Food processors in the United States want a soybean with less saturated fat -- and more protein would be an added bonus.
University of Tennessee researcher Vince Pantalone wants to grow it for them.
Pantalone, assistant professor in the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture department of plant and soil sciences, is heading a team of 10 people working to breed a better soybean for distribution by U.S. processors. About 46 percent of the soybeans used for oilseed production worldwide are grown in the United States.
"Low saturated fat is one of the most desirable things processors have requested of soybean breeders," Pantalone said. "It's very marketable. It's what consumers want."
Pantalone and his colleagues are also seeking an even higher level of protein in the already rich plant.
"Soybeans are the most well-balanced plant protein food in the world," Pantalone said, "but it can still be improved."
The Tennessee team, like other researchers across the nation, needs to produce a new soybean that meets these needs but still has a high yield and can resist diseases. Otherwise, it's not profitable for growers to plant them.
It's not an easy job, said Pantalone, who has been working with soybeans since 1986. The researchers first found that raising the soybeans' protein level lowered the yield. They must overcome that before the new soybean is a viable crop.
"The farmer doesn't get paid on the seed traits," Pantalone said. "The farmer gets paid on the volume he brings to market. In my opinion, we always have to pay attention to the yield."
So the researchers are looking for molecular markers to track the plant's genes that are responsible for protein and oil. By collecting and studying plant tissue and DNA, they can determine what traits to look for in the parent plants that will be used to produce a new plant.
Once they find parents, since the soybean plant is self-pollinating, the researchers pull back the outer tissues of the flower of one plant and snip off its male parts before it has a chance to pollinate the female part. They then go to the second parent plant, from which they remove pollen and then use it to "impregnate" the first plant.
The mother plants are marked with jeweler's tags, and when the hybrid seed pods appear, the researchers plant the seeds and wait for harvest.
The process is "finding one in thousands," Pantalone said.
But it's paid off. The UT researchers have developed a line of soybeans that contains less than 4 percent palmitic acid, the more prevalent of the two types of saturated fat in soybeans. Soybeans now average 10 to 12 percent palmitic acid. The Food and Drug Administration allows food -- including soybeans -- with less than 7 percent saturated fat to be labeled low-fat.
Cooperative researchers at the University of North Carolina, with whom Pantalone has worked, expect to release this year a soybean with less than 4 percent palmitic acid. University of Tennessee researchers won't have one quite that quickly, Pantalone said, though they're making progress.
"We're really excited about the first year's data," Pantalone said. However, he said, "we're going to need several years to develop something I think is good for Tennessee environments."
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