Soybeans are a critical component of the global food supply, with their use in animal feed and human consumption accounting for roughly two-thirds of worldwide plant-based protein meal production.
Canada is a global leader in sustainable soybean production, with 70% of its crop, one of the country's top three crops by value, exported annually.
Brazilian scientist Gabriel Montanha is studying ways to increase the protein content of soybean seeds without expanding the amount of land used for production. Montanha, who is completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, said soybean production has increased significantly in recent decades to meet demand, but protein content has not increased at the same rate.
Montanha and colleagues used the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan and Brazil's National Synchrotron Light Laboratory to investigate whether the mineral content of soybean seeds could influence their nutritional content.
Using synchrotron imaging, the researchers examined the location of proteins and minerals inside four types of soybean seeds. Their findings indicated that certain minerals may play an important role in protein formation.
The researchers found that soybean genotypes with higher protein content also had higher levels of zinc and sulfur. Montanha conducted the research as part of his PhD with collaborators at Brazil's University of São Paulo and Sapienza University of Rome in Italy.
The findings were published in ACS Agricultural Science & Technology and featured on the cover of the journal's current issue.
The imaging conducted at the Canadian Light Source and Brazil's National Synchrotron Light Laboratory was an important part of the research, allowing the team to examine the role of nutrients in plant physiology.
Montanha and his colleagues are now working on fertilization techniques designed to ensure soybean seeds have access to sulfur and zinc at key stages of development. The researchers hope those techniques can help increase soybean protein content without requiring additional land for cultivation.
Source: Canadian Light Source, "Boosting soybean protein: The essential role of zinc and sulfur in sustainable crop production"