Means and methods for regulating secondary metabolite production in plants

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11208667-B2
Application number	US-201816107593-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 21, 2018
Priority date	Feb 18, 2014
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

This disclosure relates to the field of secondary metabolite production in plants. More specifically, the disclosure relates to chimeric genes encoding a bHLH protein of subfamily Iva comprising a bHLH domain and their use in the regulation of biosynthesis and/or production of secondary metabolites in plants and plant-derived cell cultures.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for increasing the production of a bHLH25 protein in a plant or a plant cell, the method comprising:
increasing the expression in a plant or plant cell of a nucleic acid encoding the bHLH25 protein which is at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, or SEQ ID NO:8, wherein the increased expression is affected by introducing and expressing in the plant or plant cell a chimeric gene comprising the following operably linked nucleic acid sequences:
one or more control sequences able to drive expression of a nucleic acid sequence in a plant cell; and
a nucleic acid sequence encoding the bHLH25 protein, wherein the bHLH25 protein is at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, or SEQ ID NO:8; and

measuring the levels of least one secondary metabolite in the plant or plant cell after increasing the expression of the bHLH25 protein.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one secondary metabolite is selected from the group consisting of plant terpenoid indole alkaloids, plant monoterpenoid indole alkaloids, and plant terpenoid compounds.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid sequence encoding a bHLH25 protein which is at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, or SEQ ID NO:8 is heterologous to the plant or plant cell.

4. The method according to claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one secondary metabolite is selected from the group consisting of saponins, loganic acid, strictosidine, secologanin, serpentine, ajmalicine, and tabersonine.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the plant or plant cell is a Papaver spp., Rauwolfia spp., Catharanthus spp., Artemisia spp., Taxus spp., Cinchona spp., Eschscholtzia californica, Camptotheca acuminata, Hyoscyamus spp., Berberis spp., Coptis spp., Datura spp., Atropa spp., Thalictrum spp., Peganum spp., Panax spp., Avena spp., Medicago spp., Quillaja spp., Sapindus spp., Saponaria spp., Betula spp., Digitalis spp., Glycyrrhiza spp., Bupleurum spp., Centella spp., Dracaena spp., Aesculus spp. or Yucca spp.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the encoded bHLH25 protein is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:7, and SEQ ID NO:8.

Assignees

• Vib Vzw
• Univ Gent
• Univ Leiden

Inventors

• Goossens Alain
• Mertens Jan
• Van Moerkercke Alex
• Pollier Jacob
• Memelink Johan

Classifications

• C07K14/415

  from plants · CPC title

• C12N15/8243 Primary

  involving biosynthetic or metabolic pathways, i.e. metabolic engineering, e.g. nicotine, caffeine · CPC title