The Iowa Soybean Research Center’s (ISRC) Industry Advisory Council (IAC) met on September 6, 2024, for its annual meeting to consider proposed soybean research ideas and offer guidance on how to best invest $393,795 in available new funding. 

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Dan Robison kicked off the meeting, which was chaired by Iowa Soybean Association Chief Officer of Research and Conservation Christie Wiebbecke. The council is made up of 20 industry partner representatives and three Iowa soybean farmers.

Based on the IAC’s recommendations, the ISRC funded the following three new soybean research projects.

New Projects

Using Soybean Microbes as Protectants from Stress, Gwyn Beattie, professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, will use multiple approaches to explore the potential for microbes to serve as protectants for plants under certain stress conditions. Abiotic stresses including water deficit, salinity, low phosphate and acidity can negatively impact soybean growth and the number of flowers per plant, pods per plant, seeds per pod, and weight of pods. The study will reveal the effectiveness of approaches to enhance soybean stress tolerance that involve manipulating the microbial members and interactions within microbial communities on roots.

Cyst Nematode Single-Cell Omics, Thomas Baum, professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, will investigate research ideas that are of primary scientific and academic interest but are directly relevant to future projects to target soybean cyst nematode. By way of new molecular approaches, key aspects of infection biology of the soybean cyst nematode will be uncovered. Successful completion of the work will reveal single-cell processes that govern nematode infection, which will lay the foundation for novel nematode control approaches.

Investigating the Specific Role of Sterols in Soybean Growth and Development, Walter Suza, George Washington Carver Endowed Chair and adjunct associate professor of agronomy, will seek to identify the genes responsible for making healthier phytosterols and explore their impact on soybean growth and development. Phytosterols are natural compounds found in plants that can help lower cholesterol levels in humans. The research will help identify soybean varieties with improved phytosterol content that are better adapted to stress conditions. Additionally, the research will be linked with the George Washington Carver Future Hunger Fighters Program, offering ISU students the chance to experience molecular biology research focused on a globally significant crop.