substantial equivalence.

Key results: The GmWRI1a and Bar genes were stably inherited in the three GmWRI1a-OE lines, and GmWRI1a protein content was higher in transgenic soybean seeds than in wild-type seeds. Overexpression of GmWRI1a resulted in changes in fatty acid composition, a significant increase in oil content, and a significant decrease in stachyose content in seeds. Contents of other nutritional components (proximates, amino acids and isoflavones) and anti-nutritional factors (phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors and raffinose) in seeds were not significantly different between the wild-type and GmWRI1a-OE lines.

Conclusions: Contents of nutritional and anti-nutritional components of GmWRI1a-OE seeds were all within the reference ranges reported for commercially available soybeans and, therefore, are substantially equivalent to those of wild-type seeds.

Implications: GmWRI1a-OE soybean seeds are a high-quality product for health-conscious consumers.

Keywords: anti-nutritional component, GmWRI1a, nutritional component, oil content, overexpression, principle of substantial equivalence, seeds, transgenic soybean.


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