Retention of chlorophyll in soybean seeds (Glycine max (L.) Merr.): physiological, biochemical and molecular studies

• Grant number: 10/20263-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: March 01, 2011 - February 28, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Edvaldo Aparecido Amaral da Silva
• Grantee: Edvaldo Aparecido Amaral da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Cláudio Cavariani ; Henk W.M.Hilhorst ; Renake Nogueira Teixeira

Abstract

The retention of chlorophyll has affected the production of soybean in Brazil, mainly in the Cerrado biome. As a result, there has been a reduction in the quality of the lots, evidenced by a decline in germination and vigor, with losses in the establishment of appropriate plant population. Besides affecting the physiological quality of seeds, the presence of chlorophyll also has negative effects on the quality of the extracted oil. The chlorophyll degradation occurs naturally at the final stages of seed development. However this degradation is affected by maturity, by the drying conditions, application of chemical desiccants and climatic conditions, especially during periods of reserve accumulation and seed maturation. Despite the importance of the disappearance of chlorophyll in the seeds, knowledge about the mechanism of chlorophyll degradation is scarce. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of environment (high temperature and drought stress) in the expression of genes related to chlorophyll degradation and retention in mature soybean seeds. The research project will be performed at the Experimental Farm Lageado FCA / UNESP - Botucatu, SP, in three phases. In the first phase the seeds will be produced under water and temperature stress. Harvested seed will be characterized as the water content, the rate of chlorophyll retention, the chlorophyll content and the seed quality will be assessed by tests of germination and vigor tests. In the second phase, molecular studies will be performed through RNA extraction , construction of cDNA and hybridization in soybean microarrays (Affymetrix), that will be performed by the Molecular Core (UNIFESP). In the third phase, microarray analysis will be done and will be selected key genes involved in chlorophyll retention, followed by validation of these genes by real time PCR. The data will be subjected to analysis of variance. The averages obtained in the physiological studies will be compared to a same cultivar and between cultivars, by Tukey Test at 5% probability. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TEIXEIRA, RENAKE N.; LIGTERINK, WILCO; FRANCA-NETO, JOSE DE B.; HILHORST, HENK W. M.; DA SILVA, EDVALDO A. A.. Gene expression profiling of the green seed problem in Soybean. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY, v. 16, FEB 1 2016. (10/19878-8, 10/20263-8, 12/09453-5)