Plant physiologyDec 10, 2025

Developmental regulators help speed up and improve soybean genetic modification and gene editing

CRISPR Gene Editing Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Jun 27, 2026

Abstract

Essence

Co-expressing WUS2 and IPT made soybean transformation and CRISPR editing faster and more efficient in tested varieties.

Evidence

A plant transformation platform experiment in Williams 82 and Bert soybeans found 14.6% to 22.3% transformation efficiencies, heritable events within 9-11 weeks, and 20% heritable CRISPR mutation efficiency.

Caveat

The evidence is limited to transformation, editing, and transcriptomic endpoints in tested varieties, not field performance or broad soybean genotype coverage.

Simplified

Soybean (Glycine max) transformation remains challenging and has not kept pace with rapid advances in genetic engineering technologies due to low efficiency, lengthy timelines, and genotype dependency. Here, we developed a streamlined transformation method by leveraging developmental regulators (DRs) to promote de novo shoot regeneration directly from growing soybean plants. By evaluating multiple DR combinations, our results showed that co-expression of WUSCHEL2 (WUS2) and the gene encoding isopentenyltransferase (IPT) achieved higher transformation efficiencies (14.6% to 22.3%) in Williams 82 and Bert varieties than individual DRs without requiring exogenous hormones or selection agents. Moreover, this method produced heritable transgenic events within 9-11 weeks and successfully delivered CRISPR-Cas9 components, generating heritable mutations with 20% efficiency. The temporal transcriptomic and gene regulatory network analyses revealed that WUS2/IPT synergistically modulates stress responses and activates developmental pathways, orchestrating a transition from initial stress adaptation to regenerative programming. Our findings demonstrate that this DR-enabled approach significantly enhances soybean transformation frequency, reduces tissue culture requirements, and offers a promising genome-editing platform for soybean improvement.