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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Soybean Genomics & Improvement Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #290004
Title: SoyProDB: A database for the identification of soybean seed proteins

Author
item TAVAKOLAN, MONA - Towson University
item ALKHAROUF, NADIM - Towson University
item Khan, Farooq
item Natarajan, Savithiry - Savi

Submitted to: Bioinformation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2013
Publication Date: 2/15/2013
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/57123
Citation: Tavakolan, M., Alkharouf, N.W., Khan, F.H., Natarajan, S.S. 2013. SoyProDB: A database for the identification of soybean seed proteins. Bioinformation. 9(3):165-167.

Interpretive Summary: Soybean is the second most important cash crop in the U.S., and genetically modified (GM) soybean is widely grown in the U.S. and around the world. For a better understanding of the consequences of genetic manipulation, elucidation and identification of proteins in soybean is necessary. To that end, we have developed and made publicly available soybean seed protein database (SoyProDB). SoyProDB is a website that houses all the identified soybean seed proteins. It provides an easy and visual means to identify major key proteins in soybean seeds. The database is useful to biologists working with soybeans and/or seed proteins or scientists who wish to make genetic alteration of soybean protein for producing value added soybeans.

Technical Abstract: Soybean continues to serve as a rich and inexpensive source of protein for humans and animals. A substantial amount of information has been reported on the genotypic variation and beneficial genetic manipulation of soybeans. For better understanding of the consequences of genetic manipulation, elucidation of soybean protein composition is necessary, because of its direct relationship to phenotype. We have conducted studies to determine the composition of storage, allergen and anti-nutritional proteins in cultivated soybean using a combined proteomics approach. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) was implemented for the separation of proteins along with matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the identification of proteins. Our analysis resulted in the identification of several proteins and a web based database named soybean protein database (SoyProDB) was subsequently built to house and allow scientists to search the data. This database will be useful to scientists who wish to genetically alter the soybean with higher quality storage proteins, and also helpful for consumers to get a greater understanding about proteins that compose the soy products available in the market. The database is freely accessible from: http://bioinformatics.towson.edu/Soybean_Seed_Proteins_2D_Gel_DB/Home.aspx