Investigations on a Heat Tolerant Soybean Accession for a Warmer, Less Predictable Future.

Commercial soybean cultivars have relatively low optimum reproductive temperatures (~71.6-75.2°F); when seeds develop at elevated temperatures (>90 °F) seed quality and viability are compromised. High heat stress is predicted to occur more frequently in the coming decades as a result of climate change. We are investigating an exotic landrace which maintains 95-100% seed quality and germination under conditions (~97 °F during seed fill) that dramatically impair seed quality and germination for most soybean cultivars. RNA sequencing and metabolomic analyses revealed several key stress-related and a diverse set of antioxidant compounds are greatly increased in abundance in seeds of tolerant lines.