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Soybeans are one of the most important agricultural crops in the United States, which is the world’s leading soybean producer and exporter.  However, the agriculture industry suffers from hundreds of millions of dollars in losses each year due to root and stem rot of soybeans caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora sojae.  Growing P. sojae -resistant cultivars has been the key method of controlling this disease.  For effective disease control, cultivar selection requires good knowledge of the local P. sojae races present in soybean fields.  In addition, the ability of P. sojae to overcome plant resistance through adaptation is another challenge to soybean growers.  Fungicides and seed treatments have also been used to control root and stem rot, but add to production costs and may have negative environmental impacts.  As part of an effort investigating plant defense mechanisms, ISU researchers have identified a gene, GmUBox 1, whose protein product has been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of P. sojae.  Creation of engineered soybean plants that lack this gene may thus lead to the development of plants with broad-spectrum resistance to this pathogen.

• Broad spectrum: may confer resistance to many P. sojae races
• Avoids the use of toxic chemicals