Gene Expression Related to Physiological Quality of Soybean Seeds

Production of soybeans with high physiological quality is important to ensure the productivity of improved plant populations. The objective of this work was to select soybean genotypes for high physiological quality of seeds, through germination and vigor tests, and to study gene expression by transcripts and proteins. In a first trial, seeds of 12 soybean cultivars were evaluated and selected six cultivars with contrasting physiological quality levels. At the protein level, the isoenzyme systems alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), isocitrate lyase (ICL), esterase (EST), glutamate oxaloacetate transferase (GOT), and heat-resistant proteins were evaluated. For the transcript levels, the real-time PCR technique (qRT-PCR) was used, and the genes coding for the SOD, CAT, MDH, PGI, ICL and PRX enzymes were studied. The germination and vigor tests classified the seeds of cultivars CD201, CA115 and MS8400 as high quality, while the cultivars Syn1263, Syn1279 and CD202 were classified as of low quality. The enzymes involved in the process such as dehydrogenase and phosphoglucose isomerase, are promising markers for assessing the physiological quality of soybean seeds. Higher expression of peroxiredoxin enzyme is related to the low physiological quality of soybean seeds.