Nguyen Lab publishes paper on Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN).

A paper on soybean cyst nematode (SCN) has been published in the Theoretical and Applied Genetics (TAG) journal this month. The paper titled "Novel quantitative trait loci for broad-based resistance to soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) in soybean PI 567516C" discusses novel quantitative trait loci (QTL) that show resistance to multiple-SCN HG types. This research was conducted in collaboration with Drs. Sleper and Shannon at the University of Missouri.

Former Graduate Student Publishes Paper on Isoflavones.

Juan Gutierrez-Gonazalez, a former graduate student in the lab, has a paper published in BMC Plant Biology. The paper titled "Intricate environment-modulated genetic networks control isoflavone accumulation in soybean seeds" discusses new findings of QTL regions and epistatic interactions controlling accumulation of various isoflavones in seed.

LS UROP Summer Intern Joins the Lab.

Julianna Poole joined the lab as part of the Life Science Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (LS UROP). During her summer internship, she will be conducting research and will present a poster at the Summer Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievements Forum on July 29th. Julianna is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Microbiology from Ohio State University.

Nguyen Lab featured on KOMU News.

KOMU News featured the Nguyen Lab in a story that was broadcast on May 23, 2010. The story, titled "Soybean Research Could End Farmer's Guessing Game", was reported by Jessie Fowbie. Dr. Nguyen discusses how current research will positively affect farmers in the field. View the story online at KOMU here.

Dr. Nguyen gives Invited Talk at the AOCS Annual Meeting.

Dr. Henry Nguyen attended the 101st American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) Annual Meeting and Expo as an invited speaker in the Biotechnology Session. The meeting was held in Phoenix, Arizona, from May 16-19, 2010. The workshop, titled "Designing Soybeans for 21st Century Markets", was sponsored by the United Soybean Board and was chaired by Dr. Richard Wilson. The title of Dr. Nguyen's talk was "Biological Mechanisms that Influence Soy Protein Concentration and Composition".

Dr. Vuong is co-author on Soybean Rust Publication.

Tri Vuong is a co-author on the publication titled Evaluation of soybean for resistance to soybean rust in Vietnam. The paper was published in the May, 2010, edition of the Field Crops Research journal. The paper highlights Vietnam field evaluations completed on different soybean germplasm lines to discover new sources of resistance to Soybean rust, caused by Phakopsora pachyrhizi Sydow.

Mexico Plant Science Center Ground Breaking Ceremony.

Members of the Nguyen Lab attended the Mexico Plant Science Center Ground Breaking Ceremony on April 26, 2010. Those attending were Henry Nguyen, Babu Valliyodan, Tri Vuong, and Theresa Musket. The ground breaking marks the beginning of a partnership between the University of Missouri, the City of Mexico, Missouri, and the Missouri Technology Corporation. More information is available from the City of Mexico and from the National Center for Soybean Biotechnology.

Truyen Quach wins Honorable Mention during the Missouri Life Sciences Week.

Truyen Quach, a graduate student in Dr. Henry Nguyen's laboratory is one of several prize-winners in the annual poster competition that is held during the Missouri Life Sciences Week at the University of Missouri. Truyen won honorable mention in the category of Genetics, Environment, and Evolution for his poster on transcription factors.

Vietnam Assembly visits the University of Missouri.

Members of the Vietnam National Assembly visited the University of Missouri as one stop in their tour of the United States. While on campus, the members of the Science, Technology, and Environment Committee met with leaders in Research, Food Safety, and Biotechnology including Henry Nguyen. They toured the campus and visited several research facilities on campus. Their visit to campus was sponsored by the University of Missouri Vietnam Institute.

Nguyen Lab participates in the 6th Annual Soybean Biotechnology Symposium.

Nguyen Lab members participated in the 6th Annual Soybean Biotechnology Symposium held on April 7, 2010, in the Bond Life Sciences Center. The Symposium, sponsored by the National Center for Soybean Biotechnology, included opening remarks by Missouri Senator Christopher Bond, guest speakers, a poster session, and a reception.

Nguyen Lab hosts Ukraine Biotechnology Group.

The Nguyen Lab hosted six members of the Ukraine Biotechnology Group on March 30, 2010. The group toured the Molecular Genetics & Soybean Genomics Laboratory and the Seed Composition Facilities at the National Center for Soybean Biotechnology. They also learned about biotechnology techniques used in the laboratory. During their visit to the University of Missouri (MU), the group also met with faculty and staff in the Bond Life Sciences Center. They also visited with scientists at Syngenta, Monsanto, and the Danforth Plant Sciences Center in St. Louis.

The group spent a total of nine days in Missouri learning about different aspects of plant biotechnology; from the lab, to the field, to the marketplace. They were especially interested in how our federal and state regulations work and in what ways the regulations impact how scientific research is conducted. The group had in-depth discussions with economists at MU regarding the economics of biotech regulations in the U.S. and international commerce. The objective of this USDA Cochran Fellows program, which covered the expenses of the Ukrainian’s visit, was to give the guests an in-depth understanding of the scope of biotech regulations in the U.S. and help them appreciate the biosafety factors that are built into our system from the initial biotech events to the delivery of food and feed products in national and international markets.

Nguyen Lab member visits the IPK in Gatersleben, Germany.

Theresa Musket visited the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben, Germany, from March 12-25, 2010. During her visit, which included research discussions on plant drought and phenotyping studies, Theresa toured their campus and saw the new greenhouse and growth chamber facilities which include a LemnaTech System being used for barley drought studies, the intallation of a LemnaTech System for Arabidiposis, and the new greenhouse currently being built which will house a LemnaTech System for maize. Theresa also toured the GenBank facility and learned how they handle the labelling and storage of seeds for approximately 148,000 plant species.

Nguyen Lab hosts two Visiting Scholars.

The Nguyen Lab is hosting two International Visiting Scholars from Vietnam. Phuong Cung and Ly Tran arrived on March 1st to begin their 6 month training in the area of Molecular Biology. They will learn new techniques and skills that they will use once they return to the University of Science in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Missouri Soybean Farmer Magazine Cover Story.

Professors Henry Nguyen and J. Grover Shannon were featured on the cover of the Missouri Soybean Farmer in the March, 2010 edition. The related cover story titled "Checkoff Funds Help Sequence Soybean Genome" discusses how the release of the soybean sequence will benefit Missouri farmers. With the new knowledge and changing technologies now possible to enhance breeding, the number of years to release new varieties will be greatly reduced.

Soybean Breeder' Workshop.

Several members of the Nguyen Lab attended the annual Soybean Breeder's Workshop held in St. Louis, Missouri, from February 21-24, 2010. Henry Nguyen, Xiaolei Wu, Tri Vuong, Theresa Musket, and Jill Leroy participated in the United Soybean Board's Oil Quality and SCN annual research update reports. They also attended the Public Breeder Coordination Session and the Plant Pathology General Session parts of the workshop.

Henry Nguyen featured on KOMU News.

Henry Nguyen was recently featured in a television news story titled "MU Researchers Map Soybean Genome" covered by KOMU News. The story discusses how the release of the soybean sequence will ultimately help to produce soybeans with "higher-yield for Missouri farmers and better nutrition for soybean-eaters everywhere". See the complete story at this KOMU News Link.

Nguyen Lab Member Receives Speaker Invitation for PAG.

Babu Valliyodan was invited to speak at this year's Plant and Animal Genome Conference (PAG) in San Diego, California. The conference, held in January every year, brings together both plant and animal researchers from all over the world to discuss the newest advancements in scientific research. Babu gave a presentation titled "Protein and Metabolite Changes Under Water Deficits in Soybean Roots" during the Root Genomics Workshop.

A Big Advance for the Little Soybean - Mapping the plant's genetic code could yield healthier and more plentiful food.

While it probably won't get the attention that the human genome, cow genome or even the cat genome got, the identification of the 46,000+ genes in the soybean genome could be a big deal in a world hungry for more and better food, a cleaner environment and better products.

As announced in the January issue of Nature magazine, a team of scientists including members of The National Center for Soybean Biotechnology at the University of MissouriCollege of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, announced that they have identified the location of approximately 1.1 billion base pairs in the soybean. In comparison, the human genome has approximately 3 billion base pairs.

Soybeans are one of the most important crop plants for their protein and oil, representing an almost $30 billion industry in the U.S. The plant is a significant foodstuff in most of the world and the leading animal feed in the U.S. It also is used in the manufacture of plastics, hydraulic oil and cleaning products.

Improved versions of these legumes, based on precise genetic information, could create more food that can be grown in more areas, as well as expand the soybean's already impressive list of uses. Improved soybean oil used in deep frying could make French fries less of a risk for increasing cholesterol in people and positively impact the epidemic of obesity.

A better understanding of soybean characteristics couldn't have come at a better time as soybeans are entering a new area of bio-diesel as a cleaner-burning alternative to petroleum. Given the soybean's known ability to capture and sequester carbon in the atmosphere and turning it into protein and oil, the soybean may become an important method of achieving environmental balance.

Henry Nguyen, director of the center, said the genome sequence will be a new tool for plant breeders, industrial engineers, geneticists, biochemists and technologists, nutritionalists and others who use soybeans. The genome team has identified more than 90 distinct traits that affect plant development, productive characteristics, disease resistance, seed quality and nutritional traits.

"Perhaps the most exciting thing that we have found for the soybean community is the gene that confirms resistance to the devastating Asian Soybean Rust disease," Nguyen said. "In countries where this rust is well established, soybean losses can range from 10 to 80 percent. Improved soybean strains resistant to the disease will greatly benefit production and increase foodstuffs around the world."

With knowledge of what gene controls what soybean trait, scientists may be able to better adapt the plant to drought conditions, bringing a new cash crop and food product to poor areas of the Earth.

A Joint Effort

Gary Stacey, associate director of the MU center, initiated the project in 2007 through discussions with the Joint Genome Institute in California that is funded by the Department of Energy.

"The completion of this large, demanding project was only possible through the concerted efforts of the entire soybean community," Stacey said. "Important contributions were made through state and national soybean checkoff organizations, such as the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and United Soybean Board, who funded some of the initial work. This foundation and the involvement of scientists at other universities, such as Stanford, Purdue and Iowa State, convinced the Department of Energy to fund the project."

The human genome project, largely completed in 2003, is helping scientists to understand how genes express themselves, leading to diseases and genetic mutations. The complete genomes are also known for E coli, puffer fish, the fruit fly and the laboratory mouse.

The soybean is the first legume species to get a complete genome sequence. The genomes of a few plants, including Arabidopsis thaliana, rice, and poplar, have been sequenced. The sequencing of economically important crop corn was also published recently.

Nguyen has already begun collaborating with animal science and nutrition experts to modify soybeans added to animal feeds that could increase the health value of meat. Specifically, he is looking at ways to impart isoflavones, known to decrease the frequency of cancer, and proteins from soybeans into the meat.

Small Bean, Big Economic Impact

People have been using soybeans for a long time. The annual plant has been used in China for 5,000 years to add nitrogen into the soil as part of crop rotation. Soybean meal has been a primary, low-cost protein for animal feeds for centuries. Soy vegetable oil has been consumed by people for a similar period. More recently, soybean derivatives have become a key component in industrial applications, particularly in paint, plastics, inks, solvents, cleaners and hydraulic fluid.

In 2009, approximately 74.7 million acres of soybeans were harvested in the U.S. yielding $29.6 billion in revenues for farmers. The economic impact of soybeans is second only to corn in the U.S. Missouri is number five in the country for soybean production, accounting for about $2 billion in sales.

From this harvest more than 18,753 million pounds of soybean oil was produced at about 32.16 cents per pound. More than 39,113,000 tons of soybean meal was produced at an average price of at $331.17 per ton. U.S. soybean exports were estimated at 1.1 billion bushels in 2009.

When processed, a 60-pound bushel will yield about 11 pounds of crude soybean oil and 47 pounds of soybean meal.

A particular area of growth for the bean is in energy. Soy biodiesel is cleaner burning than petroleum-based diesel oil. Its use reduces particulate emissions, and it's non-toxic, renewable and environmentally friendly.

Production of U.S. biodiesel form soybeans is expected to increase from approximately 413 million gallons in 2009 to 648 million gallons in 2019, according to the 2009 World Agricultural Outlook by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI).

U.S. soybean exports are 1.1 billion bushels per year and are expected to increase. Gross revenue is also expected to climb for American producers, according to FAPRI's 2009 Baseline Briefing Book.

Though a staple in the diets of many Asian countries, soybeans are not common on American tables except as oil. Ninety-eight percent of the U.S soybean crop is used for livestock feed and some dog foods. The nutritional benefits of the product are being slowly recognized. Soy-based infant formula is used for children allergic to cow milk proteins. Soy is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and isolfavones, and is credited with the ability to reduce serum cholesterol in humans.

Story by Randy Mertens
Read the FULL STORY from CAFNR.

Henry Nguyen received visiting professorship from the Vietnam National University.

Dr. Henry T. Nguyen was appointed as a visiting professor of biotechnology in the University of Science of the Vietnam National University (VNU) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The University of Missouri (MU) and VNU have an ongoing memorandum of understanding and agreement on educational and research collaborations.

Henry Nguyen appointed to the Editorial Board of Molecular Breeding.

Henry Nguyen was recently invited to join the editorial board of Molecular Breeding, an international journal focused on applications of plant molecular biology. Dr. Nguyen is currently serving on the editorial boards of Theoretical and Applied Genetics, International Journal of Plant Genomics, Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, and Tropical Plant Biology.

Dr. Henry Nguyen, Director of the National Center for Soybean Biotechnology at the University of Missouri, was recently elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).  Dr. Nguyen is being honored for his distinguished research contributions in plant genetics and genomics, as well as, for his national and international recognition of his research and leadership in plant abiotic stress, most notably in drought tolerance. The AAAS will present Dr. Nguyen the Fellow award at a formal ceremony in San Diego on February 20, 2010. Read the complete story by Audrey Clark.