By Brian Consiglio
Beneath the surface of soybean fields, an invisible threat is costing farmers billions. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri are uncovering how nature itself may hold the key to fighting back.
The soybean cyst nematode — a microscopic worm that attacks plant roots and siphons off nutrients — devastates soybean yield worldwide, leaving crops stunted, weakened and prematurely yellow.
A new study led by Mizzou researchers reveals how a naturally occurring mutation impacts a soybean plant’s ability to fend off the nematode, offering a potential target for developing more pest-resistant soybeans.
Scientists first identified the mutation — located in a soybean enzyme called SHMT8 — more than a decade ago. The Mizzou team has been able to visualize the makeup of the enzyme at an unprecedented level of detail thanks to the university’s high-powered electron microscopes.
In the recent study, Lesa Beamer, a professor of biochemistry in the School of Medicine and College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, and Vindya Samarakoon, a doctoral student in the College of Arts and Science, discovered that the mutated version of this enzyme has a structure made up of just two protein pieces rather than its typical four-piece structure.
Source : missouri.edu