History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

in Japan. (3) Varieties registered during the last decade.
Figures: (1) Soybean production by region in Japan (1983).
(2) Planting and harvesting time of soybean in Japan. (3)
Centers for breeding and research on soybean affi liated to
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Japan.
Address: Tropical Agriculture Research Center, Yatabe,
Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan.
1017. Saio, Kyoko. 1984. Dietary pattern and soybean
processing in Japan today. Tropical Agriculture Research
Series No. 17. p. 153-61. March. International Symposium
on Soybean in the Tropics and Subtropics. [1 ref. Eng]
• Summary: Abstract. Consumption of soybeans in Japan.
Varieties and processing of soybean foods. Traditional
technology for modern products and emerging technology
applied to traditional foods. Reference. Discussion. Tables:
(1) Intake of Kcal/day/person. (2) Intake of protein/day/
person. (3) Intake of fat/day/person. (4) Comparison of
intake of nutrients among various nations. (5) Supply and
demand of whole soybeans in Japan. (6) Detailed use of
whole soybeans supplied for food. Figures: (1) Flow sheet
of Momen Tofu preparation. (2) Flow sheet of Kori Tofu
preparation. (3) Flow sheet of Shoyu (soy sauce) preparation.
(4) Flow sheet of Kome Miso preparation. (5) Flow sheet of
soy milk preparation. (6) Manufacture of vegetable protein
products. Address: National Food Research Inst., Yatabe,
Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305, Japan.
1018. Subden, Ron. 1984. Star Wars soybeans. . . Genetic
engineering of soybeans. In: Ontario Soya-Bean Growers’
Marketing Board. ed. 1984. Ontario Soybean Symposium.
Chatham, Ontario, Canada: OSGMB. 319 p. See p. 296-301.
[1 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. Classic breeding–The
quest for new allele combinations. Mutagenesis–Inducing
new alleles. Cell fusions–Hybrids of non-related species.
Genetic engineering–Plasmid mediated recombination. Star
wars.
By the year 2000 strains of soybeans “will not only
be bred but actually constructed by ‘gene machines’
(computers with microprocessors that actually make whole
sets of genes) that will literally assemble a genotype to the
grower’s specifi cations. Soybeans all have approximately the
same number of genes and the same arrangement of genes
within the chromosomes. Different forms of the same gene
are called alleles. Sometimes a desired gene for soybean
improvement exists in an entirely different plant organism
such as a bacterium or yeast. Genetic engineering techniques
are now available to cut out the desired gene, and stitch it
into a plasmid. Plasmids are small, circular sets of genes
that can replicate like a parasite in a host cell. Under certain
circumstances, some plasmids can insert themselves into the
chromosomes of plant cells. If they carry a desired gene for
crop improvement, plasmids then become vectors. Plasmid
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HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 328
borne genes can be inserted into the plant chromosomes and
eventually into the seeds and persist through succeeding
generations. In such a way, new alleles or new genes can be
introduced into the plant germline...
“A soybean gene is a chain molecule composed of a very
precise sequence of nucleotides which contains a genetic
code. The sequence of a gene can readily be determined
by relatively simple procedures. The nucleotide sequence
of a virus containing 49000 nucleotides has recently been
published. The fi rst gene was constructed in the ‘70s by G.
Khorana at the University of Wisconsin. He used literally
dozens of technicians and the project took years. Today, one
can purchase for $40,000 (Canadian) a ‘gene machine’ that
quickly will make sequences of 10-15 nucleotides... The
gene machine construction of a complete gene, say 1500
nucleotides long, is at present quite technically diffi cult if
not impossible. The problem is, however, only technical and
will be solved... A complete set of soybean genes is probably
around 5-10 thousand genes.” Address: Prof. of Genetics,
Univ. of Guelph, Guelph, ONT, Canada.
1019. Suzuki, Steven. 1984. Pacifi c Rim potential for edible
soybeans. In: Ontario Soya-Bean Growers’ Marketing Board.
ed. 1984. Ontario Soybean Symposium. Chatham, Ontario,
Canada: OSGMB. 319 p. See p. 224-41.
• Summary: Soybeans were fi rst exported from Canada
about 12 years ago when a Japanese house approached
the Ontario Soybean Grower’s Marketing Board for a trial
shipment to Japan. The trial worked out very well and in a
short time Ontario’s soybean exports became a multi-million
dollar business. Ontario soybeans are very clean, the quality
is comparable to Japanese and Chinese soybeans, and the
supply is consistent. However the price is high in relation to
Chinese and U.S. soybeans. As a result, Ontario soybeans
are sold in high-priced markets, as for making premium
quality miso or soyamilk. The supply of Chinese soybeans is
irregular. Address: Manager, Grain Trading Section, Okura &
Co. America Ltd., New York, NY.
1020. Wang, Hwa L. 1984. Tofu and tempeh as potential
protein sources in the Western diet. J. of the American Oil
Chemists’ Society 61(3):528-34. March. [22 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Abstract (uses the word “soybean
foods” several times). Introduction. Traditional soybean
foods. Trends in market growth for tofu and tempeh (based
on statistics gathered by Shurtleff & Aoyagi of The Soyfoods
Center in California, 1983). Tofu. Tempeh.
Traditional soybean foods can be classifi ed as either
nonfermented or fermented. Tables show: (1) Oriental
nonfermented soybean foods (gives food name, local names,
description, uses): Fresh green soybeans (local names: maotou,
edamame). Soybean sprouts (huang-tou-ya, daizu no
moyashi). Soybean milk (tou-chiang). Protein-lipid fi lm (toufu-pi,
yuba). Soybean curd (tofu, tou-fu, tubu, tahoo, touhu,