By Zhang Nannan
Domestic soybeans serve as an important source of healthy edible plant oil and high-quality plant protein in our food culture. In addition to the well-known components of oil (approximately 20%), protein (approximately 40%), and carbohydrates (approximately 30%), soybean seeds also contain a range of specialized metabolites that promote human health. For example, soyasaponins, which make up 0.5–6.5% of the seed, and isoflavonoids, which make up 0.01–0.5%, are critical for promoting human health.
A research team led by Dr. Wang Guodong from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) used gene co-expression analysis to identify GmMATE100 as a candidate gene for soyasaponin transport among 117 members of the Multidrug and Toxic Compound Extrusion (MATE) transporter family in the soybean genome.
The study, titled "GmMATE100 is involved in the import of soyasaponins A and B into vacuoles in soybean plants (Glycine max L.)," was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry on April 22.
Subcellular localization experiments showed that GmMATE100 is localized to the vacuolar membrane in both plant and yeast cells. In vitro yeast transport assays revealed that GmMATE100 has activity in transporting both type A and type B soyasaponins, but is unable to transport the soyasaponin precursor, soyasapogenol.
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