ABSTRACT
Soybean is a very important crop agronomically. It is a good source of both protein (40%) and oil (20%). In addition to human consumption, soybean is a major protein source of animal feeds. Soybean is also becoming a major crop for biodiesel production. Despite the economic importance of this legume, the molecular basis of physiological processes controlling these important traits are still largely unknown. Several factors contributed to this slow progress. Until very recently, the genome sequence of soybean was unavailable. Transformation in soybean is lengthy and difficult to apply for large scale functional analyses of genes. Likewise, suitable active endogenous transposable elements for studying gene functions have not been reported. It is an ancient tetraploid and thus has many duplicated genes. The polyploid nature of soybean makes the genetic studies difficult.
