Isolation and characterization of glyphosate-regulated genes in soybean seedlings

Glyphosate is a wide-used and broad-spectrum herbicide. The worldwide commercialization of glyphosate-resistant crop plants has made glyphosate much increased in use over the past decade. However, little information is available for the glyphosate-induced positive responses and the effects of this chemical on transcriptome in plants. In the present article, we investigate the transcriptional profile's changes induced by glyphosate in soybean seedlings. Twenty-four differentially expressed gene sequences were identified by mRNA differential display PCR (DD-PCR). The web-based BLAST indicated that most of the glyphosate-induced genes are homologous to the known ESTs induced by abiotic factor stresses. The three differentially expressed genes, AG1, CT6 and GC10 were found to exhibit the time- and dose-dependent expression patterns. Transcription alternation was induced at a short time by a low dosage range of glyphosate treatment. The glyphosate-inducible effect on the gene expression was not genotype-depended in soybean plants. This study provides a preliminary basis for further study of global transcriptional profiles and the related physiological–biochemical responses to glyphosate stress in plants. The data is also beneficial to the development of a glyphosate-inducible system for the controlled expression of the target transgene in plants.