Bioscience Evidence 2025, Vol.15, No.5, 237-248 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 237 Research Insight Open Access Key Genes Influencing Soybean Protein and Oil Content: Functional Insights Qishan Chen Modern Agricultural Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding email: qishan.chen@cuixi.org Bioscience Evidence, 2025, Vol.15, No.5 doi: 10.5376/be.2025.15.0024 Received: 18 Aug., 2025 Accepted: 29 Sep., 2025 Published: 10 Oct., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Chen, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Chen Q.S., 2025, Key genes influencing soybean protein and oil content: functional insights, Bioscience Evidence, 15(5): 237-248 (doi: 10.5376/be.2025.15.0024) Abstract This study mainly introduces the important genes related to protein and oil content in soybean seeds. In recent years, researchers have identified many major QTLS and candidate genes related to protein and oil content by using methods such as genome-wide association analysis, transcriptomics and proteomics. Especially on chromosomes 15 and 20, such as FAD2-1, GmSWEET10a/b, GmMFT, etc., these genes often affect both proteins and oils simultaneously, and often in the opposite direction. Many studies have also found that there is a significant negative correlation between proteins and oils, and their regulatory networks involve different pathways such as carbon metabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and sugar transport. In addition, some genes are also related to traits such as seed development and stress response, showing pleiotropy. The article also summarizes the functional verification of these genes and their application in molecular breeding. In the future, by integrating multi-omics data, machine learning and precision breeding technologies, it may help us break through the contradiction between protein and oil content, enhance the adaptability of soybeans, and meet different consumer demands. The purpose of this study is to provide a reference for the efficient improvement and sustainable utilization of soybeans. Keywords Soybeans (Glycine max); Protein content; Oil content; Key genes; Molecular breeding 1 Introduction Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important sources of protein and vegetable oil in the world. It is widely used in human food, animal feed and industrial raw materials. Soybean seeds contain approximately 40% protein and 20% oil on average, and play an important role in global nutrition security and agricultural development (Wang et al., 2021; Clevinger et al., 2023; Patel et al., 2025). With the increase in population and the improvement of living standards, the demand for high-protein and high-oil soybeans is growing larger and larger. But one problem is that there is often a negative correlation between protein and oil. When one component is increased, the other tends to decrease. This genetic contradiction has become an important obstacle to quality improvement (Patil et al., 2018; Lee et al., 2019; Wang et al., 2021; Kumar et al., 2022; Clevinger et al., 2023; Mo et al., 2024; Patel et al., 2025). In recent years, the development of multi-omics technologies, such as genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, has greatly promoted the research on the genetic basis of soy protein and oil. Through GWAS, QTL mapping and comprehensive analysis, researchers have identified many key genes and regulatory networks. For instance, genes such as GmSWEET10a/b, POWR1, GmMFT and FAD2-1B have been confirmed to play a core role in protein and oil accumulation. Some of these genes also exhibit pleiotropy, affecting not only proteins and oil content, but also seed size, yield and quality (Wang et al., 2020; Goettel et al., 2022; Kumar et al., 2022; Cai et al., 2023; Kim et al., 2023). In addition, some genes or QTLS have been found to weaken the negative correlation between proteins and oils, bringing new breakthrough opportunities for breeding (Li et al., 2018; Lee et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2019; Kumar et al., 2022). This study focuses on the genetic factors and molecular regulatory mechanisms of soy protein and oil content, as well as their applications in molecular breeding. The main objective is to summarize the key genes and their functions, sort out the molecular networks of protein and oil accumulation, analyze how basic research can be applied to breeding practice, and explore the prospects of molecular markers and gene editing in improving
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