Genomic Innovations in High‐Oil Soybean Breeding: Overcoming Yield Barriers and Climate Resilience Challenges
TL;DR
Key advances include CRISPR/Cas9 editing of GmFAD2/GmWRI1, genomic selection, genomic selection, AI phenotyping, and multi‐omics to overcome yield constraints and climate vulnerability in high‐oil soybean breeding are addressed.
Abstract
Soybean ( Glycine max L.) is the world's most important oilseed crop, supplying 25% of world‘s edible oil and 66% of feed protein. This review address genomic innovations to overcome yield constraints and climate vulnerability (especially drought stress) in high‐oil soybean breeding. Global edible oil demand will rise 30% by 2025, but modern varieties lack sufficient stress tolerance and suffer from the oil‐protein trade‐off (1% oil gain = 1.5% protein loss), drought‐induced yield losses of 10%–20%, and restrictive GMO policies that reduce exports by 15%. We define clear breeding targets: oil concentration, seed yield, oil yield, and meal protein, with acceptable trade‐off thresholds (≤ 5% protein loss, no yield penalty). Key advances include CRISPR/Cas9 editing of GmFAD2/GmWRI1 (75% higher oleic acid), genomic selection (79% accuracy), AI phenotyping (95% precision), and multi‐omics (20% oil profile improvement). The framework enhances climate‐smart production (a 30%–40% reduction in environmental impact) and addresses regulatory hurdles. Future directions focus on precision editing, multi‐environment trials, AI pipelines, and policy harmonization to increase farmer profitability by 15% and meet 25% of biodiesel demand by 2030.