User:HombrePluma/HB4 Soybean

HB4 Soybean, whose technical name is IND-ØØ41Ø-5 soybean, is a variety of soybean produced through genetic engineering to respond efficiently to drought conditions.

HB4 soybean was created to more efficiently tolerate abiotic stress such as drought or hypersaline conditions and herbicides. These characteristics result in increased yield compared to unmodified varieties. In 2015, HB4 soybean was approved in Argentina​, then in Brazil (May 2019), the United States (August 2019), Paraguay (2019), Canada (2021) and the People's Republic of China (2022).

The modification of the IND-ØØ41Ø-5 soybean has been carried out by introducing the HaHB4 and bar genes, from sunflower and the Streptomyces hygroscopicus bacterium, respectively.

The type of tolerance exhibited by IND-ØØ41Ø-5​ soybean is due to the participation of the transcription factor HAHB4 in the signal transduction pathways involved in the response to water and salt stress. HAHB4 is known to interact directly with at least three phytohormones: abscisic acid, ethylene, and jasmonic acid, and this interaction is the basis of much of its mechanism of action. In addition, it interacts with other metabolites involved in processes such as photosynthesis and the synthesis of osmoprotectors.

The HaHB4 gene introduced into the IND-ØØ41Ø-5 soybean is natural to the sunflower plant and encodes the HAHB4 protein which, being a transcription factor (TF), binds to specific DNA sequences and through this binding regulates the expression of certain genes that intervene in the natural processes that the plant has to respond to environmental stresses, in particular the stress caused by drought ​. In the IND-ØØ41Ø-5 ​​ event, this regulation causes a delay in the plant to enter the deterioration process known as senescence. This gives the plant some time to wait for the return of normal water availability, so that it can resume its growth. The result is a higher yield of the plant with the HaHB4 gene, since in the non-modified plant (without this gene), due to the lack of water, it immediately stops the development of its useful biomass.

The expression of the HAHB4 protein does not modify the natural systems that soybeans have to use the moisture present in the soil, but rather makes better use of water by regulating the sensitivity of the protection mechanisms that are triggered in the absence of this resource.

Given the equivalence of composition of HB4 Soybean with conventional varieties, its processing does not require methods different from those commonly used by the industry, nor does it modify in any way the products obtained.

HB4 Development
Soybean HB4 was developed by the Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral in collaboration with the Argentine agricultural company Bioceres and the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). The seed was designed with the intention of withstanding longer periods of stress without stopping the accumulation of biomass, improving crop stability and increasing yield.

The team that carried out the research was led by Dr. Raquel Chan, Director of the Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral of the Universidad Nacional del Litoral

Global Importance
In 2015, HB4 soybean was approved in Argentina, then in Brazil (May 2019), the United States (August 2019), Paraguay (2019), Canada (2021) and the People's Republic of China (2022), a tolerant transgenic variety to drought, developed by the company Bioceres in conjunction with CONICET and the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL). Reached authorization from the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China for import and marketing.