Comparative analysis of chemical compositions between non-transgenic soybean seeds and those from plants over-expressing AtJMT, the gene for jasmonic acid carboxyl methyltransferase

• We tested the chemical composition of soybean seeds that over-express AtJMT.
• Overexpression of this gene increased the amount of gadoleic acid.
• Levels of tryptophan and palmitic and linolenic acids were reduced by overexpression.
• Transgenic soybean had 130% more genistein but 82% less stachyose than control seed.

Transgenic overexpression of the Arabidopsis gene for jasmonic acid carboxyl methyltransferase (AtJMT) is involved in regulating jasmonate-related plant responses. To examine its role in the compositional profile of soybean (Glycine max), we compared the seeds from field-grown plants that over-express AtJMT with those of the non-transgenic, wild-type (WT) counterpart. Our analysis of chemical compositions included proximates, amino acids, fatty acids, isoflavones, and antinutrients. Overexpression of AtJMT in the seeds resulted in decreased amounts of tryptophan, palmitic acid, linolenic acid, and stachyose, but increased levels of gadoleic acid and genistein. In particular, seeds from the transgenic soybeans contained 120.0–130.5% more genistein and 60.5–82.1% less stachyose than the WT. A separate evaluation of ingredient values showed that all were within the reference ranges reported for commercially available soybeans, thereby demonstrating the substantial equivalence of these transgenic and non-transgenic seeds.