Legume Genomics and Genetics 2025, Vol.16, No.1, 23-32 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/lgg 30 7.3 Enhancing soybean breeding strategies for climate resilience It's getting harder and harder to grow soybeans nowadays. We often encounter extreme weather. However, some new technologies have been quite effective recently. Gene editing tools like CRISPR/Cas9 have been able to help improve the stress resistance and yield of soybeans (Guan et al., 2022). Interestingly, last year someone used this method to adjust several genes, and soybeans actually grew well in saline-alkali land and drought conditions (Yao et al., 2023). Sure enough, gene editing alone may not be sufficient. Nowadays, it is popular to analyze genomic and proteomic data together, which makes it easier to identify those genes that can truly resist climate change (Ku et al., 2022). Although it sounds simple, various unexpected situations still arise in actual operation. For instance, some genes perform well in the laboratory but fail to adapt to the local environment in the field. Overall, however, the combination of these new technologies does provide new ideas for cultivating climate-adaptive soybeans (Do et al., 2019). After all, in the face of increasingly abnormal weather, the old varieties are indeed struggling a bit. 8 Concluding Remarks There have been many breakthroughs in studying the genetic laws of soybean agronomic traits in recent years. Interestingly, by analyzing the NAM population, not only were genetic markers found to affect yield, but it was also unexpectedly discovered that these markers were associated with maturity, plant height, and even seed quality. GWAS analysis identified a number of key SNP loci in cultivated soybean and wild germplasm, which control important features such as flowering time and pod number. However, what is most surprising is that certain core QTLs, like transportation hubs, can simultaneously regulate multiple traits. Although GS and MAS technologies seem promising, in practical applications, it has been found that different varieties have significant differences in their response to these markers. For example, some SNPs that perform strongly in wild soybeans have a reduced effect when transferred to cultivated varieties. This also indicates that the genetic interaction network of soybeans is much more complex than we imagined. Soybeans are pointed at globally as providing protein and oil. But to be honest, it's not easy to grow soybeans that are both high-yielding and disease resistant. Recently, it has been discovered that there are many good genes hidden in wild soybeans, and these "wild path" genes may solve major problems. Look, features like maturity, plant height, and bean size may seem simple, but behind them are all competing genes. It is interesting that the same gene may behave completely differently in different environments-varieties that grow well on this land may wilt in a different location. Understanding these genetic patterns now is particularly helpful for cultivating new varieties with stronger adaptability. After all, climate change is becoming increasingly severe, so we need to prepare in advance for soybean varieties that can perform stably in various environments. Although the research process is quite brain wracking, these efforts must be put in for food security. Next, when studying soybean genes, we need to verify each of the candidate genes and QTLs we have found one by one. CRISPR/Cas9, this kind of "gene scissors", is now quite useful. You can modify it wherever you want and directly observe the effect after the modification. However, merely looking at genes is not enough. It is necessary to analyze the transcriptome, proteome and other data together to understand the complete process of trait formation. Interestingly, the same gene may behave vastly differently in various environments, so it is necessary to conduct experiments in more places. Ultimately, our goal is very practical-it is to cultivate soybean varieties with high yields, strong disease resistance and good nutrition. Although the road ahead is still long, at least now we know which direction to strive for. Acknowledgments I am grateful to Dr. Liu for critically reading the manuscript and providing valuable feedback that improved the clarity of the text. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The author affirms that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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