Wheat ms1 polynucleotides, polypeptides, and methods of use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016201084-A1
Application number	US-201514866078-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 25, 2015
Priority date	Sep 26, 2014
Publication date	Jul 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Compositions and methods are capable of modulating male fertility in a plant. Compositions comprise polynucleotides and polypeptides, and fragments and variants thereof, which modulate male fertility. Expression cassettes comprise a male-fertility polynucleotide, or fragment or variant thereof, operably linked to a promoter, wherein expression of the polynucleotide modulates the male fertility of a plant. Regulatory sequences drive expression in a male-tissue-preferred manner and may be targets to downregulate an operably-linked gene. Mutations that induce nuclear recessive male sterility in subsequent selfing and crossing of wheat lines containing the mutations may be tracked. Male-sterile plants may be maintained by crossing with a maintainer plant. Hybrids can be produced using the male-sterile plants.

First claim

That which is claimed:

1 . An expression cassette comprising a first polynucleotide operably linked to a heterologous promoter, wherein said first polynucleotide comprises a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a nucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 42, 43, 44, or 45; (b) a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 3, 5, 39, or 40; (c) a nucleotide sequence comprising at least 85% sequence identity to the full length of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 42, 43, 44, or 45, wherein said polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that modulates male fertility; (d) a nucleotide sequence comprising at least 500 consecutive nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 42, 43, 44, or 45, wherein said polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that modulates male fertility; and (e) a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having at least 85% identity to the full length of SEQ ID NO: 3, 5, 39, or 40, wherein said polypeptide modulates male fertility.

2 . The expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein said expression cassette comprises a first polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a nucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 2, 4, 43, or 45; (b) a nucleotide sequence comprising at least sequence 95% identity to the full length of SEQ ID NO: 2, 4, 43, or 45; (c) a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 3, 5, 39, or 40; and (d) a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence comprising at least 95% sequence identity to the full length of SEQ ID NO: 3, 5, 39, or 40.

3 . The expression cassette of claim 1 , wherein said heterologous promoter is a constitutive, inducible, tissue-preferred, tissue-specific, or growth-stage-preferred promoter.

4 . The expression cassette of claim 3 , wherein said heterologous promoter is a male-tissue-preferred promoter.

5 . The expression cassette of claim 1 , further comprising a second polynucleotide operably linked to a second promoter that drives expression in a plant.

6 . The expression cassette of claim 5 , wherein said second polynucleotide encodes a polynucleotide or polypeptide that interferes with male gamete function, formation, or dispersal.

7 . The expression cassette of claim 6 , wherein said second polynucleotide encodes barnase, DAM-methylase, amylase, or ADP ribosylase.

8 . The expression cassette of claim 5 , further comprising a third polynucleotide operably linked to a promoter, wherein said third polynucleotide encodes a marker gene product.

9 . The expression cassette of claim 8 , wherein said marker gene product comprises an antibiotic resistance marker gene product or a visual marker gene product.

10 . A plant cell comprising the expression cassette of claim 1 .

11 . The plant cell of claim 10 , wherein said plant is maize, barley, millet, wheat, rice, sorghum, rye, soybean, canola, alfalfa, sunflower, safflower, sugarcane, tobacco, Arabidopsis , or cotton.

12 . A plant comprising the plant cell of claim 10 , wherein the male fertility of said plant is modulated when compared to a control plant.

13 . The plant of claim 12 , wherein the expression of said first polynucleotide confers male fertility to a male sterile plant.

14 . A seed of the plant of claim 12 , wherein said seed comprises said expression cassette.

15 . A method of modulating male fertility in a plant, comprising introducing into said plant a polynucleotide operably linked to a heterologous promoter active in said plant, said polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a nucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 42, 43, 44, or 45; (b) a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 3, 5, 39, or 40; (c) a nucleotide sequence comprising at least 85% sequence identity to the full length of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 42, 43, 44, or 45, wherein said polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that modulates male fertility; (d) a nucleotide sequence comprising at least 500 consecutive nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 42, 43, 44, or 45, wherein said polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that modulates male fertility; and (e) a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having at least 85% sequence identity to the full length of SEQ ID NO: 3, 5, 39, or 40, wherein said polypeptide modulates male fertility.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein said polynucleotide comprises the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 42, 43, 44, or 45.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein expression of said polynucleotide confers male fertility to a male sterile plant.

18 . An expression cassette comprising a regulatory element operably linked to a heterologous polynucleotide, wherein said regulatory element is a polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of:
(a) a nucleotide sequence comprising SEQ ID NO: 6, 8, or 41; (b) a nucleotide sequence comprising at least 95% identity to the full length of SEQ ID NO: 6, 8, or 41 and which drives expression of an operably linked polynucleotide; and (c) a nucleotide sequence comprising at least about 900 contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 6, 8, or 41 and which drives expression of an operably linked polynucleotide.

19 . A method for identifying and/or selecting wheat plants that are homozygous or heterozygous for a mutation in the Ms1 gene, wherein said mutation induces nuclear recessive male sterility, said method comprising:
a. detecting at least one marker allele that is linked to and associated with a mutation in Ms1; and b. selecting the plants having the at least one marker allele.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein said marker allele linked to and associated with a mutation in Ms1 is an allele at marker ET0487, ET0488, ET0489, ET0490, ET0491, ET0495, 007-0033.1, or 007-0046.1.

21 . A method for propagating male-sterile plants homozygous for ms1, comprising
(a) pollinating the male-sterile plant with a maintainer plant, wherein said maintainer plant comprises a DNA construct which comprises (i) a polynucleotide at least 95% identical to the full length of SEQ ID NO: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 42, 43, 44, or 45; and (ii) a polynucleotide encoding a gene product which inhibits the formation, function, or dispersal of male gametes of the maintainer plant; (b) harvesting seed produced by the male-sterile plant; and (c) planting the harvested seed to grow male-sterile plants.

22 . A method of producing hybrid wheat seed, comprising pollinating the male-sterile plants produced by the method of claim 21 with pollen comprising an Ms1 allele.

Assignees

• Pioneer Hi Bred Int

Inventors

• Albertsen Marc C
• Baumann Ute
• Cigan Andrew Mark
• Singh Manjit
• Tucker Elise
• Whitford Ryan

Classifications

• C12Q2600/13

  Plant traits · CPC title

• C12N15/8289 Primary

  Male sterility · CPC title

• C12N15/8213

  Targeted insertion of genes into the plant genome by homologous recombination · CPC title

• C12Q1/6895

  for plants, fungi or algae · CPC title

• C07K14/415

  from plants · CPC title