Plants having increased tolerance to herbicides

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016201078-A1
Application number	US-201414911814-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 12, 2014
Priority date	Aug 12, 2013
Publication date	Jul 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The invention refers to plants comprising wild-type or mutated Alopecurus PPO enzymes, and methods of obtaining such plants. The present invention further refers to a method for controlling weeds at a plant cultivation site, the method comprising the steps of providing, at said site, a plant that comprises at least one nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a wild-type or a mutated Alopecurus PPO enzyme which is resistant or tolerant to a PPO-inhibiting herbicide by applying to said site an effective amount of said herbicide.

First claim

1 . A method for producing a transgenic plant with increased herbicide tolerance or resistance as compared to a corresponding non-transformed wild type plant, comprising transforming a plant cell or a plant cell nucleus or a plant tissue with a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid molecule selected from the group consisting of:
(a) an isolated polynucleotide encoding a PPO polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4, or a homolog thereof; (b) an isolated polynucleotide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 3, or a homolog thereof; (c) an isolated polynucleotide, which, as a result of the degeneracy of the genetic code, can be derived from a PPO polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4, or a homolog thereof and confers an increased herbicide tolerance or resistance as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a wild type plant or a part thereof; (d) an isolated polynucleotide having 30% (percent) or more identity with the sequence of a polynucleotide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 3, or a homolog thereof and conferring an increased herbicide tolerance or resistance as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a wild type plant or a part thereof; (e) an isolated polynucleotide which hybridizes with an isolated polynucleotide of (a) to (c) under stringent hybridization conditions and confers an increased herbicide tolerance or resistance as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a wild type plant or a part thereof; and regenerating a transgenic plant from that transformed plant cell nucleus, plant cell or plant tissue with increased herbicide tolerance or resistance.

2 . An isolated and/or recombinant and/or synthetic nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid molecule selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a nucleic acid molecule encoding the PPO polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4, or a homolog thereof; (b) a nucleic acid molecule comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 3, or a homolog thereof, (c) a nucleic acid molecule, which, as a result of the degeneracy of the genetic code, can be derived from a PPO polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4, or a homolog thereof, and confers increased herbicide tolerance or resistance, as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a wild type plant or a part thereof; (d) a nucleic acid molecule having 30% or more identity with the nucleic acid molecule sequence of a polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid molecule of SEQ ID NO: 1 or 3, or a homolog thereof, and confers increased herbicide tolerance or resistance, as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a wild type plant or a part thereof; (e) a nucleic acid molecule encoding a PPO polypeptide having 30% or more identity with the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4, and confers increased herbicide tolerance or resistance, as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a wild type plant or a part thereof; (f) nucleic acid molecule which hybridizes with a nucleic acid molecule of (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) under stringent hybridization conditions and confers increased herbicide tolerance or resistance, as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a wild type plant or a part thereof;

3 . The nucleic acid molecule according to claim 2 , wherein the homolog of (a) or (c) refers to a mutated PPO polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4, in which the amino acid at or corresponding to position 137 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and/or the amino acid at or corresponding to position 415 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and/or the amino acid at or corresponding to position 438 of SEQ ID NO: 2 is substituted by another amino acid.

4 . A nucleic acid construct which comprises and confers the expression of said nucleic acid molecule of claim 2 , comprising one or more regulatory elements.

5 . A vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 2 .

6 . A PPO polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or 4, or a homolog thereof.

7 . The polypeptide of claim 6 , wherein the homolog refers to a mutated PPO polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or 4, in which the amino acid at or corresponding to position 137 of SEQ ID NO: 2 and/or the amino acid at or corresponding to position 415 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and/or the amino acid at or corresponding to position 438 of SEQ ID NO: 2 is replaced by another amino acid.

8 . A plant cell nucleus, plant cell, plant tissue, propagation material, pollen, progeny, harvested material or a plant comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 2 .

9 . (canceled)

10 . The transgenic plant cell nucleus, transgenic plant cell, transgenic plant or part thereof of claim 8 derived from a monocotyledonous plant.

11 . The transgenic plant cell nucleus, transgenic plant cell, transgenic plant or part thereof of claim 8 derived from a dicotyledonous plant.

12 . The transgenic plant cell nucleus, transgenic plant cell, transgenic plant or part thereof of claim 8 , wherein the corresponding plant is selected from the group consisting of corn (maize), wheat, rye, oat, triticale, rice, barley, soybean, peanut, cotton, oil seed rape, including canola and winter oil seed rape, manihot, pepper, sunflower, sugar cane, sugar beet, flax, borage, safflower, linseed, primrose, rapeseed, turnip rape, tagetes, solanaceous plants comprising potato, tobacco, eggplant, tomato; Vicia species, pea, alfalfa, coffee, cacao, tea, Salix species, oil palm, coconut, perennial grass, forage crops and Arabidopsis thaliana.

13 . A method for controlling undesired vegetation at a plant cultivation site, the method comprising the steps of:
a) providing, at said site, a plant that comprises at least one nucleic acid molecule of claim 2 , which is resistant or tolerant to a PPO-inhibiting herbicide and b) applying to said site an effective amount of said herbicide.

14 . (canceled)

15 . A method for growing the plant of claim 8 while controlling weeds in the vicinity of said plant, said method comprising the steps of:
a) growing said plant; and
b) applying a herbicide composition comprising a PPO-inhibiting herbicide to the plant and weeds, wherein the herbicide normally inhibits protoporphyrinogen oxidase, at a level of the herbicide that would inhibit the growth of a corresponding wild-type plant.

16 . A combination useful for weed control, comprising (a) a nucleic acid molecule of claim 2 , which polynucleotide is capable of being expressed in a plant to thereby provide to that plant tolerance to a PPO inhibiting herbicide; and (b) a PPO inhibiting herbicide.

17 . A process for preparing a combination useful for weed control comprising (a) providing a nucleic acid molecule of claim 2 , which nucleic acid molecule is capable of being expressed in a plant to thereby provide to that plant tolerance to a PPO inhibiting herbicide; and (b) providing a PPO inhibiting herbicide.

18 . The process according to claim 17 , wherein said step of providing a nucleic acid molecule comprises providing a plant containing said nucleic acid molecule.

19 . The process according to claim 17 , wherein said step of providing a nucleic acid molecule comprises providing a seed containing the nucleic acid molecule.

20 . The process according to claim 19 , wherein said process further comprises a step of applying the PPO inhibitin

Assignees

• Basf Agro Bv

Inventors

• Aponte Raphael
• Tresch Stefan
• Witschel Matthias
• Lerchl Jens
• Massa Dario
• Seiser Tobias
• Mietzner Thomas
• Paulik Jill Marie
• Brommer Chad

Classifications

• C12N9/001

  acting on the CH-CH group of donors (1.3) · CPC title

• A01N43/84

  six-membered rings with one nitrogen atom and either one oxygen atom or one sulfur atom in positions 1,4 · CPC title

• C12N9/0071

  acting on paired donors with incorporation of molecular oxygen (1.14) · CPC title

• C12N15/8274 Primary

  for herbicide resistance · CPC title

• A01N37/48

  Nitro-carboxylic acids; Derivatives thereof · CPC title