This research was conducted to evaluate methods of enhancing the waterlogging resistance of soybean plant. Thus, we applied seven types of plant growth regulators (PGRs) to soybean plants and exposed them to waterlogged conditions for a total of 14 days. To evaluate stress resistance, we monitored plant growth characteristics data such as height, chlorophyll content, and chlorophyll fluorescence for 28 days after the initial waterlogging (14 days under waterlogging conditions and 14 days after waterlogging). According to the results, plant height was significantly increased by gibberellin A4 (GA4) treatment compared to the control treatment and waterlogging-only treatment. However, we could not detect plant height owing to plant death when we applied abscisic acid (ABA). Except for GA4 and ABA treatments, plant heights slightly decreased in all treatments compared to the waterlogging-only treatment. The chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence showed a similar tendency among PGR treatments. The chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence were significantly increased by ethephon and kinetin treatments 28 days after waterlogging compared to the waterlogging-only treatment. Consequently, kinetin and ethephon treatments induced more resistant phenotypes in soybean plants during or after exposure to waterlogging conditions.

The plant-specific NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC)-domain proteins play important roles in plant development and stress responses. Comparative time-course expression analyses were carried out to analyze the expression levels of 62 soybean NAC genes during drought stress in order to search for the stress-inducible NAC genes. Ten GmSNAC (Glycine max stress-inducible NAC) genes having the significant differential expression in response to the drought stress and abscisic acid (ABA) hormone application were further investigated for their expression profiles with various stresses such as drought, high salinity, cold and with ABA treatments by the quantitative real-time PCR analyses. In this research, the full-length cDNAs of eight GmSNAC were isolated for the further studies. Eight GmSNAC proteins were tested for their transcription activation in the yeast assay system. Two GmSNAC proteins showed the very high transcriptional activities and the other two GmSNAC proteins displayed moderate levels of transactivation while the remaining four GmSNAC proteins lacked transactivation in yeast. Subcellular localization of eight GmSNAC proteins was analyzed via the green fluorescent protein-GmSNAC fusion protein in tobacco plant cell. Three GmSNAC proteins with the C-terminal transmembrane domain were localized to the nucleus and cytoplasmic fractions. The other five GmSNAC proteins were targeted to the nucleus. The function of GmSNAC49 gene was further investigated using the overexpression transgenic Arabidopsis. Germination rate in transgenic plants over-expressing GmSNAC49 was delayed in the media supplemented with mannitol or ABA compared with that of wild-type (WT) plants. The 35S:GmSNAC49 transgenic Arabidopsis displayed improved tolerance to drought stress compared to the WT. The results of this systematic analysis of the GmSNAC family responsive to abiotic stress will provide novel tools and resources for the development of improved drought tolerant transgenic soybean cultivars

Comparative time-course expression analyses were carried out to analyze the expression levels of 60 soybean WRKY genes during abiotic stress in order to search for the stress-inducible WRKY genes. Five GmWRKY(Glycine max WKRY) genes having the significant differential expression in response to the drought stress and abscisic acid(ABA) hormone application were further investigated for their expression profiles with various stresses such as drought, high salinity, cold and with ABA treatments by the quantitative real-time PCR analyses. In this research, the full-length cDNAs of five GmWRKY were isolated for the further studies. Five GmWRKY proteins were tested for their transcription activation in the yeast assay system. GmWRKY3 proteins showed the very high transcriptional activities and the other two GmWRKY proteins displayed moderate levels of transactivation while the remaining two GmWRKY proteins lacked transactivation in yeast. Subcellular localization of five GmWRKY proteins was analyzed via the green fluorescent protein-GmWRKY fusion protein in tobacco plant cell and all of GmWRKY proteins were targeted to the nucleus. In order to analyze the function of GmWRKY genes in plant, 35S:GmWRKY overexpression(OE) transgenic Arabidopsis were generated. Root growth and germination rates in transgenic OE plants were investigated in the media supplemented with mannitol, NaCl or ABA compared with that of wild-type(WT) plants. The 35S:GmWRKY42 transgenic Arabidopsis displayed reduced tolerance to drought stress compared to the WT. The results of this systematic analysis of the GmWRKY family responsive to abiotic stress will provide novel tools and resources for the development of improved drought tolerant transgenic soybean cultivars

The purpose of this study was to establish a system for plant fluorescence image acquisition and to verify the possibility of plant fluorescence image analysis as a non-destructive method to screen the salt tolerance of soybean (Glycine max). Two-weeks-old seedlings of soybean at the V1 growth stage were treated with 0, 50, and 100 mM of NaCl for salt stress and plant fluorescence images were taken by CCD camera (EOS-600D, Canon, Japan) equipped with band pass filter (XNiteBPB, LPD LLC, USA) at 0, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 240 second after blue light exposure at 1 day after treatment. Red color intensity was extracted using MatLab 8.1 (The MathWorks Inc., USA) for estimation of plant fluorescence intensity. Red color intensity of soybean image decreased 0 (F0-10) to 240 (F240-250) second after blue light exposure irrespective of NaCl concentration, while F0-10/F240-250 decreased with NaCl concentration, resulting in significant relationship with plant fluorescence (Fv/Fm) and salt stress intensity. Therefore, our results suggest that our plant fluorescence image acquisition and analysis methods can be a part of high-throughput screening system for salt tolerance of soybean varieties

This study was conducted to investigate plant body temperature response of soybean (Glycine max) to saline stress. Two-weeks-old seedlings of soybean in V1 growth stage were treated with 0, 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 mM of NaCl for salt stress. Thermal images acquired using Flir T-420 (US) were obtained at 4 days after treatment. Soybean leaf temperature increased with increasing NaCl concentration, resulting in significant positive correlation between soybean leaf temperature and stress intensity (P < 0.01). Leaf temperature of soybean was significantly different at 160 mM of NaCl, where no visual symptom was observed. Therefore, soybean leaf temperature can be used for evaluating the response of soybean to salt stress as a non-destructive and phenomic parameter. Non-destructive diagnosis of soybean leaf temperature may be a key parameter in a high throughput screening (HTS) system in breeding program for salt stress tolerance soybean cultivars.

Global warming means not only increase in average air temperature but also increase in frequency of extreme weathers such as extremely high temperature over 45oC. Crops are generally sensitive to high temperature during their reproductive growth stage. This experiment was thus conducted to investgate physiological responses of rice (Oryza sativa cv. Chucheong) and soybean (Glycine max cv. Sinpaldal) to high temperature (HT) stress at their reproductive stage. Rice and soybean were exposed to different degrees of high temperature stress by keeping them in a growth cabinet deisnged to maintain air temperature up to 45oC for at least 5 hours in a day for different durations, 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 days. HT stress treatment delayed heading and flowering of rice and increased the sterility of its' main panicle with increasing duration of HT treatment; 19.7 43.4, 68.1, 81.5 and 91.1% at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 days HT treatment, respectively. Increasing sterility due to HT treatment thus resulted in significant rice yield loss; 5.07 4.27, 4.32, 4.51 and 3.62 g/plant at 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 days of HT treatment, respectively. Soybean was also significantly affected by HT stress in its pod formation and sterility, particularly along the vertical stem. Increasing pod sterility with increasing HT treatemnt thus resulted in significant soybean yield loss.