Fungal resistant plants expressing ACD

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10450582-B2
Application number	US-201715614082-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 5, 2017
Priority date	Apr 5, 2012
Publication date	Oct 22, 2019
Grant date	Oct 22, 2019

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of increasing resistance against fungal pathogens of the family Phacosporaceae in plants and/or plant cells. This is achieved by increasing the expression of an ACD protein or fragment thereof in a plant, plant part and/or plant cell in comparison to wild type plants, wild type plant parts and/or wild type plant cells. Furthermore, the invention relates to transgenic plants, plant parts, and/or plant cells having an increased resistance against fungal pathogens, in particular, pathogens of the family Phacopsoraceae, and to recombinant expression vectors comprising a sequence that is identical or homologous to a sequence encoding an ACD protein.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for preventing, reducing, or delaying Phakopsora infection in a soybean plant, a soybean plant part, or a soybean plant cell, the method comprising
(a) providing a transgenic soybean plant, transgenic soybean plant part, or transgenic soybean plant cell with an exogenous nucleic acid encoding an aminocvclopropane carboxylic acid deaminase (ACD) protein having an amino acid sequence with at least 80% identity to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein the ACD protein confers increased resistance against Phakopsora thereto in comparison to a wild type soybean plant, wild type soybean plant part or wild type soybean plant cell; and
(b) growing the transgenic soybean plant, transgenic soybean plant part, or transgenic soybean plant cell in the presence of a fungal pathogen of the genus Phakopsora , wherein Phakopsora infection is prevented, reduced, or delayed in the transgenic soybean plant, transgenic soybean plant part, or transgenic soybean plant cell as compared to a wild type soybean plant, wild type soybean plant part, or wild type soybean plant cell.

2. A recombinant vector construct comprising, in operable linkage:
(a) a nucleic acid encoding an ACD protein having an amino acid sequence with at least 80% identity to SEQ ID NO: 2;
(b) a heterologous promoter, wherein the promoter is a fungal-inducible promoter or a mesophyll-specific promoter and
(c) a transcription termination sequence,
wherein expression of said recombinant vector construct in a soybean plant, soybean plant part, or soybean plant cell confers increased resistance against Phakopsora thereto in comparison to a wild type soybean plant, wild type soybean plant part or wild type soybean plant cell.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the exogenous nucleic acid is in functional linkage with a promoter, and the promoter is a constitutive promoter, a pathogen-inducible promoter, a mesophyll-specific promoter, or an epidermis specific-promoter.

4. A transgenic soybean plant, transgenic soybean plant part, or transgenic soybean plant cell comprising an exogenous nucleic acid encoding an ACD protein having an amino acid sequence with at least 80% identity to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein the ACD protein confers increased resistance against Phakopsora thereto in comparison to a wild type soybean plant, wild type soybean plant part or wild type soybean plant cell.

5. A method for the production of a transgenic plant, transgenic plant part, or transgenic plant cell having increased fungal resistance, comprising:
(a) introducing the recombinant vector construct of claim 2 into a plant, a plant part, or a plant cell;
(b) generating a transgenic plant, transgenic plant part, or transgenic plant cell from the plant, plant part or plant cell; and
(c) expressing the ACD protein.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising the step of harvesting the seeds of the transgenic plant and planting the seeds and growing the seeds to plants, wherein the grown plants comprise the recombinant vector construct.

7. A harvestable part of the transgenic plant of claim 4 , wherein the harvestable part of the transgenic plant comprises the exogenous nucleic acid.

8. A product derived from the plant of claim 4 , wherein the product comprises the exogenous nucleic acid.

9. A method for the production of a product comprising:
a) growing the plant of claim 4 ; and
b) producing said product from or by the plant or a part thereof,
wherein the product comprises the exogenous nucleic acid.

10. The method of claim 9 comprising:
a) growing the plant and removing the harvestable parts from the plants; and
b) producing said product from or by the harvestable parts of the plant,
wherein the product comprises the exogenous nucleic acid.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the resistance against soybean rust is resistance against Phakopsora meibomiae, Phakopsora pachyrhizi , or combinations thereof.

12. A method for breeding a fungal resistant plant comprising:
(a) crossing the plant of claim 4 with a second plant;
(b) obtaining seeds from the cross of step (a);
(c) planting said seeds and growing the seeds to plants; and
(d) selecting, from said plants, plants expressing the ACD protein.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein all of the amino acid residues in the ACD protein not identical to SEQ ID NO: 2 are conservative amino acid substitutions.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the exogenous nucleic acid encodes an ACD protein with at least 85% identity to SEQ ID NO: 2.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the exogenous nucleic acid encodes an ACD protein with at least 90% identity to SEQ ID NO: 2.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the exogenous nucleic acid encodes an ACD protein with at least 95% identity to SEQ ID NO: 2.

Assignees

• Basf Plant Science Co Gmbh

Inventors

• Schultheiss Holger
• Flachmann Ralf

Classifications

• C12N9/88

  Lyases (4.) · CPC title

• C12N15/8282 Primary

  for fungal resistance · CPC title