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New Research
Positions Goal is Increased Value from SoybeansBy Kim Kaplan November 27, 2001Taking a high-tech approach to
improving basic soybean traits is the idea behind the
Agricultural Research Service joining
forces with the Donald Danforth Plant
Science Center in St. Louis, Mo. ARS has created two scientist positions at the St. Louis center with about
$538,000 in new research funds to develop methods to improve soybean
productivity and the value of soybean protein and oil. Increases in soybean yield have historically lagged behind those of other
crops. During the past 40 years, wheat yields have increased 115 percent and
corn yields have gone up 168 percent, while soybean yields have increased only
42 percent. Improving protein and oil content at the same time as increasing overall
soybean yield has been especially difficult. But modern, high-technology
approaches using structural and functional genomics--gene expression--could
identify new pathways for improvements. The Danforth Center, known as a world-class research facility, has recruited
an extraordinary group of scientific leaders to serve as its principal
investigators. By creating the new research positions at the Danforth Center, ARS will be
able to take advantage of special opportunities for collaborating with
scientists who are among the best and most original in the field of plant
genomics. ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture |