A 14-3-3 modulator of seed weight and quality for unlocking the yield potential of soybean

Bingbing Li, Ce Yang, Bin Yong, Yan Wang, Weiwei Zhu, Yongzhe Gu, Zhenghong An, Hongqiang Yu, Manying Chen and Chaoying He ()
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Bingbing Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany
Ce Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany
Bin Yong: Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany
Yan Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany
Weiwei Zhu: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany
Yongzhe Gu: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, The National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Institute of Crop Science
Zhenghong An: Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany
Hongqiang Yu: Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany
Manying Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany
Chaoying He: Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Abstract Seed weight is a key component of crop yield. However, molecular mechanisms underlying soybean seed weight variation remain largely elusive. Here, we identify a major seed weight determining gene Glycine max SMALL SEED 6 (GmSMS6) that encodes a 14-3-3 protein. GmSMS6 physically and genetically interacts with the transcription factor GmbZIP151 and the RING-type E3 ligase GmUBQ1. GmSMS6 acts as a regulatory hub switch that coordinates the transcriptional activation activity and GmUBQ1-mediated stability of GmbZIP151, primarily repressing cellular expansion of soybean cotyledons. Knocking out GmSMS6 increases seed weight and protein content but decreases oil accumulation in multiple soybean genetic backgrounds. A loss-of-function allele of GmSMS6 is absent in available soybean resources, while the weakly expressed haplotype associated with heavy seed weight has undergone selection in G. max. These results provide insights into mechanisms underlying soybean domestication and highlight the importance of gene loss for improving crop yield and quality.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65598-y

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