: A Novel Seed-Developing Gene in .

Soybean-seed development is controlled in multiple ways, as in many known regulating genes. Here, we identify a novel gene, (), involved in seed development, by analyzing a T-DNA mutant (). The mutant is a random mutant of the transgenic line, with phenotypes with small and brown seed coats. An analysis of the metabolomics and transcriptome combined with RT-qPCR in the seeds revealed that the brown coat may result from the increased expression of genes, while the down-regulated expression of leads to small seed size. The seed phenotypes and a microscopic observation of the seed-coat integument cells in a CRISPR/Cas9-edited mutant confirmed that the gene conferred small phenotypes of the seeds. As mentioned in an annotation on the Phytozome website, encodes a potential DNA helicase RuvA subunit, and no such genes were previously reported to be involved in seed development. Therefore, we identify a novel gene in a new pathway controlling seed development in soybeans.