GmSWEET20, a sugar transporter, facilitates the simultaneous enhancement of yield and protein content in soybean

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

GmSWEET20 concurrently enhances yield and seed protein content in soybean. 1 Soybean ( Glycine max [L.] Merr.) is a crucial source of high-quality protein and oil, indispensable for human consumption and animal feed. The increasing global demand for soybeans has rendered the enhancement of its productivity and quality a paramount goal. Sugar Will Eventually Be Exported Transporter (SWEET) proteins are crucial for seed size and quality. This study examined the role of GmSWEET20 to elucidate its expression pattern, function, regulatory mechanisms, and haplotypes. Our results demonstrated that GmSWEET20 is situated in the plasma membrane and is predominantly expressed in leaves and developing seeds. Overexpression of GmSWEET20 increased the seed number per plant, total yield, and crude protein content. This contrasts with GmSWEET10a / 10b, which simultaneously increased seed size and oil content. These findings highlight the functional diversity of the GmSWEETs family in regulating yield and quality. This research offers novel concepts and theoretical support for high-yield soybean breeding methodologies.