CertifiedMeatless keeps giving great information for Certifed Meatless Monday! This is some new information from the US Dept. of Agriculture:
Research Will Help Improve Soybeans and Other Legumes
WASHINGTON, January 13, 2010—U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists are part of a team that has sequenced the majority of the soybean genome, providing an unprecedented look into how this important legume crop converts four critical ingredients—sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen—into protein and oil, the basic building blocks for many consumer products. The research team from 18 federal, state, public and private organizations published their research today in the journal Nature.
“Soybean and other legumes play a critical role in global food security and human health and are used in a wide range of products, from tofu, soy flour, meat substitutes and soy milk to soy oil-based printing ink and biodiesel,” said Molly Jahn, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics. “This new information about soybean’s genetic makeup could lead to plants that produce more beans that contain more protein and oil, better adapt to adverse environmental conditions, or are more resistant to diseases.”
This sequencing of the soy genome is the culmination of more than 15 years of collaborative research. The team used a so-called “whole-genome shotgun” (WGS) approach to sequence 85 percent of the 1.1 billion nucleotide base pairs that spell out soy’s entire DNA code. The sequence also provides researchers with a critical reference to use in deciphering the genetics of some 20,000 other legume species.
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