China is where the soybean (Glycine max), a member of the Fabaceae family, first appeared. Soybeans come in over 23,000 distinct types, domesticated in China and Asia before being brought to the USA and Brazil. Soybeans are a highly significant legume that is consumed all over the world due to their high protein content.
They are most often used in Indonesian, Korean, and Japanese cuisine. Typically, soybeans are sprouted for use in salads or fermented to provide distinctive ethnic meals or culinary components. In Japan, soybeans are widely consumed as a snack with beer after being fried for around five minutes. Many countries in East Asia manufacture tofu, a meat substitute that is high in protein.
In Indonesia, soybeans are fermented with a food-grade fungus caused by Rhizopus organisms to create tempeh, a meat substitute that is high in protein Due to their high protein content, soybeans are also a major commodity in the food, fuel, and fishing sectors. A significant crop that is grown for both food and fuel is soybean. Its protein level (40–42%) is the greatest of any food crop, and its oil content (18–22%) is second only to peanuts among edible legumes.
Implementation of CRISPR/CAS9 in Soybean:
CRISPR/Cas9 was first employed in 2015. After the initial attempts were executed successfully, several researchers began to apply this technology for the modification of soybean genes for research and development and produced outstanding progress. By focusing on mutagenesis and both its qualitative and quantitative qualities, this method has a great deal of promise to enhance the soybean.
Plant Architecture Changes:
Exceptional plant structure is essential for increased output. Ideotype is a quality that is required for excellent yielding, and the soybean cultivar’s growing environment determines how it will behave. In this manner, editing modifies genes like GmLHY that are connected by gibberellic acid.
Enhancing Quality:
In the instance of soybean quality enhancement, which is explained below, CRISPR is unavoidably involved.
Increasing the sweetness of seeds:
For the quality of the seed, soluble sugar content, amino acid content, and mineral nutrition are crucial. GmSWEET10a and GmSWEET10b evaluate the soybean’s protein, oil quality, and seed size all at once. These two genes also monitor how much sugar is allocated to the seed coat and embryo Compared to Arabidopsis, soybean has a substantially bigger seed and a much higher sugar need. Because of this, even little alterations in their sugar concentration will have a significant impact on seed growth.
Reducing the noxious flavor of seed beans.
Large amounts of protein are present in soybeans. Additionally, it has a unique taste similar to soy flavor, which hinders the acceptability of soybean and its products for humans on a broad scale. The Lox1, Lox2, and Lox3 genes supervise or regulate the activity of three lipoxygenases in soybean. The oxidation of linoleic acid and linolenic acid depends on this lipoxygenase. They, therefore, give soybeans a grassy and beany flavor and its offshoots. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology can produce soybean lines without Lipoxygenase being used to alter GmLox1 in any way genes GmLox2, and GmLox3. They might be utilized to lessen the taste of beany in soybeans.
Production of the allergy-friendly soybean crop:
Gly m Bd 30 K (P34), an immunodominant protein, has already been discovered. Replicating low-P34 soybean germplasm was another attempt to create hypoallergenic soybeans for human consumption. People who are allergic to soybeans have had their serum tested and fifteen distinct proteins have been found. Three key allergenic proteins in soybeans—Gly m Bd 60 K, Gly m Bd 30 K, and Gly m Bd 28 K—have been found. The Gly m Bd 30 K and Gly m Bd 28 K genes in soybean plants were modified using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to make them hypoallergenic. High concentrations of each allergen were not stored in the seeds of mutant soybean plants. Immunodominant protein in mutant soybean seeds identified.
Abiotic factors:
Salt, drought, heat, floods, or a lack of water have also had an impact on soybean productivity According to estimates, salt and drought can cause yields to decline by more than 50%, costing soybean farmers and producers 57 million USD in lost crops per year [65]. To get around this limitation, researchers have been working to identify key genes involved in the abiotic stress response system. Researchers studying soybeans have utilized CRISPR/Cas9 to examine the function of stress-related genes in an effort to increase their tolerance to salt and drought.
Viral defense
The fatal illness The soybean mosaic virus (SMV) has significantly decreased soybean production Three isoflavonoids synthesizing genes (GmFNSII-1, GmF3H2, and GmF3H1) were simultaneously targeted in soybean root hair and plants using CRISPR/Cas9, which increased the content of isoflavones in the seeds and leaves of mutant soybean plants High isoflavone content soybean plants have demonstrated strong resistance to the SC7 strain of the soybean mosaic virus Triple mutants had decreased levels of SMV coat protein following infection with strain SC7.
Development of sterile male lines:
Crop genetic improvement may be accomplished extremely effectively through heterosis breeding When one or more features of a heterozygous offspring are better than those of both of its homozygous parents, this phenomenon is known as heterosis (hybrid vigour) Male sterility is crucial for the creation of hybrid seeds Using AMS homologs and targeted mutagenesis, male sterile lines of soybeans were created for the first time in the plant’s history.
Soybeans with the GmAMS1 mutation were male-sterile. This gene increases the generation of soybean pollen. The MS1 gene was successfully modified by researchers using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to produce soybean male sterile lines. These male sterile lines are used to produce out-crossing soybean populations.
Resistance to disease:
Plant diseases have had a significant influence on soybean quality and productivity. 33% of economic losses in soybean crops per hectare have, on average, been attributed to the soybean cyst nematode and charcoal rot The CRISPR/Cas9 technique has offered new information on the creation of disease-resistant soybean. This strategy has resulted in a number of successful results in a range of crops In order to create resistance to certain diseases, this technique targets the plant genome. Plant pathogen defenses must be developed, or the host. Although nothing is known about how CRISPR/Cas9 might improve pathogens in soybean, the technology can modify pathogen resistance in the plant.
Resistance to nematodes:
The nucleotide-binding-site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) family of genes includes responsibility for the exceedingly specific pathogenic effectors that elicit effector-triggered immunity. Tandemly duplicated NBDLRR sequences in plants can be recombined to provide new disease resistance. They were successful in preventing the spread of Phakopsora pachyrhizi in soybean, and Phytophthora sojae aids in the spread of soybean rust. The method was utilized to produce rearrangements by targeted chromosomal breakage in order to find new resistance genes. The soybean NBS-LRR families Rpp1L and Rps1 were chosen, and specific alterations in the Rpp1L and Rps1 clusters were produced using double-stranded breaks (DSB) and fixing using CRISPR/Cas9. This unique coupling may lead to the development of new disease-fighting abilities.
Conclusion:
For example, CRISPR-based technologies have been developed to provide good tools for soybean enhancement. Several reports on the efficient application of CRISPR/Cas9 have been provided. Research on complex gene activity in soybeans may advance as a result of CRISPR/Cas9 advancements, the development of tools, and Cas variants. Quality, yield, and soy’s ability to fend against biotic and abiotic stresses have all been studied. The process was enhanced. Recent high oleic soybean field studies based on TALENs have demonstrated the potential of the crop.
