Shade stress triggers ethylene biosynthesis to accelerate soybean senescence and impede nitrogen remobilization.

In gramineae-soybean intercropping systems, shade stress caused by taller plants impacts soybean growth specifically during the reproductive stage. However, the effects of shade stress on soybean senescence remain largely unexplored. In this research, we applied artificial shade treatments with intensities of 75% (S75) and 50% (S50) to soybean plants at the onset of flowering to simulate the shade stress experienced by soybeans in the traditional and optimized maize-soybean intercropping systems, respectively. Compared to the normal light control, both shade treatments led to a rapid decline in the dry matter content of soybean vegetative organs and accelerated their abscission. Moreover, shade treatments triggered the degradation of chlorophyll and soluble proteins in leaves and increased the expression of genes associated with leaf senescence. Metabolic profiling further revealed that ethylene biosynthesis and signal transduction were induced by shade treatment. In addition, the examination of nitrogen content demonstrated that shade treatments impeded the remobilization of nitrogen in vegetative tissues, consequently reducing the seed nitrogen harvest. It's worth noting that these negative effects were less pronounced under the S50 treatment compared to the S75 treatment. Taken together, this research demonstrates that shade stress during the reproductive stage accelerates soybean senescence and impedes nitrogen remobilization, while optimizing the field layout to improve soybean growth light conditions could mitigate these challenges in the maize-soybean intercropping system.

A critical role of the soybean evening complex in the control of photoperiod sensitivity and adaptation.

Photoperiod sensitivity is a key factor in plant adaptation and crop production. In the short-day plant soybean, adaptation to low latitude environments is provided by mutations at the J locus, which confer extended flowering phase and thereby improve yield. The identity of J as an ortholog of Arabidopsis ELF3, a component of the circadian evening complex (EC), implies that orthologs of other EC components may have similar roles. Here we show that the two soybean homeologs of LUX ARRYTHMO interact with J to form a soybean EC. Characterization of mutants reveals that these genes are highly redundant in function but together are critical for flowering under short day, where the lux1 lux2 double mutant shows extremely late flowering and a massively extended flowering phase. This phenotype exceeds that of any soybean flowering mutant reported to date, and is strongly reminiscent of the "Maryland Mammoth" tobacco mutant that featured in the seminal 1920 study of plant photoperiodism by Garner and Allard [W. W. Garner, H. A. Allard, J. Agric. Res. 18, 553-606 (1920)]. We further demonstrate that the J-LUX complex suppresses transcription of the key flowering repressor E1 and its two homologs via LUX binding sites in their promoters. These results indicate that the EC-E1 interaction has a central role in soybean photoperiod sensitivity, a phenomenon also first described by Garner and Allard. EC and E1 family genes may therefore constitute key targets for customized breeding of soybean varieties with precise flowering time adaptation, either by introgression of natural variation or generation of new mutants by gene editing.

Effects of UV-A radiation on organ-specific accumulation and gene expression of isoflavones and flavonols in soybean sprout.

Organ-specific flavonoid destination in soybean sprouts following UV irradiation is still unclear although the metabolic pathway of flavonoid synthesis and UV responded flavonoid accumulation have been well investigated. We report the identification of organ-specific localization and specific gene expression of isoflavones and kaempferol glycosides in the soybean sprouts responded to UV-A irradiation. UV-A irradiation stimulated only root isoflavones, especially increase of genistein types. The daidzein types predominated in non-UV-A treated roots. Kaempferol glycosides were not increased in roots by UV-A, but distinctly increased in aerial organs, especially in the cotyledons. These results demonstrate that UV-A upregulates the naringenin pathway synthesizing genistin and kaempferol rather than the liquiritigenin pathway synthesizing daidzin and glycitin. High GmUGT9 and other gene expression related to isoflavone synthesis in roots clearly demonstrate the UV-A-induced isoflavone accumulation. Aerial organ specific increase of GmF3H, GmFLS1, and GmDFR1 expression by UV-A distinctly demonstrates the flavonol increase in aerial organs.

Rapid Identification Method for Gamma-Irradiated Soybeans Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Coupled with a Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction Technique.

This study evaluated the applicability of a rapid analytical method using a headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS) technique to identify gamma-irradiated soybeans (0.1-5 kGy). From the partial least squares discriminant analysis used to discriminate between non-irradiated and irradiated soybean samples, 1,7-hexadecadiene was selected as the identifying marker. Response surface methodology experiments were used to determine the optimal HS-SPME extraction conditions including a carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane fiber with an extraction temperature of 98 °C and an extraction time of 55 min. 1,7-Hexdecadiene was detected in all samples irradiated at ≥ 0.1 kGy under the optimized HS-SPME-GC/MS conditions, and the unique presence of the marker in a gamma-irradiated sample was verified by comparing the results from heat, steam, microwave, sonication, and ultraviolet treatments. The comparisons of the identification properties for various conventional methods validated several advances in HS-SPME-GC/MS analysis in terms of rapid analysis, high sensitivity, and absence of solvent.

Comparative Analysis of Phenolic Compound Profiles, Antioxidant Capacities, and Expressions of Phenolic Biosynthesis-Related Genes in Soybean Microgreens Grown under Different Light Spectra.

Light-emitting diode (LED) based light sources, which can selectively and quantitatively provide different spectra, have been frequently applied to manipulate plant growth and development. In this study, the effects of different LED light spectra on the growth, phenolic compounds profile, antioxidant capacity, and transcriptional changes in genes regulating phenolic biosynthesis in soybean microgreens were investigated. The results showed that light illumination decreased the seedling length and yield but increased phenolic compound content. Blue light and ultraviolet-A (UV-A) induced significant increases in total phenolic and total flavonoid content, as compared with the white light control. Sixty-six phenolic compounds were identified in the soybean samples, of which isoflavone, phenolic acid, and flavonol were the main components. Ten phenolic compounds obtained from the orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were reflecting the effect of light spectra. The antioxidant capacity was consistent with the phenolic metabolite levels, which showed higher levels under blue light and UV-A compared with the control. The highest transcript levels of phenolic biosynthesis-related genes were observed under blue light and UV-A. The transcript levels of GmCHI, GmFLS, and GmIOMT were also upregulated under far-red and red light. Taken together, our findings suggested that the application of LED light could pave a green and effective way to produce phenolic compound-enriched soybean microgreens with high nutritional quality, which could stimulate further investigations for improving plant nutritional value and should have a wide impact on maintaining human health.

Genomic changes and biochemical alterations of seed protein and oil content in a subset of fast neutron induced soybean mutants.

BACKGROUND: Soybean is subjected to genetic manipulation by breeding, mutation, and transgenic approaches to produce value-added quality traits. Among those genetic approaches, mutagenesis through fast neutrons radiation is intriguing because it yields a variety of mutations, including single/multiple gene deletions and/or duplications. Characterizing the seed composition of the fast neutron mutants and its relationship with gene mutation is useful towards understanding oil and protein traits in soybean. RESULTS: From a large population of fast neutron mutagenized plants, we selected ten mutants based on a screening of total oil and protein content using near infra-red spectroscopy. These ten mutants were regrown, and the seeds were analyzed for oil by GC-MS, protein profiling by SDS-PAGE and gene mapping by comparative genomic hybridization. The mutant 2R29C14Cladecr233cMN15 (nicknamed in this study as L10) showed higher protein and lower oil content compared to the wild type, followed by three other lines (nicknamed in this study as L03, L05, and L06). We characterized the fatty acid methyl esters profile of the trans-esterified oil and found the presence of five major fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids) at varying proportions among the mutants. Protein profile using SDS-PAGE of the ten mutants did exhibit discernable variation between storage (glycinin and ß-conglycinin) and anti-nutritional factor (trypsin inhibitor) proteins. In addition, we physically mapped the position of the gene deletions or duplications in each mutant using comparative genomic hybridization. CONCLUSION: Characterization of oil and protein profile in soybean fast neutron mutants will assist scientist and breeders to develop new value-added soybeans with improved protein and oil quality traits.

iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis reveals changes in response to UV-B treatment in soybean sprouts.

It has been shown that 15 µW·cm-2 UV-B radiation has the most pronounced effects on γ-aminobutiric acid (GABA), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation in 4-day-old soybean sprouts. Nevertheless, its mechanism of action, from the perspective of protein expression, remains largely unknown. In this study, isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) were employed to investigate UV-B treatment-induced proteomic changes in soybean sprouts. Results showed that UV-B treatment effectively regulated proteins involved in GABA biosynthesis, such as glutamate synthase, glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), methionine synthetase, 5-methyltetrahydropteroyltriglutamate--homocysteine methyltransferase, aminoaldehyde dehydrogenase (AMADH) and inositol phosphate metabolism pathways, including phosphoinositide phospholipase C (PI-PLC), purple acid phosphatase (PAP) and inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase. In addition, proteins involved in ABA biosynthesis and signal transduction, such as 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED), abscisic-aldehyde oxidase (AO), SNF1-related protein kinase (SnRK), protein phosphatase 2C (PP2C), guanine nucleotide-binding protein and calreticulin-3, were also modulated under UV-B treatment.

Effects of elevated ultraviolet-B radiation on root growth and chemical signaling molecules in plants.

Ozone layer depletion leads to elevated ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, which affects plant growth; however, little is known about the relationship between root growth and signaling molecules in roots. Therefore, in this work, simulated UV-B radiation was used to study the effects of elevated UV-B radiation on root growth of soybean seedlings and changes in the content of signaling molecules in roots. The results showed that compared with the control, the 2.63 kJ m-2 d-1 and 6.17 kJ m-2 d-1 elevated UV-B radiation treatments inhibited root growth, and root growth parameters (total root length, root surface area, root volume, average diameter, root tip number, and root dry weight) all decreased. For root signaling molecules, the content of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species, abscisic acid, salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid increased, and the content of auxin, cytokinin, and gibberellin decreased. The above indices changed more significantly under the 6.17 kJ m-2 d-1 treatment. After withdrawal of the exposure, the above indices could be restored to a certain extent. These data indicated that UV-B radiation interfered with root growth by affecting the content of signaling molecules in roots, and the degree of the effects was related to the intensity of UV-B radiation. The results from this study provide a theoretical basis for studying the preliminary mechanism of elevated UV-B radiation on root growth and possible pathways that can mitigate UV-B radiation damage for root growth. ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: The effects of elevated UV-B on root growth of soybean seedlings were regulated by signaling molecules, and the degree of the effects was related to the intensity of UV-B radiation.

Dynamics of solar radiation and soybean yield in agroforestry systems.

Soybean (Glycine max L.) monocropping have had a great socio-economic and environmental impact on the world and agroforestry systems has been considered an alternative for more sustainable production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different arrangements of agroforestry systems of the species E. urophylla x E. grandis and P. dubium and the pruning of the trees on the dynamics of solar radiation and soybean yield. A field experiment was conducted in Southern Brazil. In order to achieve the objective of the study, the solar radiation transmissivity and the productive performance of the soybean were evaluated. In this study, the soybean yield was determined by the arrangement of the agroforestry system and forest species utilized. The soybean crop cultivated in the understory of the P. dubium trees showed the highest yield response. The use of silvicultural practices for the management of forest species should be considered to generate the balance of the productive system. In this context, tree pruning is a viable side for agroforestry systems, as it promotes an increase in the incidence of solar radiation in the understory, resulting in an increase in soybean yield, especially when integrated with P. dubium.

Effects of gamma irradiation on aflatoxin B1 levels in soybean and on the properties of soybean and soybean oil.

Fungal infection is inevitable in the cultivation and storage process of soybean. Gamma irradiation is an effective method to control fungal growth and inactivate mycotoxins. The effects of gamma irradiation and fungal damage on the number of fungi, aflatoxin B1 content, proximate composition of soybeans, and quality of soybean oil (acid value, peroxide value, iodine value, fatty acid profile, tocopherols content, and oxidation stability) were investigated in this work. Growth of fungi caused some changes in proximate composition of soybean and qualities of soybean oil. However, the changes depended on the damage extent of soybeans. No significant change was found for the soybeans incubated for 30 days (moderately fungi-damaged). Gamma irradiation could completely eliminate the fungi and greatly reduce the content of aflatoxin B1 in soybeans at 10 kGy. For soybeans incubated for 30 days, there were no significant changes in the quality attributes, tocopherols content and oxidation stability of oil when the gamma irradiation dose was less than 20 kGy. Gamma irradiation is a promising method to improve the safety and economy of moderately fungi-damaged soybean used for feedstuff.

Possible role of iron containing proteins in physiological responses of soybean to static magnetic field.

Iron is a component of many proteins that have crucial roles in plant growth and development, such as ferritin and catalase. Iron also, as a ferromagnetic element, is assumed to be influenced by a static magnetic field (SMF). In the present study, we examined the relationship between ferrous content and gene expression and activity of ferritin and catalase in soybean plants under the influence of 0, 20, and 30 mT SMF for 5 day, 5 h each. Exposure to 20 mT decreased gene expression of Fe transporter, ferrous and H2O2 contents and gene expression, content and activity of ferritin and catalase. Opposite responses were observed under 30 mT treatments. The results suggest that SMF triggered a signaling pathway that is mediated by iron. The structure and activity of purified ferritin and apoferritin from horse spleen, and catalase from bovine liver proteins under SMF were evaluated as well. Secondary structure of proteins were not influenced by SMF (evidenced by far-UV circular dichroism), whereas their tertiary structure, size, and activity were altered (shown by fluorescence spectroscopy and dynamic light-scattering). From these results, it is likely that the number of iron atoms is involved in the nature of influence of SMF on protein structure.

Effects of UV-B radiation on the isoflavone accumulation and physiological-biochemical changes of soybean during germination: Physiological-biochemical change of germinated soybean induced by UV-B.

In this study, the effects of UV-B radiation on the isoflavones accumulation, physiological and nutritional quality, water status, and characteristics of proteins in germinated soybeans were investigated. The results showed that isoflavones content in soybeans increased with appropriate intensity and time of UV-B radiation and decreased with excessive treatment. Fresh weight, length, free amino acids, reducing sugar contents and bulk water (T23) in germinated soybeans decreased with increasing radiation time, indicating that UV-B inhibited the growth and nutrients metabolism of soybean during germination. Cell damage was detected in germinated soybeans with excessive UV-B radiation, as shown by the black spots in cotyledons and the increased intercellular water determined by LF-NMR. Germination resulted in an increase in random coil structures, while UV-B radiation induced no obvious changes in FT-IR spectrum and protein conformation of soybeans. Both UV-B radiation and germination caused the increase in soluble proteins, especially in 1.0-75.0 kDa fraction.

Enhanced nutraceutical potential of gamma irradiated black soybean extracts.

Radiation processing of soybean, varying in seed coat colour, was carried out at dose levels of 0.25, 0.5 and 1 kGy to evaluate their potential anti-proliferative and cytoprotective effects in an in vitro cell culture system. Irradiated and control black (Kalitur) and yellow (DS9712) soybean extracts were characterized in terms of total phenolics, flavonoids and anthocyanins, especially cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G). Using an epithelial cell line, BEAS-2B the potential cytoprotective effects of soybean extracts were evaluated in terms of intracellular ROS levels and cell viability. The most relevant scavenging effect was found in Kalitur, with 78% decrease in ROS, which well correlated with a 33% increase in C3G after a 1 kGy dose. Results evidenced a correspondence between in vitro antioxidant activity and a potential health property of black soybean extracts, exemplifying the nutraceutical role of C3G. To our knowledge this study is the first report validating the cytoprotective effects of irradiated black soybean extracts.

Solar UV-B radiation and ethylene play a key role in modulating effective defenses against Anticarsia gemmatalis larvae in field-grown soybean.

Solar UV-B radiation has been reported to enhance plant defenses against herbivore insects in many species. However, the mechanism and traits involved in the UV-B mediated increment of plant resistance are unknown in crops species, such as soybean. Here, we studied defense-related responses in undamaged and Anticarsia gemmatalis larvae-damaged leaves of two soybean cultivars grown under attenuated or full solar UV-B radiation. We determined changes in jasmonates, ethylene (ET), salicylic acid, trypsin protease inhibitor activity, flavonoids, and mRNA expression of genes related with defenses. ET emission induced by Anticarsia gemmatalis damage was synergistically increased in plants grown under solar UV-B radiation and was positively correlated with malonyl genistin concentration, trypsin proteinase inhibitor activity and expression of IFS2, and the pathogenesis protein PR2, while was negatively correlated with leaf consumption. The precursor of ET, aminocyclopropane-carboxylic acid, applied exogenously to soybean was sufficient to strongly induce leaf isoflavonoids. Our results showed that in field-grown soybean isoflavonoids were regulated by both herbivory and solar UV-B inducible ET, whereas flavonols were regulated by solar UV-B radiation only and not by herbivory or ET. Our study suggests that, although ET can modulate UV-B-mediated priming of inducible plant defenses, some plant defenses, such as isoflavonoids, are regulated by ET alone.

Hydrogen gas mediates ascorbic acid accumulation and antioxidant system enhancement in soybean sprouts under UV-A irradiation.

The soybean sprout is a nutritious and delicious vegetable that is rich in ascorbic acid (AsA). Hydrogen gas (H2) may have potential applications in the vegetable processing industry. To investigate whether H2 is involved in the regulation of soybean sprouts AsA biosynthesis under UV irradiation, we set 4 different treatments: white light(W), W+HRW, UV-A and UV-A+HRW. The results showed that H2 significantly blocked the UV-A-induced accumulation of ROS, decreased TBARS content and enhanced SOD and APX activity in soybean sprouts. We also observed that the UV-A induced accumulation of AsA was enhanced more intensely when co-treated with HRW. Molecular analyses showed that UV-A+HRW significantly up-regulated AsA biosynthesis and recycling genes compared to UV-A in soybean sprouts. These data demonstrate that the H2 positively regulates soybean sprouts AsA accumulation under UV-A and that this effect is mediated via the up-regulation of AsA biosynthesis and recycling genes.

Combined effects of O3 and UV radiation on secondary metabolites and endogenous hormones of soybean leaves.

Enhanced ultraviolet radiation (UV) and elevated tropospheric ozone (O3) may individually cause reductions in the growth and productivity of important agricultural crops. However, research regarding their combined effects on important agricultural crops is still scarce, especially on changes in secondary metabolites and endogenous hormones, which are important protective substances and signal components that control plant responses to environment stresses. In this study, using an experimental setup of open top chambers, we monitored the responses of seed yield per plant, leaf secondary metabolites and leaf endogenous hormones under the stress of elevated O3 and enhanced UV radiation individually, as well as their combined stress. The results indicated that elevated O3 (110 ± 10 nmol mol-1 for 8 hours per day) and enhanced UV radiation (1.73 kJ h-1 m-2) significantly decreased seed yield per plant. Concentrations of rutin, queretin and total flavonoids were significantly increased under the elevated O3 treatment or the enhanced UV radiation treatment or the combination treatment at flowering and podding stages, and concentrations of rutin, queretin and total flavonoids showed significant correlations with seed yield per plant. Concentrations of ABA and IAA decreased under the three treatments. There was a significant positive correlation between the ABA concentration and seed yield and a negative correlation between the IAA concentration and seed yield. We concluded that the combined stress of elevated O3 and UV radiation significantly decreased seed yield per plant. Yield reduction was associated with changes in the concentrations of flavonoids, ABA and IAA in soybean leaves. The effects of the combined O3 and UV stress were always greater than those of the individual stresses alone.

Solar UV-B radiation modulates chemical defenses against Anticarsia gemmatalis larvae in leaves of field-grown soybean.

Although it is well known that solar ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation enhances plant defenses, there is less knowledge about traits that define insect resistance in field-grown soybean. Here we study the effects of solar UV-B radiation on: a) the induction of phenolic compounds and trypsin proteinase inhibitors (TPI) in soybean undamaged leaves or damaged by Anticarsia gemmatalis neonates during six days, and b) the survival and mass gain of A. gemmatalis larvae that fed on soybean foliage. Two soybean cultivars (cv.), Charata and Williams, were grown under plastic with different transmittance to solar UV-B radiation, which generated two treatments: ambient UV-B (UVB+) and reduced UV-B (UVB-) radiation. Solar UV-B radiation decreased survivorship by 30% and mass gain by 45% of larvae that fed on cv. Charata, but no effect was found in those larvae that fed on cv. Williams. TPI activity and malonyl genistin were induced by A. gemmatalis damage in both cultivars, but solar UV-B radiation and damage only synergistically increased the induction of these compounds in cv. Williams. Although TPI activity and genistein derivatives were induced by herbivory, these results did not explain the differences found in survivorship and mass gain of larvae that fed on cv. Charata. However, we found a positive association between lower larval performance and the presence of two quercetin triglycosides and a kaempferol triglycoside in foliage of cv. Charata, which were identified by HPLC-DAD/MS2. We conclude that exclusion of solar UV-B radiation reduce resistance to A. gemmatalis, due to a reduction in flavonol concentration in a cultivar that has low levels of genistein derivatives like cv. Charata.

Heme oxygenase up-regulation under ultraviolet-B radiation is not epigenetically restricted and involves specific stress-related transcriptions factors.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) plays a protective role against oxidative stress in plants. The mechanisms regulating its expression, however, remain unclear. Here we studied the methylation state of a GC rich HO-1 promoter region and the expression of several stress-related transcription factors (TFs) in soybean plants subjected to ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation. Genomic DNA and total RNA were isolated from leaves of plants irradiated with 7.5 and 15kJm-2 UV-B. A 304bp HO-1 promoter region was amplified by PCR from sodium bisulfite-treated DNA, cloned into pGEMT plasmid vector and evaluated by DNA sequencing. Bisulfite sequencing analysis showed similar HO-1 promoter methylation levels in control and UV-B-treated plants (C: 3.4±1.3%; 7.5: 2.6±0.5%; 15: 3.1±1.1%). Interestingly, HO-1 promoter was strongly unmethylated in control plants. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of TFs showed that GmMYB177, GmMYBJ6, GmWRKY21, GmNAC11, GmNAC20 and GmGT2A but not GmWRK13 and GmDREB were induced by UV-B radiation. The expression of several TFs was also enhanced by hemin, a potent and specific HO inducer, inferring that they may mediate HO-1 up-regulation. These results suggest that soybean HO-1 gene expression is not epigenetically regulated. Moreover, the low level of HO-1 promoter methylation suggests that this antioxidant enzyme can rapidly respond to environmental stress. Finally, this study has identified some stress-related TFs involved in HO-1 up-regulation under UV-B radiation.

IP3 Mediates Nitric Oxide-Guanosine 3',5'-Cyclic Monophosphate (NO-cGMP)-Induced Isoflavone Accumulation in Soybean Sprouts under UV-B Radiation.

In this study, to investigate the role of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) in nitric oxide-guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (NO-cGMP)-induced isoflavone accumulation in soybean sprouts under UV-B radiation, the sprouts were treated with donors and inhibitors of NO and cGMP as well as IP3 inhibitor. Results showed that NO, with cGMP as a second messenger, stimulates IP3 accumulation under UV-B radiation. Consistent with the increase in IP3 content, the up-regulation of gene and protein expression of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) in response to sodium nitroprusside (SNP) (exogenous NO donor) and 8-Br-cGMP (cGMP analogue) was also observed. In addition, protein kinase G (PKG) participated in NO-cGMP-induced IP3 production. IP3 induced by the NO-cGMP pathway was involved in isoflavone synthesis by elevating the activity and gene and protein expressions of chalcone synthase (CHS) and isoflavone synthase (IFS). Overall, IP3 mediates NO-cGMP-induced isoflavone accumulation in soybean sprouts under UV-B stress.

Isolation of three B-box zinc finger proteins that interact with STF1 and COP1 defines a HY5/COP1 interaction network involved in light control of development in soybean.

LONG HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5) and STF1 (Soybean TGACG-motif binding Factor 1) are two related bZIP transcription factors that play a positive role in photomorphogenesis and hormonal signaling. In this study, we compared full length STF1 and truncated STF1 overexpression lines and found that the C-terminal 133 amino acids (194-306) possess all the HY5-like function in Arabidopsis. The STF1-DC1 mutant (1-306), with a 20 amino acid deletion at the carboxy terminus, failed to complement the hy5 mutant phenotype, which suggests an intact C-terminus is required for STF1 function. To understand the role of the C-terminal domain in photomorphogenesis we used a yeast two-hybrid screen to isolate proteins that bind to the STF1 C-terminus. We isolated three soybean cDNAs encoding the zinc-finger proteins GmSTO, GmSTH, and GmSTH2, which interact with STF1. These proteins belong to a family of B-box zinc finger proteins that include Arabidopsis SALT TOLERANCE (STO) and STO HOMOLOG (STH) and STH2, which play a role in light-dependent development and gene expression. The C-terminal 63 amino acids of STF1, containing a leucine zipper and the two N-terminal B-boxes, contains the domain involved in interactions between STF1 and GmSTO. In addition, we identified an interaction between soybean COP1 (GmCOP1) and GmSTO and GmSTH, as well as STF1, which strongly suggests the presence of a similar regulatory circuit for light signaling in soybean as in Arabidopsis. This study shows that photomorphogenic control requires complex molecular interactions among several different classes of transcription factors such as bZIP, B-box factors, and COP1, a ubiquitin ligase.