Dedication
This book is dedicated to my parents, my wife, and my two children, who have supported me all the time.
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Narjes H. Dashti, Vineetha Mariam Cherian, Donald L. Smith
Kamrun Nahar Laboratory of Plant Stress Responses, Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki-cho, Kita-gun, Kagawa, Japan; Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-eBangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sai-Ming Ngai Centre for Soybean Research of the Partner State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology and School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
Marcela Claudia Pagano Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Ashwani Pareek Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Mahmood-ur-Rahman Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Mehboob-ur-Rahman Plant Genomics and Molecular Breeding Laboratory, Agricultural Biotechnology Division, National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Gyanesh K. Satpute ICAR-Directorate of Soybean Research, Khandwa Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Tayyaba Shaheen Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Muhammad Shahid Riaz Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Mahaveer P. Sharma ICAR-Directorate of Soybean Research, Khandwa Road, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Manoj K. Sharma School of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Rita Sharma Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Sneh L. Singla-Pareek Plant Molecular Biology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India
Donald L. Smith James McGill Professor Department of Plant Science, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
Sakshi Tewari Department of Environmental Microbiology, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
Yusuf Zafar Minister Technical, Permanent Mission of Pakistan to IAEA, Vienna, Austria
Foreword
The important role of academicians and researchers is to feed the world’s increasing publication. However, such contributions must be directed using suitable and useful resources. My decision to write this book as well as other books and contributions, including research articles, has been mainly due to the duties I feel toward the people of the world. Hence, I have tried to prepare references that can be of use at different levels of science. I have spent a significant part of my research life working on the important legume crop soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) at McGill University, Canada. Before that the other important research I conducted, with the help of my supervisor, Professor A.F. Mackenzie, was related to the dynamics of nitrogen in the soil and in the plants including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) across the great province of Quebec. These experiments resulted in a large set of data, with some interesting and applicable results. Such experiments were also greatly useful for my experiments on the responses of soybean under stress. I conducted some useful, great, and interesting researches with the help of my supervisor, Professor Donald Smith, on the new techniques and strategies that can be used for soybean production under stress, both under field and greenhouse conditions. When I came to Iran, I continued my research on stress, however, for wheat and corn plants, at Tarbiat Modares University, with the help of my supervisors, Dr H. Bahrami and Professor M.J. Malakouti, and my great friend Dr. F. Rejali from Soil and Water Research Institute, Karaj, Iran, using some new, great, and applicable techniques and strategies. Such efforts have so far resulted in 60 international articles, 18 authored and edited textbooks, and 38 book chapters, published by some of the most prestigious world publishers including Elsevier and Academic Press. I hope that this contribution can be used by academicians and researchers all across the globe. I would be happy to have your comments and opinions about this volume.
Mohammad Miransari AbtinBerkeh Ltd. Company, Isfahan, Iran
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Preface
The word “stress” refers to a deviation from natural conditions. A significant part of the world is subjected to stresses such as salinity, drought, suboptimal root zone temperature, heavy metals, etc. The important role of researchers and academicians is to find techniques, methods, and strategies that can alleviate such adverse effects on the growth of plants. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is an important legume crop feeding a large number of people as a source of protein and oil. Soybean and its symbiotic bacteria, Bradyrhizobium japonicum, are not tolerant under stress. However, it is possible to use some techniques, methods, and strategies that may result in the enhanced tolerance of soybean and B. japonicum under stress. Some of the most recent and related details have been presented in this volume.
In Chapter 1, Pagano and Miransari have presented the details related to the importance of soybean production worldwide, under different conditions including stress, with reference to the world’s great nations of soybean production including Brazil, USA, China, India, and Argentina.
In Chapter 2, Pareek et al. discuss cross talk which may exist between biotic and abiotic stresses. Such a contribution is with reference to molecular mechanisms that can result in soybean tolerance under stress. They have highlighted genes that enhance plant resistance under more than one type of stress.
In Chapter 3, Miransari has discussed details which may improve soybean response and growth under biotic and abiotic stresses. The strategies, methods, and techniques that can enhance the tolerance of soybean and its symbiotic bacteria, B. japonicum, under stress have been presented, reviewed, and analyzed.
Chapter 4 is about evaluating soybean response under biotic and abiotic stresses using the proteomic technique. The authors have suggested that due to the complexity of soybean response under stress, the use of “omics” can be useful and applicable. Accordingly, the latest soybean response under stress by using proteomic has been presented.
In Chapter 5, details related to the use of soybean inoculums affecting soybean production worldwide has been presented by Miransari. The efficient production of soybean inoculums, using the symbiotic B. japonicum, has been discussed. With respect to the importance of soybean worldwide, the use of inocula is now widespread, especially in developed nations.
In Chapter 6, Arora et al. have presented the use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for soybean production under stress, with special reference to the nutritional values of soybean. They have mentioned that because the production of tolerant species of soybean is not easy and the use of chemical fertilization can adversely
effect the properties of soil, the use of PGPR may be among the most suitable methods for enhancing soybean growth and yield under stress.
In Chapter 7, the adverse effects of salinity on the growth and yield of soybean under salinity stress have been discussed by Miransari. The use of different techniques and methods that can increase soybean growth and yield under stress have been presented, among which the use of the signal molecule, genistein, for the alleviation of the stress may be the most interesting.
In Chapter 8, the effects of drought stress on soybean response have been presented by Rahman et al. They have suggested that producing and using the tolerant genotypes can be an advantageous method under drought stress with respect to different morphological and physiological properties of soybean. Accordingly, the related genetic techniques have been reviewed and analyzed.
In Chapter 9, Miransari has discussed a collection of details on the alleviation of heavy metal stress adversely affecting soybean growth. Soybean and its symbiotic B japonicum are not tolerant to heavy metal stress, however, it may be possible to produce soybean and rhizobium species that are more tolerant under heavy metal stress. As a result, planting soybean in contaminated areas may be more likely, although the quality of soybean seeds must be precisely examined.
Among the most important stresses affecting soybean growth and yield in the cold areas of the world is suboptimal root zone temperature. In Chapter 10, Dashti et al. have presented the results of their own and those of other researchers on the effects of such a stress on soybean growth and yield production. They have accordingly suggested, tested, and proved that the use of signal molecule, genistein, is among the most useful methods for the alleviation of the stress.
In Chapter 11, Miransari has presented the interactions between nitrogen fertilization and the process of symbiotic N fixation by soybean and B. japonicum. It has been indicated that although N fertilization may be essential for soybean production, at extra amounts, the process of biological N fixation will be adversely affected. The most important details, especially the indication of the optimum rates of N fertilization in combination with biological N fixation, have been discussed.
In Chapter 12, Fujita et al. have presented the results of their own and those of other researchers on the stress of heat and the related mechanisms that can alleviate the stress on soybean growth and production. This is because a large part of the world is subjected to the stress of heat.
In Chapter 13, Miransari has discussed all the previously presented chapters. It discusses the most usable strategies, challenges, and future perspectives for soybean production under stress. Such details can be of great importance as they pave the way for the more efficient production of soybean under stress.
Mohammad Miransari AbtinBerkeh Ltd. Company, Isfahan, Iran
The importance of soybean production worldwide
Marcela Claudia Pagano*, Mohammad Miransari**
*Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; **Department of Book & Article, AbtinBerkeh Ltd. Company, Isfahan, Iran
Introduction
Interest in the impact of agriculture on soil structure or changing soil species inhabitants has increased (Pagano et al., 2011; Wall and Nielsen, 2012). For example, soybean is one of the major crops planted worldwide affecting different aspects of the ecosystem. Among the most important components of the ecosystem are soil microbes. Accordingly, with respect to the high cultivation of soybean crop worldwide, some of the most important parameters related to the production of soybean are presented among which the soil biota including rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi are of great significance.
Because soybean is among the most important agricultural crop worldwide, more research is being done to find details related to the production of soybean under different conditions including stress. Data indicating the rate of soybean production in different parts of the world can be used to improve production of soybean and alleviate factors including stresses, which adversely affect soybean yield. The role of soil microbes is especially important affecting the production of soybean. Just a few countries such as the USA, Brazil, Argentina, China, and India dominate the production of soybean worldwide.
In particular, it is supposed that the soil biotas do not affect the agro-ecosystem function or the services provided by them (Wall and Nielsen, 2012). Among the most cultivated crops (maize, rice, wheat), soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is the only leguminous species that can be associated with rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, with potential to be further exploited.
Pagano and Covacevich (2011) reviewed the current information on the benefit of AM fungi in agro-ecosystems, mentioning that the increasing recognition of the impacts of agricultural intensification and use of agrochemicals adversely affect soil quality, modifying the number, diversity, and activity of the soil microbiota, including the populations of symbiotic fungi. Thus, improved research aimed at crop yield enhancement and sustainability is essential and must be achieved.
Mutualistic associations such as AM fungi have important potentials for soybean production (Pagano, 2012; Simard and Austin, 2010). There is a growing use of beneficial rhizospheric microorganisms as biofertilizers in agriculture and there is a need to better understand the effects of multiple inocula on soybean growth and physiology.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-801536-0.00001-3
Figure 1.1 World soybean production quantity, area harvested, and yield: 1961–2007. Source: FAOSTAT: http://faostat3.fao.org/home/E (Masuda and Goldsmith, 2009).
This chapter explores the current available information relevant to soybean production worldwide (Figure 1.1). Better knowledge of the wide variation in cultivation practices is important for understanding the ecology of soybean crops and for management purposes. How a better management may be related to soil conditions and microbial inocula will also be discussed. Better knowledge of the wide variation in plant interactions is important for understanding the ecology of this crop and for management purposes.
World soybean production
Soybean (G. max (L.) Merr.) originated in China and is a major source of protein for humans and as a high-quality animal feed (FAO, 2003). Moreover, the presence of important food supplements in soybean, and growing consumption, has resulted in higher demands for soybean production. Soybean was originally domesticated in China, with about 23,000 cultivars in Asia, and was introduced into the USA and Brazil (López-López et al., 2010). For a brief history of world soybean dissemination, see Rodríguez-Navarro et al. (2011). The term soybean possibly refers to the bean from which soy sauce was manufactured. Soybean constitutes one of the largest sources of vegetable oil and of animal protein feed in the world (Sugiyama et al., 2015). It has the highest protein content (40–42%) of all other food crops and is second only to groundnut with respect to the oil content (18–22%) among food legumes (Robert, 1986). Moreover, soybean is used for aquaculture and biofuel, as well as a protein source for the human diet (Masuda
Goldsmith, 2009). Since 2005, the production of soybean in USA has been at its highest rate (89,507 million tons), over 33,640 million hectares (USDA, 2014).
Masuda and Goldsmith (2009) analyzed the production of soybean worldwide, as well as the area harvested and the related yield. The yearly rate of increase of soybean was at 4.6% from 1961 to 2007, with the average yearly production of 217.6 million tons in 2005–2007. They estimated that the yearly production of soybean will be at 2.2% and approach a yearly production of 371.3 million tons by 2030.
They accordingly indicated the following as the major factors affecting soybean production globally: (1) limitation of cultivable lands, and (2) the need for investment by the public, private concerns, and farmers to increase soybean yield. The substitution for other crops (cotton and sunflower), pasture, and native vegetation increased the cultivated soybean field areas and production by 36%. They mentioned that there has been a shift in the production area from the USA and Asia (China and India) to the USA and South America, including Argentina and Brazil.
Due to technological advances, 49% of grain production in Brazil is related to soybean. It is, especially, cultivated in the midwest and south regions of the country. The research and advances by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), in partnership with farmers, industry, and private research centers, has made the cultivation of soybean likely in the Cerrado grasslands. Such progress has also resulted in an increase yield production per hectare, competing with the major world production rates. However, the cultivation of soybean is conducted by the use of sustainable agricultural practices such as the use of no-tillage and integrated crop–livestock system (MAPA, 2015).
A single-gene transformation results in the production of genetically modified crops, such as a herbicide resistant crop (e.g., Roundup Ready soybeans) (Sobolevsky et al., 2005). Currently, soybean and corn, followed by canola and cotton, are the main transgenic crops, cultivated in the United States and some other countries (Argentina, Canada, and China). The production of genetically modified crops such as Roundup Ready soybeans is large in Argentina, which is the second biggest transgenic area worldwide; however, the effects of these biotechnologies have still to be further investigated (Qaim and Traxler, 2005).
Microbial associations
Rhizobia
Rhizobia are nitrogen-fixing bacteria classified and characterized by different systems. Beijerinck was able to isolate and cultivate a microorganism, named Bacillus radiocicola, from the nodules of legumes in 1888 However, Frank (1889) renamed it Rhizobium leguminosarum (Fred et al., 1932), which was retained in Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (Holt et al., 1994).
Rhizobia are characterized on the basis of their growth rate on certain substrates, as fast and slow growers ( Löhis and Hansen, 1921 ). Mean generation time of the slow and fast growing bacteria is greater and less than 6 h in selective broth media,
Abiotic and Biotic Stresses in Soybean Production
respectively ( Elkan, 1992 ). Until now, about 750 genera of legumes, containing 16,000–19,000 species, have been recognized; however, only a few have been examined ( Allen and Allen, 1981 ).
The first accepted change in the rhizobial nomenclature was the establishment of Bradyrhizobium (Jordan, 1982). The strain of Bradyrhizobium, which is able to nodulate soybean, is characterized as Bradyrhizobium japonicum, the first recognized group of Bradyrhizobium strains (Young and Haukka, 1996). Bradyrhizobium elkanii (Kuykendall et al., 1992), possessing some specific phenotypic and genetic characters, indicates a number of species within the soybean nodulating bradyrhizobia.
Bradyrhizobium liaoningense are also among the other extra slow growing soybean rhizobia with the ability of forming a coherent DNA–DNA hybridization group (Xu et al., 1995). Moreover, some Bradyrhizobium strains, known as Bradyrhizobium sp., are not able to nodulate soybeans (Young, 1991). The current characterization of rhizobia is on the basis of gene sequencing for the 16S or small subunit of ribosomal RNA (Jarvis et al., 1997).
Four recognized species of Bradyrhizobium include: B. japonicum (Jordan, 1982); B. elkanii (Kuykendall et al., 1992); B. liaoningense (Xu et al., 1995), and Bradyrhizobium sp. (Young, 1991). As suggested by Young (1991), the Bradyrhizobium genus will not have new species allocated; however, the host name will be mentioned in parentheses.
The specific and compatible rhizobia nodulating soybean is B. japonicum (Cooper, 2007; Long, 1989; Rolfe, 1988). Soybean association with rhizobia, including B. japonicum and B. elkanii, provide about 50–60% of soybean nitrogen requirement supplied by the bacteria in nodules (Salvagiotti et al., 2008). Rhizobia are the bacteria, which include Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Sinorhizobium, etc., surviving and reproducing in the soil, and fixing atmospheric N inside the nodules produced in the roots of their specific legume (reviewed by Denison and Kiers, 2004).
Laranjo et al. (2014) reviewed the rhizobial symbioses with the emphasis on mesorhizobia as legume inoculants. They have presented brief details of rhizobia including their rhizobial genomes, taxonomic diversity, and nodulation and nitrogen fixation genes. According to the above-mentioned details the term “rhizobia” includes the genus Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, Sinorhizobium, and Mesorhizobium. Moreover, rhizobia include Alphaproteobacteria (Rhizobiales) though some isolates of wild legumes belong to the class of Betaproteobacteria (Laranjo et al., 2014). Some research has also indicated that legumes are able to be nodulated once or several times during evolution (Sprent, 2007).
For a review on developments to improve symbiotic nitrogen fixation and productivity of grain legumes see Dwivedi et al. (2015). The main function of nodules on soybean roots is to fix the atmospheric N by the process of symbiotic nitrogen fixation, supplying nitrogen for plant growth and seed production. Sugiyama et al. (2015) reported changes in the rhizospheric bacteria and especially Bradyrhizobium during soybean growth, suggesting that the symbiosis of host plant with rhizobia may be selective.
In the last few years approximately 13,247 peer reviewed journal papers on soybean production have been produced, of which 731 focused on soil management (Table 1.1). Among the studies on soybean interactions with microorganisms (Table 1.1), research
Table 1.1 Journal articles dealing with soybean production worldwide
Keywords
Number of journal articles
Soybean production 13,247
Soybean production + soil 2,300
Soybean production + plant management
501
Soybean production + soil management 731
Soybean production + rhizobia
Soybean production + symbioses
Soybean production + arbuscular mycorrhizas
Database survey conducted on May 2015 (SCOPUS).
231
147
39
on rhizobia predominated (circa 231 reports existing for rhizobia in soybean) over mycorrhizal research (39 reports). Among an increasing number of reviews published on N2 fixation in legumes, soybean in particular accounts for 20 documents in the SCOPUS database (Miransari et al., 2013; Rao, 2014; Uchida and Akiyama, 2013); however, other reports (Hungria et al., 2005a, b) are also available.
In a review paper, Salvagiotti et al. (2008) analyzed 637 data sets derived from 108 field studies in 17 countries published from 1966 to 2006 including nitrogen fixation and N fertilization in soybean. For a 1 kg increase in N accumulation in above-ground biomass, they found a mean linear increase of 0.013 Mg soybean seed yield. Their meta-analysis indicated that 50–60% of soybean N demand is by the process of biological N2 fixation; however, the rate of N fixation decreases with increasing N fertilizer. Moreover, the N that is harvested by soybean grain must be supplied by both the process of N fixation and chemical N fertilization. It was not possible to estimate the actual contribution of below-ground N and its variation, and more research work must be conducted to determine such details. In conclusion, those authors mentioned that the yield response of soybean to N fertilizer is determined by yield production, environment, and abiotic/biotic stresses, which decrease crop growth and the associated N demand. With respect to such constraints, the development of rhizobia, which are able to fix N2 under stress, is essential for providing the host plant with N (Alves et al., 2003; Hungria and Vargas, 2000).
It has been shown that the efficiency of the symbiotic process depends on many factors including the host plant, bacteria, the process of symbiosis, and the environment. Among the most important constraints affecting plant growth and the process of fixation are the soils, which are not highly fertile, resulting in the limited availability of macro- and micronutrients (Campo et al., 2009).
In the absence of growth constraints and in the presence of soybean genotypes with a high rate of yield at levels above 4.5 Mg ha 1, the response of well-nodulated soybean crops to N fertilization is likely. The deep use of (slow-release) fertilizer underneath the nodulation zone, or using N chemical fertilization during the reproductive stages in high-yielding environments, can significantly improve soybean yield (Salvagiotti et al., 2008).
