Terminating flower (tmf) gene and methods of use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016017347-A1
Application number	US-201314409990-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 17, 2013
Priority date	Jun 20, 2012
Publication date	Jan 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Described herein are the following: isolated polynucleotides, isolated polypeptides and recombinant DNA constructs; compositions (such as plants or seeds) comprising these recombinant DNA constructs; and methods of use for these recombinant DNA constructs. The recombinant DNA construct comprises a polynucleotide operably linked to a promoter that is functional in a plant, wherein said polynucleotide encodes a TMF polypeptide.

First claim

1 . A recombinant DNA construct comprising an isolated polynucleotide operably linked to at least one heterologous regulatory sequence, wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of at least 80% sequence identity, based on the Clustal W method of alignment, when compared to SEQ ID NO:46, 48, 62, 63, 65, 70, 75, 81, 88, 90, 91, 93, 100, 102, 109, 111, 116, 123 or 124, wherein expression of the polynucleotide in a transgenic plant can increase at least one agronomic characteristic selected from the group consisting of: leaf number, inflorescence number, branching within the inflorescence, flower number, fruit number, seed number, biomass and yield, when compared to a control plant not comprising the recombinant DNA construct.

2 . The recombinant DNA construct of claim 1 , wherein expression of the polynucleotide in a tomato line having the tmf mutant genotype is capable of partially or fully restoring the wild-type phenotype.

3 . A method of producing a transgenic plant with an increase of an agronomic characteristic, the method comprising:
(a) introducing into a regenerable plant cell the recombinant DNA construct of claim 1 ; (b) regenerating a transgenic plant from the regenerable plant cell after step (a), wherein the transgenic plant comprises in its genome the recombinant DNA construct; and (c) selecting a transgenic plant of (b), wherein the transgenic plant comprises the recombinant DNA construct, wherein the polynucleotide is expressed, and wherein the plant exhibits an increase of at least one agronomic characteristic selected from the group consisting of: leaf number, inflorescence number, branching within the inflorescence, flower number, fruit number, seed number, biomass and yield, when compared to a control plant not comprising the recombinant DNA construct.

4 . (canceled)

5 . A plant comprising in its genome the recombinant DNA construct of claim 1 , wherein the plant exhibits an increase of at least one agronomic characteristic selected from the group consisting of: leaf number, inflorescence number, branching within the inflorescence, flower number, fruit number, seed number, biomass and yield, when compared to a control plant not comprising the recombinant DNA construct.

6 . The plant of claim 5 , wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of: Arabidopsis , tomato, maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, millet, sugar cane and switchgrass.

7 . A seed of the plant of claim 5 , wherein said seed comprises in its genome the recombinant DNA construct of claim 1 , and wherein a plant produced from the seed exhibits an increase of at least one agronomic characteristic selected from the group consisting of: leaf number, inflorescence number, branching within the inflorescence, flower number, fruit number, seed number, biomass and yield, when compared to a control plant not comprising the recombinant DNA construct.

8 . A suppression DNA construct comprising an isolated polynucleotide operably linked, in sense or antisense orientation, to a heterologous promoter functional in a plant, wherein the polynucleotide comprises:
(a) a first nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:46, 48, 62, 63, 65, 70, 75, 81, 88, 90, 91, 93, 100, 102, 109, 111, 116, 123 or 124; (b) a second nucleotide sequence having at least 90% sequence identity, when compared to the first nucleotide sequence; (c) a third nucleotide sequence of at least 100 contiguous nucleotides of the first nucleotide sequence; (d) a fourth nucleotide sequence that can hybridize under stringent conditions with the first nucleotide sequence; or (e) a modified plant miRNA precursor, wherein the precursor has been modified to replace the miRNA encoding region with a sequence designed to produce a miRNA directed to the first nucleotide sequence,
wherein the suppression DNA construct induces an earlier flowering time in a transgenic plant, when compared to a control plant not comprising the suppression DNA construct

9 . A method of producing a transgenic plant with an earlier flowering time, the method comprising:
(a) introducing into a regenerable plant cell the suppression DNA construct of claim 8 ; (b) regenerating a transgenic plant from the regenerable plant cell after step (a), wherein the transgenic plant comprises in its genome the suppression DNA construct; and (c) selecting a transgenic plant of (b), wherein the transgenic plant comprises the suppression DNA construct and exhibits an earlier flowering time, when compared to a control plant not comprising the suppression DNA construct.

10 . (canceled)

11 . A plant comprising in its genome the suppression DNA construct of claim 8 , wherein the plant exhibits an earlier flowering time, when compared to a control plant not comprising the recombinant DNA construct.

12 . The plant of claim 11 , wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of: Arabidopsis , tomato, maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, millet, sugar cane and switchgrass.

13 . A seed of the plant of claim 11 , wherein said seed comprises in its genome the suppression DNA construct of claim 8 , and wherein a plant produced from the seed exhibits an earlier flowering time, when compared to a control plant not comprising the suppression DNA construct.

14 . A recombinant DNA construct comprising a heterologous polynucleotide operably linked to a second polynucleotide, wherein the second polynucleotide has a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a first nucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO:141; (b) a second nucleotide sequence having at least 90% sequence identity, when compared to SEQ ID NO:141; (c) a third nucleotide sequence of at least 100 contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:141; or (d) a fourth nucleotide sequence that can hybridize under stringent conditions with SEQ ID NO:141; and
wherein said second polynucleotide has promoter activity in a plant.

15 . A method of expressing a heterologous polynucleotide in a plant, the method comprising:
(a) transforming a regenerable plant cell with the recombinant DNA construct of claim 14 ; (b) regenerating a transgenic plant from the regenerable plant cell after step (a), wherein the transgenic plant comprises in its genome the recombinant DNA construct; and (c) selecting a transgenic plant of step (b), wherein the transgenic plant comprises the recombinant DNA construct and further wherein the heterologous polynucleotide is expressed in the transgenic plant.

16 . (canceled)

17 . A plant comprising in its genome the recombinant DNA construct of claim 14 , wherein the heterologous polynucleotide is expressed in the plant.

18 . The plant of claim 17 , wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of: Arabidopsis , tomato, maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, millet, sugar cane and switchgrass.

19 . Seed of the plant of claim 17 , wherein said seed comprises in its genome the recombinant DNA construct of claim 14 , and wherein the heterologous polynucleotide is expressed in a plant produced from the seed.

20 . A method of producing a transgenic plant with an increased seed yield, the method comprising:
(a) introducing into a regenerable plant cell the recombinant DNA construct of claim 1 and the suppression DNA construct of claim 8 , wherein the isolated polynucleotide of the r

Assignees

• Du Pont
• Cold Spring Harbor Lab

Inventors

• Allen Stephen M
• Lippman Zachary B
• Macalister Cora A

Classifications

• C12N15/827 Primary

  Flower development or morphology, e.g. flowering promoting factor [FPF] · CPC title

• C12N15/8218

  Antisense, co-suppression, viral induced gene silencing [VIGS], post-transcriptional induced gene silencing [PTGS] · CPC title

• C07K14/415

  from plants · CPC title

• C12N15/8261

  with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield · CPC title