WO2003077648A2 - Procedes d'identification d'herbicides et modulation de la croissance vegetale - Google Patents

Procedes d'identification d'herbicides et modulation de la croissance vegetale Download PDF

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WO2003077648A2
WO2003077648A2 PCT/US2002/035736 US0235736W WO03077648A2 WO 2003077648 A2 WO2003077648 A2 WO 2003077648A2 US 0235736 W US0235736 W US 0235736W WO 03077648 A2 WO03077648 A2 WO 03077648A2
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seq
polypeptide
plant
rna
sequence identity
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WO2003077648A3 (fr
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Alexis Edwards
Shannon Carter
Keith David
Adel Zayed
Robert Ascenzi
Douglas Boyes
Rao Mulpuri
Neil Hoffman
Kenneth Phillips
Jorn Gorlach
Jeffrey Woessner
Carol Hamilton
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Cogenics Icoria Inc
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Paradigm Genetics Inc
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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
    • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
    • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
    • C12N15/63—Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
    • C12N15/79—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
    • C12N15/82—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
    • C12N15/8241—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology
    • C12N15/8261—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
    • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
    • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
    • C12N15/63—Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
    • C12N15/79—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
    • C12N15/82—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
    • C12N15/8241—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology
    • C12N15/8261—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield
    • C12N15/8271—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield for stress resistance, e.g. heavy metal resistance
    • C12N15/8274—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield for stress resistance, e.g. heavy metal resistance for herbicide resistance
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
    • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
    • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
    • C12N15/63—Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
    • C12N15/79—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
    • C12N15/82—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
    • C12N15/8241—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology
    • C12N15/8261—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield
    • C12N15/8287—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield for fertility modification, e.g. apomixis
    • C12N15/8289—Male sterility
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
    • G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
    • G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
    • G01N33/5097—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving plant cells
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A—TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A40/00—Adaptation technologies in agriculture, forestry, livestock or agroalimentary production
    • Y02A40/10—Adaptation technologies in agriculture, forestry, livestock or agroalimentary production in agriculture
    • Y02A40/146—Genetically Modified [GMO] plants, e.g. transgenic plants

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to plant molecular biology.
  • the invention relates to methods for the identification of herbicides.
  • the Albino 3 (ALB3) mutant of Arabidopsis ihaliana forms white or light yellow cotyledons (seed leaves) and leaves, and when germinated on soil does not survive beyond the seedling stage.
  • the chloroplasts of the mutant are abnormal, as determined by electron microscopy, and contain reduced levels of chlorophyll.
  • the chloroplasts of ALB 3 mutants are sufficiently differentiated to enable the expression of two nuclear genes whose transcription requires the presence of chloroplasts. It is thought that ALB3 might have a function related to the assembly of a chloroplast enzyme complex.
  • the ALB3 gene was isolated by transposon tagging with the Activator/Dissociation transposable element system.
  • ALB3 is a plant gene whose product shows homology to a bacterial membrane protein previously identified in five bacterial species and to a yeast protein, OXA1, and its human homolog.
  • OXA1 is required in the mitochondria for proper assembly of the cytochrome oxidase complex.
  • ALB3 does not have a function identical to OXA1 because mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase activity is not affected in the mutant, and immunogold labeling as well as chloroplast import experiments performed in vitro demonstrated that the ALB3 protein is present in chloroplast membranes.
  • ALB3 may have a function related to that of OXA1 and be involved in the assembly of a chloroplast enzyme complex Sundberg et al. (1997) Plant Cell 9:717-30.
  • ALB3 is a novel herbicide target.
  • the present invention provides compositions and methods for the use of ALB3s as a novel class of herbicide targets.
  • the present inventors have discovered that antisense expression of a portion of the cDNA of SEQ ID NO:l in Ar ⁇ bidopsis causes chlorosis and growth reduction in seedlings.
  • the polypeptide encoded by the cDNA of SEQ ID NO:l is essential for normal plant development and growth, and can be used as a target for the identification of herbicides.
  • the present invention provides a method for the identification of herbicide candidates, comprising: contacting a candidate compound with a polypeptide comprising the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 and detecting the presence or absence of binding between said compound and said polypeptide.
  • the invention provides a method for the identification of herbicide candidates, comprising: contacting a plant cell with a candidate compound and detecting a decrease in the expression of a protein or rriR-NA selected from the group consisting of: the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, a polypeptide having at least 80%o sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, and an mRNA encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • Herbicide candidates identified by these methods can be confirmed as having herbicidal activity using conventional herbicide assays. The methods of the invention are useful for the identification of herbicides.
  • the invention provides a method for identifying a compound as a herbicide, comprising: a) selecting a compound that binds to the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of: the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 and a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2; and b) contacting a plant with said compound to confirm herbicidal activity.
  • the invention provides a method for the inhibition of plant growth or the modulation of plant development, comprising expressing antisense RNA complementary to a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having at least 80%) sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2 in a plant or plant tissue.
  • the invention provides a method for the inhibition of plant growth or the modulation of plant development, comprising expressing a sense RNA polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2 in a plant or plant tissue.
  • the invention provides a method for the inhibition of plant growth or the modulation of plant development, comprising expressing dsR A specific for a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2 in a plant or plant tissue.
  • the invention provides a method for the inhibition of plant growth or the modulation of plant development, comprising expressing a ribozyme specific for a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2 in a plant or plant tissue.
  • Antisense molecules, sense molecules, dsRNA molecules, ribozymes, expression vectors, transformed plant cells and transgenic plants are also provided.
  • antisense refers to a nucleic acid comprising a polynucleotide which is sufficiently complementary to all or a portion of a gene, primary transcript or processed mRNA, so as to interfere with expression of the endogenous gene.
  • binding refers to a noncovalent interaction that holds two molecules together.
  • two such molecules could be an enzyme and an inhibitor of that enzyme.
  • Noncovalent interactions include hydrogen bonding, ionic interactions among charged groups, van der Waals interactions and hydrophobic interactions among nonpolar groups. One or more of these interactions can mediate the binding of two molecules to each other.
  • “Complementary" polynucleotides are those which are capable of base pairing according to the standard Watson-Crick complementarity rules. Specifically, purines will base pair with pyrimidines to form combinations of guanine paired with cytosine (G:C) and adenine paired with either thymine (A:T) in the case of DNA, or adenine paired with uracil (A:U) in the case of RNA. It is understood that two polynucleotides may hybridize to each other even if they are not completely complementary to each other, provided that each has at least one region that is substantially complementary to the other.
  • dsRNA specific for a polynucleotide is defined as a first ribonucleic acid having at least 80% sequence identity with at least 100 consecutive nucleotides of the polynucleotide encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2; and a second ribonucleic acid that is substantially complementary to said first ribonucleic acid.
  • the first ribonucleic acid of the dsRNA of the invention has at least 80% sequence identity with at least 100 consecutive nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:l.
  • herbicide refers to a compound that may be used to kill or suppress the growth of at least one plant, plant cell, plant tissue or seed.
  • herbicidally effective amount is meant an amount of a chemical or composition sufficient to kill a plant or decrease plant growth and/or viability by at least 10%). More preferably, the growth or viability will be decreased by 25%, 50%, 75%, 80%, 90% or more.
  • high stringency hybridization conditions refers to hybridization in 50% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS at 37°C, and a final wash in 0.1X SSC at 60°C.
  • Methods for nucleic acid hybridizations are described in Meinkoth and Wahl (1984) Anal Biochem 138: 267 - 284 (PMID: 6204550); Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Chapter 2, Ausubel et al. Eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1995; and Tijssen, Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Hybridization with Nucleic Acid Probes, Part 1, Chapter 2, Elsevier, New York, 1993.
  • inhibitor refers to a chemical substance that decreases the expression or the activity of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • a polynucleotide may be "introduced" into a plant cell by any means, including transfection, transformation or transduction, electroporation, particle bombardment, agroinfection and the like.
  • the introduced polynucleotide may be maintained in the cell stably if it is incorporated into a non-chromosomal autonomous replicon or integrated into the plant chromosome.
  • the introduced polynucleotide may be present on an extra-chromosomal non-replicating vector and be transiently expressed or transiently active.
  • an "isolated polynucleotide” is a polynucleotide that is substantially free of the nucleic acid sequences that normally flank the polynucleotide in its naturally occurring replicon.
  • a cloned polynucleotide is considered isolated.
  • a polynucleotide is considered isolated if it has been altered by human intervention, or placed in a locus or location that is not its natural site, or if it is introduced into cell by agroinfection.
  • isolated are: naturally-occurring chromosomes (such as chromosome spreads), artificial chromosome libraries, genomic libraries, and cDNA libraries that exist either as an in vitro nucleic acid preparation or as a transfected/transformed host cell preparation, wherein the host cells are either an in vitro heterogeneous preparation or plated as a heterogeneous population of single colonies. Also specifically excluded are the above libraries wherein a specified polynucleotide makes up less than 5% of the number of nucleic acid inserts in the vector molecules. Further specifically excluded are whole cell genomic DNA or whole cell -RNA preparations (including said whole cell preparations which are mechanically sheared or enzymatically digested).
  • the above whole cell preparations as either an in vitro preparation or as a heterogeneous mixture separated by electrophoresis (including blot transfers of the same) wherein the polynucleotide of the invention has not further been separated from the heterologous polynucleotides in the electrophoresis medium (e.g., further separating by excising a single band from a heterogeneous band population in an agarose gel or nylon blot).
  • ligand is defined as any molecule that exhibits "specific binding” as defined herein.
  • male tissue is meant the tissues of a plant that are directly involved or supportive of the reproduction of the male gametes. Such tissues include pollen tapetum, anther, tassel, pollen mother cells and microspores.
  • a "male tissue- preferred” or “male tissue-specific” promoter will be expressed predominantly in one or more male tissues. It is possible that a male tissue preferred promoter will be expressed in non-male tissues, however, expression will usually be at a lower level than in male tissues.
  • “Modulation” is herein defined as an increase, decrease or alteration relative to a control, standard, or reference plant.
  • nucleic acid and “polynucleotide” refer to RNA or DNA that is linear or branched, single or double stranded, or a hybrid thereof. The term also encompasses RNA/DNA hybrids. Less common bases, such as inosine, 5- methylcytosine, 6-methyladenine, hypoxanthine and others can also be used for antisense, dsRNA and ribozyme pairing. For example, polynucleotides that contain
  • the antisense polynucleotides and ribozymes can consist entirely of ribonucleotides, or can contain mixed ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides.
  • the polynucleotides of the invention may be produced by any means, including genomic preparations, cDNA preparations, in vitro synthesis, RT-PCR and in vitro or in vivo transcription.
  • operably linked is meant that a polynucleotide is functionally linked to a promoter, so that the transcription of the polynucleotide can be initiated from the promoter.
  • the "percent (%) sequence identity" between two polynucleotide or two polypeptide sequences is determined according to the BLAST program (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool; Altschul and Gish (1996) Meth Enzymol 265:460-480 and Altschul (1990) JMol Biol 2 5:403-410) in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package (Devererreux et al. (1984) Nucl Acid Res 72:387), Genetics Computer Group (GCG), Madison, Wisconsin. (NCBI, Version 2.0.11 , default settings). It is understood that for the purposes of determining sequence identity when comparing a DNA sequence to an RNA sequence, a thymine nucleotide is equivalent to a uracil nucleotide.
  • Plant refers to whole plants, plant organs and tissues (e.g., stems, roots, ovules, stamens, leaves, embryos, meristematic regions, callus tissue, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen, microspores and the like) seeds, plant cells and the progeny thereof.
  • plant organs and tissues e.g., stems, roots, ovules, stamens, leaves, embryos, meristematic regions, callus tissue, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen, microspores and the like
  • polypeptide is meant a chain of at least four amino acids joined by peptide bonds.
  • the chain may be linear, branched, circular or combinations thereof.
  • the polypeptides may contain amino acid analogs and other modifications, including, but not limited to glycosylated or phosphorylated residues.
  • probe is a polynucleotide having a defined sequence with no more than 10 additional nucleic acid residues at either of its ends.
  • purified does not require absolute purity; rather, it is intended as a relative definition.
  • Starting material or natural material is purified to at least one order of magnitude, preferably two or tliree orders, and more preferably four or five orders of magnitude.
  • purification from 0.1 % concentration to 10 %> concentration is two orders of magnitude.
  • individual cDNA clones isolated from a cDNA library have been conventionally purified to electrophoretic homogeneity. The sequences obtained from these clones could not be obtained directly either from the cDNA library or from total human DNA.
  • the cDNA clones are not naturally occurring as such, but rather are obtained via manipulation of a partially purified naturally occurring substance (messenger RNA).
  • the conversion of mRNA into a cDNA library involves the creation of a synthetic substance (cDNA) and pure individual cDNA clones can be isolated from the synthetic library by clonal selection.
  • cDNA synthetic substance
  • pure individual cDNA clones can be isolated from the synthetic library by clonal selection.
  • creating a cDNA library from messenger RNA and subsequently isolating individual clones from that library results in an approximately 104-106 fold purification of the native message.
  • purified is further used herein to describe a polypeptide or polynucleotide of the invention which has been separated from other compounds including, but not limited to, polypeptides or polynucleotides, carbohydrates, lipids, etc.
  • purified may be used to specify the separation of monomeric polypeptides of the invention from oligomeric forms such as homo- or hetero- dimers, trimers, etc.
  • purified may also be used to specify the separation of covalently closed polynucleotides from linear polynucleotides.
  • a polynucleotide is substantially pure when at least about 50%, preferably 60 to 75% of a sample exhibits a single polynucleotide sequence and conformation (linear versus covalently close).
  • a substantially pure polypeptide or polynucleotide typically comprises about 50%, preferably 60 to 90% weight/weight of a polypeptide or polynucleotide sample, respectively, more usually about 95%, and preferably is over about 99% pure.
  • Polypeptide and polynucleotide purity, or homogeneity is indicated by a number of means well known in the art, such as agarose or polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of a sample, followed by visualizing a single band upon staining the gel. For certain purposes higher resolution can be provided by using HPLC or other means well known in the art.
  • purification of the polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention may be expressed as "at least" a percent purity relative to heterologous polypeptides and polynucleotides (DNA, RNA or both).
  • the polypeptides and polynucleotides of the present invention are at least; 10%, 20%), 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 96%, 98%, 99%, or 100% pure relative to heterologous polypeptides and polynucleotides, respectively.
  • polypeptides and polynucleotides have a purity ranging from any number, to the thousandth position, between 90%> and 100% (e.g., a polypeptide or polynucleotide at least 99.995%> pure) relative to either heterologous polypeptides or polynucleotides, respectively, or as a weight/weight ratio relative to all compounds and molecules other than those existing in the carrier.
  • a purity ranging from any number, to the thousandth position between 90%> and 100% (e.g., a polypeptide or polynucleotide at least 99.995%> pure) relative to either heterologous polypeptides or polynucleotides, respectively, or as a weight/weight ratio relative to all compounds and molecules other than those existing in the carrier.
  • Each number representing a percent purity, to the thousandth position may be claimed as individual species of purity.
  • recombinant polynucleotide refers to a polynucleotide that has been altered, rearranged or modified by genetic engineering. Examples include any cloned polynucleotide, and polynucleotides that are linked or joined to heterologous sequences. Two polynucleotide sequences are heterologous if they are not naturally found joined together. The term recombinant does not refer to alterations to polynucleotides that result from naturally occurring events, such as spontaneous mutations.
  • Ribozyme is meant a catalytic RNA-based enzyme capable of targeting and cleaving particular base sequences in both DNA and RNA.
  • Ribozymes comprise a polynucleotide sequence that is complementary to a portion of a target nucleic acid and a catalytic region that cleaves the target nucleic acid. Ribozymes can be designed that specifically pair with and inactivate a target RNA by catalytically cleaving the RNA at a targeted phosphodiester bond. Methods for making and using ribozymes are known to those skilled in the art. See, for example, U.S.
  • a ribozyme that is specific for a polynucleotide is defined as a ribozyme capable of targeting and cleaving at least one phosphodiester bond in the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of: the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:l, a polynucleotide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:l, a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, and a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the ribozyme is specific for the polynucleotide encoded by SEQ ID NO: 1.
  • binding refers to an interaction between the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide comprising at least 10 consecutive amino acid residues of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, and a molecule or compound, wherein the interaction is dependent upon the primary amino acid sequence or the conformation of said polypeptide.
  • substantially complementary is meant that when two hybridizing RNAs are optimally aligned using the BLAST program as described herein, the hybridizing portions are at least 95 %> complementary.
  • Transform refers to the introduction of a polynucleotide (single or double stranded DNA, RNA, or a combination thereof) into a living cell by any means. Transformation may be accomplished by a variety of methods, including, but not limited to, agroinfection, electroporation. particle bombardment, and the like. This process may result in transient or stable (constitutive or regulated) expression of the transformed polynucleotide.
  • stably transformed is meant that the sequence of interest is integrated into a replicon in the cell, such as a chromosome or episome. Transformed cells, tissues and plants encompass not only the end product of a transformation process, but also the progeny thereof which retain the polynucleotide of interest.
  • transgenic refers to any plant, plant cell, callus, plant tissue or plant part, that contains all or part of at least one recombinant polynucleotide. In many cases, all or part of the recombinant polynucleotide is stably integrated into a chromosome or stable extra-chromosomal element, so that it is passed on to successive generations.
  • the present inventors have discovered that antisense expression of an RNA complementary to a portion of the cDNA of SEQ ID NO:l strongly inhibits the growth and development of Arabidopsis seedlings.
  • the cDNA of SEQ ID NO:l encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • SEQ ID NO:l and 2 have been reported in the prior art (see TIGR database locus At2g28800). However, heretofore, no function had been ascribed to SEQ ID NO:l or SEQ ID NO:2, nor had they been identified as herbicide targets. Thus, the inventors are the first to demonstrate that the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:l and the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 are targets for herbicides.
  • the invention provides methods for identifying compounds that inhibit the expression or activity of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2. Such methods include ligand binding assays, and assays for RNA or protein expression. Any compound that is a ligand for the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 may have herbicidal activity.
  • Polypeptides having at least 80%> sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 can also used in the methods of the invention to identify herbicide candidates.
  • the sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2 is at least 85%, 90% or 93%), more preferably the identity is at least 95%>, most preferably the sequence identity is at least 96%, 97%, 98% or 99%.
  • the invention provides a method for identifying a compound as a herbicide, comprising: a) selecting a compound that binds to the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of: the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 and a polypeptide having at least 80%) sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2; and b) contacting a plant with said compound to confirm herbicidal activity.
  • the invention provides a method for identifying herbicide candidates, comprising: a) contacting a compound with a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of: i) the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2; and ii) a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2; and b) detecting the presence and/or absence of binding between said compound and said polypeptide; wherein binding indicates that said compound is a herbicide candidate.
  • polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 is contacted with a test compound in the ligand-binding assay described above.
  • the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 is from Arabidopsis thaliana and is reported in the TIGR database at accession number At2g28800.
  • the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 is encoded by the cDNA of SEQ ID NO: 1.
  • One skilled in the art could determine any or all of the additional polynucleotides that could encode the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:l can be used as a probe to isolate cDNAs or genes that encode a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide ofSEQ ID NO:2.
  • ID NO:2 can correspond to naturally occuring polypeptides from any organism, or can be synthetic or recombinant variants of naturally occuring polypeptides.
  • the polypeptide is from a plant or a microorganism, such as bacteria or fungi. Most preferably the polypeptide is from a plant.
  • the polypeptide is from Arabidopsis.
  • Arabidopsis species include, but are not limited to, Arabidopsis arenosa, Arabidopsis bursifolia, Arabidopsis cebennensis, Arabidopsis croatica, Arabidopsis griffitliiana, Arabidopsis halleri, Arabidopsis himalaica, Arabidopsis korshinskyi, Arabidopsis lyrata, Arabidopsis neglecta, Arabidopsis pumila, Arabidopsis suecica, Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis wallichii.
  • the polypeptide is from a weed.
  • the polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 can be from weeds including, but not limited to, barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli), crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), green foxtail (Setana viridis), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), hairy beggarticks (Bidens pilos ⁇ ), nightshade (Solanum nigrum), smartweed (Polygonum lapathifolium), velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium ALBurn L.), Brachiara plantaginea, Cassia occidentalis, Ipomoea aristolochiaefolia, Ipomoea purpurea, Euphorbia heterophylla, Setaria spp, Amaranthus retroflexus, Sida spinosa, Xanthium strumarium
  • Fragments of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 may be used in the methods of the invention.
  • the fragments comprise at least 10 consecutive amino acids of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the fragment comprises at least 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 or at least 100 consecutive amino acids residues SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 and polypeptides having at least 80%> sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, and fragments thereof may be purified from a plant or may be recombinantly produced in and purified from a plant, bacteria, or eukaryotic cell culture.
  • these proteins are produced using a baculovirus or E. coli expression system. Methods for protein expression and purification using these and other systems are well known to those skilled in the art. Any compound may be screened for herbicidal activity using the methods of the invention.
  • Examples of compounds that could be screened include inorganic and organic compounds such as, but not limited to, amino acids, peptides, proteins, nucleotides, nucleic acids, glyco-conjugates, oligosaccharides, lipids, alcohols, thiols, aldehydes, alkylators, carbonic ethers, hydrazides, hydrazines, ketons, nitrils, amines, sulfochlorides, triazines, piperizines, sulphonamides and the like.
  • compound libraries are screened in the assays of the invention. Methods for synthesizing and screening compound libraries are known to those skilled in the art. See for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,463,564; 5,574,656; 5,684,711; and 5,901,069, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.
  • Any technique for detecting the binding of a ligand to its target may be used in the methods of the invention.
  • Polypeptides and proteins that can reduce non-specific binding, such as BSA, or protein extracts from cells that do not produce the target, may be included in the binding assay.
  • Many methods for detecting the binding of a ligand to its target are known in the art, and include, but are not limited to the detection of an immobilized ligand-target complex or the detection of a change in a physical property of a target when it is bound to a ligand.
  • an array of immobilized candidate ligands is provided.
  • the immobilized ligands are contacted with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a fragment or variant thereof, the unbound protein is then removed and the bound polypeptide is detected.
  • bound polypeptide is detected using a labeled binding partner, such as a labeled antibody.
  • Preferred labels include fluorescent or radioactive moieties.
  • the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a fragment or variant thereof is labeled prior to contacting the immobilized candidate ligands.
  • Preferred detection methods include fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and FCS-related confocal nanofluorimetric methods. See Rigler (1995) JBiotechnol 41:177-86.
  • FCS fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
  • FCS-related confocal nanofluorimetric methods See Rigler (1995) JBiotechnol 41:177-86.
  • the immobilized polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a fragment or variant thereof is contacted with a candidate compound library.
  • Specific binding to the target polypeptide can be detected by various methods known in the art including affinity selection chromatography, ultrafiltration assays, the scintillation proximity assay, interfacial optical techniques (surface plasmon resonance and its relatives), and the like. See Woodbury and Venton (1999,) J
  • target-ligand binding is detected using mass spectroscopy, such as Matrix- Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-Of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis.
  • MALDI-TOF Matrix- Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-Of-Flight
  • the invention provides a method for determining whether a compound identified as a herbicide candidate by a method of the invention has herbicidal activity, comprising: contacting a plant or plant cells with said herbicide candidate and detecting the presence or absence of a decrease in the growth or viability of said plant or plant cells.
  • decrease in growth is meant that the herbicide candidate causes at least a
  • a decrease in viability is meant that at least 20%> of the plants cells, or portion of the plant contacted with the herbicide candidate are nonviable.
  • the growth or viability will be decreased by at least 40%>. More preferably, the growth or viability will be decreased by at least 50%, 75% or at least 90% or more. Methods for measuring plant growth and cell viability are known to those skilled in the art. It is possible that a candidate compound may have herbicidal activity only for certain plants or certain plant species.
  • the invention also provides plant and plant cell based assays for detecting target RNA or protein expression in the presence and absence of a test compound.
  • the target RNA may be a primary RNA transcript or a processed mRNA.
  • the mRNA corresponds to the cDNA of SEQ ID NO: 1.
  • an RNA sequence corresponds to a DNA sequence when the sequences are the same, except that the thymine nucleotides of the DNA are replaced by uracil nucleotides in the RNA.
  • the mRNA has at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 93%, 95%, 96%, 91%, 98% or even 99%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:l.
  • the mRNA measured encodes the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a polypeptide having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 93%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or even 99% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the invention provides a method for identifying a compound as a candidate for a herbicide, comprising: a) measuring the expression of an RNA in a plant or plant cell in the presence and absence of said compound, wherein said RNA is selected from the group consisting of: i) an mRNA corresponding to the cDNA of SEQ ID NO : 1 ; ii) an RNA having at least 80% sequence identity with the cDNA of SEQ ID NO:l; iii) an RNA encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2; and iv) an RNA encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity to the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2; and b) comparing the expression of said RNA in the presence and absence of said compound, wherein a decrease in the expression of said RNA in the presence of said compound indicates that said compound is a herbicide candidate.
  • RNA and proteins are known to those skilled in the art. See, for example, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology Ausubel et al, eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1995.
  • the method of detection is not critical to the invention. Such methods include, but are not limited to amplification assays such as quantitative PCR, and/or hybridization assays such as Northern analysis, dot blots, slot blots, in-situ hybridization, bDNA assays and microarray assays.
  • the invention provides a method for identifying a compound as a candidate for a herbicide, comprising: a) measuring the expression of a protein in a plant or plant cell in the presence and absence of said compound, wherein said protein is selected from the group consisting of: i) the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO :2 ; and ii) a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2; and b) comparing the expression of said protein in the presence and absence of said compound, wherein a decrease in the expression of said protein in the presence of said compound indicates that said compound is a herbicide candidate.
  • the polypeptide is the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the polypeptide has at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 93%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or even 99% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • Methods for detecting protein expression include, but are not limited to, immunodetection methods such as Western blots, ELISA assays, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, mass spectroscopy and enzymatic assays.
  • any reporter gene system may be used to detect protein expression.
  • a polynucleotide encoding a reporter protein is fused in frame with a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a variant or fragment thereof, so as to produce a chimeric polypeptide.
  • expression of the chimeric polypeptide is under the control of the cognate promoter that regulates expression of an mRNA in Arabidopsis corresponding to SEQ ID NO:l.
  • This promoter could be obtained by using SEQ ID NO: 1 as a probe to identify a clone in an Arabidopsis genomic library containing at least the 5' portion of the gene encoding SEQ ID NO:2.
  • Methods for using reporter systems are known to those skilled in the art. Examples of reporter genes include, but are not limited to, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (Goraian et al. (1982) Mol Cell Biol 2:1104; Prost et al.
  • herbicidal activity of compounds identified as herbicide candidates by the RNA and protein expression methods described above can be confirmed by contacting a plant or plant cells with the herbicide candidate and detecting the presence or absence of a decrease in growth or viability of said plant or plant cells.
  • the invention provides a method for inhibiting plant growth, comprising contacting a plant with a compound identified by the methods of the invention as having herbicidal activity.
  • Herbicides and herbicide candidates identified by the methods of the invention can be used to control the growth of undesired plants, including both monocots and dicots.
  • undesired plants include, but are not limited to barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli), crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), green foxtail (Setana viridis), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), hairy beggarticks (Bidens pilosa), nightshade (Solanum nigrum), smartweed (Polygonum lapathifolium), velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrast ⁇ ), common lambsquarters (Chenopodium ALBum L.), Brachiara plantaginea, Cassia occidentalis, Ipomoea aristolochiaefolia, Ipomoea purpurea, Euphorbia heterophylla, Setaria spp, Amaranthus retroflexus, Sida spinosa, Xanthium strumarium and the like.
  • barnyard grass Echinochloa crus-galli
  • crabgrass Digitaria sanguinalis
  • green foxtail Setana viridis
  • the invention provides compounds for the inhibition and modulation of plant growth.
  • antisense expression of a portion of an RNA complementary to the cDNA of SEQ ID NO:l in plant seedlings results in extremely poor growth and developmental abnormalities.
  • the invention provides polynucleotides that specifically inhibit the expression of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 and related polypeptides.
  • polynucleotides of the invention are capable of specifically inhibiting transcription or translation, or decreasing the stability of a polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 and polypeptides having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.
  • polynucleotides include, but are not limited to, antisense molecules, ribozymes, sense molecules, interfering double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and the like.
  • polynucleotides on plant growth and development will depend upon many factors, such as the specificity and activity of the polynucleotide, the level of expression of the polynucleotide and the expression pattern of the promoter driving the expression of a polynucleotide of the invention.
  • inducible expression of such polynucleotides can result in plant death, decreased plant size or decreased growth at the time of induction.
  • developmentally regulated expression could result in a reduction of growth or plant death at a particular stage of development.
  • the polynucleotides of the invention are operably linked to a tissue-specific or tissue preferred promoter. In one embodiment, the polynucleotides of the invention are operably linked to a male-tissue preferred promoter.
  • Male tissue-preferred expression of a polynucleotide of the invention can result in male-sterile plants.
  • Female tissue-preferred expression of a polynucleotide of the invention can result in seedless plants, or in plants having reduced seed size. While the polynucleotides of the invention are not limited to a particular mechanism of action, reduction in gene expression can be mediated at the DNA level and at transcriptional, post-transcriptional, or translational levels.
  • dsRNA suppresses gene expression by both a posttranscriptional process and by DNA methylation.
  • Ribozymes specifically bind and catalytically cleave RNA.
  • Gene specific inhibition of expression in plants by an introduced sense polynucleotide is termed "cosuppression”.
  • Antisense polynucleotides when introduced into a plant cell, are thought to specifically bind to their target polynucleotide and inhibit gene expression by interfering with transcription, splicing, transport, translation and/or stability.
  • Antisense polynucleotides can be targeted to chromosomal DNA, to a primary RNA transcript or to a processed mRNA.
  • Preferred target regions include splice sites and translation initiation and termination codons, and other sequences within the open reading frame.
  • the invention provides an isolated antisense RNA for modulating plant growth, comprising, an RNA selected from the group consisting of: a) an RNA complementary to SEQ ID NO: 1 ; b) an RNA complementary to at least 20 consecutive nucleotides of SEQ
  • the polynucleotide is complementary to a plant mRNA.
  • the antisense RNA is complementary to at least 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, 100, 150 or 200 consecutive nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:l or other polynucleotide encoding SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the antisense RNA is complementary to a polynucleotide having at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 93%, 95%, 97%, 98% or even 99% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:l or other polynucleotide encoding SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the invention provides antisense molecules that specifically hybridize under high stringency conditions to SEQ ID NO:l or a polynucleotide encoding SEQ ID NO:2.
  • specifically hybridize is meant that the polynucleotide will hybridize to the target gene or RNA at a level of at least two-fold over background under conditions of high stringency.
  • the specificity of the hybridization will depend upon many factors, including the length and degree of complementarity between the antisense molecule and the target sequence, the length of the antisense molecule, the temperature of the hybridizations and washes, and the salt, detergent and formamide concentrations of the hybridization and wash buffers.
  • the antisense polynucleotides of the invention need not be completely complementary to the target gene or RNA, nor that they hybridize to each other along their entire length, in order to modulate expression or to form specific hybrids. Furthermore, the antisense polynucleotides of the invention need not be full length with respect to the target gene or RNA. In general, greater homology can compensate for shorter polynucleotide length.
  • antisense molecules will comprise an RNA having 60-100 % sequence identity with at least 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 30, 50, 75 or at least 100 consecutive nucleotides of to SEQ ID NO:l or a polynucleotide encoding SEQ ID NO:2.
  • sequence identity will be at least 70%, more preferably at least 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 98% and most preferably at least 99%.
  • the active antisense molecules of the invention are single stranded RNA molecules.
  • active antisense molecule is meant that the antisense RNA is capable of selectively hybridizing with a primary transcript or mRNA encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2.
  • antisense molecules include double-stranded DNA expression cassettes that can be transcribed to produce an antisense RNA.
  • the antisense polynucleotides of the invention are at least 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 1300 nucleotides or more.
  • Antisense polynucleotides can be selected based on complementarity to plant genes or RNAs.
  • the complementarity may be to all or a portion of the gene or RNA.
  • the complementarity need not be exact, so long as the antisense molecule is specific for the target RNA.
  • the degree of complementarity necessary or antisense inhibition is related to the length of the hybridizing sequences.
  • the complementarity is at least 90%>, more preferably 95%>, even more preferably at least 98%> and most preferably 100%.
  • Antisense polynucleotides may be designed to bind to exons, introns, exon-intron boundaries, the promoter and other control regions, such as the transcription and translational initiation sites.
  • a ribozyme, or catalytic RNA can catalyze the hydrolysis of RNA phosphodiester bonds in trans, and thus can cleave other RNA molecules. Cleavage of a target RNA can decrease stability of the RNA and prevent translation of a full length protein encoded by that RNA.
  • Ribozymes contain a first RNA sequence that is complementary to a target RNA linked to a second enzymatic RNA sequence that catalytically cleaves the target RNA. Thus, the ribozyme first binds a target RNA through complementary base- pairing, and then acts enzymatically to cut the target RNA. Ribozymes may be designed to bind to exons, mtrons, exon-intron boundaries and control regions, such as the translational initiation sites.
  • RNAs At least six types of naturally-occurring enzymatic RNAs, including hairpin ribozymes and hammerhead ribozymes, have been described.
  • the hairpin ribozyme can be assembled in various combinations to catalyze a unimolecular, bimolecular or a trimolecular cleavage/ligation reaction (Berzal-Herranz et al. (1992) Genes & Develop 6: 129 (PMID: 1730406); Chowrira and Burke (1992) Nucleic Acids Res 20:2835 (PMID: 1377380); Komatsu et al. (1993) Nucleic Acids Res 27:185 (PMID: 8441626); Komatsu et al.
  • the invention provides ribozymes that are specific for at least one RNA encoding a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.
  • a ribozyme that is "specific for at least one plant RNA encoding a polypeptide having at least 80%) sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2" will contain a polynucleotide sequence that specifically hybridizes to a target plant primary transcript or mRNA
  • the target encoding a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2 and cleaves that target.
  • the portion of the ribozyme that hybridizes to the transcript or RNA is typically at least 7 nucleotides in length. Preferably, this portion is at least 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 or 20 or more nucleotides in length.
  • the portion of the ribozyme that hybridizes to the target need not be completely complementary to the target, as long as the hybridization is specific for the target. In preferred embodiments the ribozyme will contain a portion having at least 7 or 8 nucleotides that have 100% complementarity to a portion of the target RNA.
  • the target RNA corresponds to the cDNA of SEQ ID NO:l.
  • Methods for designing and preparing ribozymes are known to those skilled in the art. See, for example, U.S. patents 6,025,167; 5,773,260; 5,695,992; 5,545,729; 5.496,698 and 4,987,071, the contents of which are incorporated by reference; Van Tol et al. (1991) Virology 180: 23 (PMID: 1984650); Hisamatsu et al. (1993) Nucleic Acids Symp Ser 29: 173 (PMID: 7504243); Berzal-Herranz et al. (1993) EMBO J 12: 2567 (PMID: 8508779) (describing essential nucleotides in the hairpin ribozyme);
  • the invention provides a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) that is specific for a polynucleotide encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.
  • dsRNA refers to RNA hybrids comprising two strands of RNA.
  • the dsRNAs ofthe invention may be linear or circular in structure.
  • the hybridizing RNAs may be substantially or completely complementary.
  • substantially complementary is meant that when the two hybridizing RNAs are optimally aligned using the BLAST program as described above, the hybridizing portions are at least 95%) complementary.
  • the dsRNA will be at least 100 base pairs in length.
  • the hybridizing RNAs of will be of identical length with no overhanging 5' or 3' ends and no gaps.
  • dsRNAs having 5' or 3' overhangs of up to 100 nucleotides may be used in the methods of the invention.
  • the invention provides a dsRNA, comprising: a first ribonucleic acid having at least 80%> sequence identity with at least 100 consecutive nucleotides of a polynucleotide encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2; and a second ribonucleic acid that is substantially complementary to said first ribonucleic acid.
  • a dsRNA is specific for a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the first ribonucleic acid of the dsRNA of the invention has at least
  • the second ribonucleic acid hybridizes to SEQ ID NO:l under high stringency conditions.
  • the dsRNA may comprise ribonucleotides or ribonucleotide analogs, such as 2 ' -O-methyl ribosyl residues or combinations thereof. See U.S. patent 4,130,641 and 4,024,222. A dsRNA polyriboinosinic acid:polyribocytidylic acid is described in U.S. patent 4,283,393.
  • One method comprises the simultaneous transcription of two complementary DNA strands, either in vivo, or in a single in vitro reaction mixture. See, for example, U.S. patent
  • dsRNA can be introduced into a plant or plant cell directly by standard transformation procedures.
  • dsRNA can be expressed in a plant cell by transcribing two complementary RNAs.
  • Other methods for the inhibition of endogenous gene expression such as triple helix formation (Moser and Dervan (1987) Science 238: 645 - 50 (PMID: 3118463) and Cooney et al. (1988) Science 241: 456 - 9 (PMID: 3293213)) and cosuppression (Napoli et al. (1990) The Plant Cell 2: 279 - 89) are known in the art. Partial and full- length cDNAs have been used for the cosuppression of endogenous plant genes.
  • the introduced sense polynucleotide need not be full length relative to the target gene or transcript.
  • the sense polynucleotide will have at least 65% sequence identity with at least 100 consecutive nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1.
  • the regions of identity can comprise introns and and/or exons and untranslated regions.
  • the introduced sense polynucleotide may be present in the plant cell transiently, or may be stably integrated into a plant chromosome or extrachromosomal replicon. Expression of the polynucleotides of the invention in a plant, plant cell or plant tissue will result in the modulation of plant growth and/or development.
  • the invention provides recombinant expression cassettes, comprising the antisense, sense, dsRNA or ribozyme polynucleotides of the invention, wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to a promoter that can be active in a plant cell.
  • the expression cassettes of the invention contain 5' and 3' regulatory sequences necessary for transcription and termination of the polynucleotide of interest.
  • the expression cassettes will include a promoter and a transcriptional terminator.
  • Other functional sequences may be included in the expression cassettes of the inventions. Such functional sequences include, but are not limited to, introns, enhancers and translational initiation and termination sites and polyadenylation sites.
  • control sequences can be those that can function in at least one plant, plant cell or plant tissue. These sequences may be derived form one or more genes, or can be created using recombinant technology. Promoters useful in the expression cassettes of the invention include any promoter that is capable of initiating transcription in a plant cell. Such promoters include, but are not limited to those that can be obtained from plants, plant viruses and bacteria that contain genes that are expressed in plants, such as Agrobacterium and Rhizobium.
  • the promoter may be constitutive, inducible, developmental stage-preferred, cell type-preferred, tissue-preferred or organ-preferred. Constitutive promoters are active under most conditions. Examples of constitutive promoters include the CaMV 19S and 35 S promoters (Odell et al. (1985) Nature 313: 810 - 12 (PMID: 3974711)), the 2X CaMV 35S promoter (Kay et al. (1987) Science 236: 1299 - 1302) the Sepl promoter, the rice actin promoter (McElroy et al.
  • promoters from the T-DNA of Agrobacterium such as mannopine synthase, nopaline synthase, and octopine synthase, the small subunit of ribulose biphosphate carboxylase (ssuRUBISCO) promoter, and the like.
  • Inducible promoters are active under certain environmental conditions, such as the presence or absence of a nutrient or metabolite, heat or cold, light, pathogen attack, anaerobic conditions, and the like.
  • the hsp80 promoter from Brassica is induced by heat shock
  • the PPDK promoter is induced by light
  • the PR-1 promoter from tobacco, Arabidopsis and maize are inducible by infection with a pathogen
  • the Adhl promoter is induced by hypoxia and cold stress.
  • tissue and organ preferred promoters include those that are preferentially expressed in certain tissues or organs, such as leaves, roots, seeds, or xylem.
  • tissue preferred and organ preferred promoters include, but are not limited to fruit-preferred, ovule-preferred, male tissue-preferred, seed- preferred, integument-preferred, tuber-preferred, stalk-preferred, pericarp-preferred, and leaf-preferred, stigma-preferred, pollen-preferred, anther-preferred, a petal- preferred, sepal-preferred, pedicel-preferred, silique-preferred, stem-preferred, root- preferred promoters and the like.
  • the promoter is a male tissue-preferred promoter.
  • Male tissues include pollen, tapetum, anther, tassel, pollen mother cells and microspores.
  • Ms45 is an example of a male-preferred promoter (U.S. patent 6,037,523).
  • tissue preferred, developmental stage preferred and/or inducible promoters include, but are not limited to Prha (expressed in root, seedling, lateral root, shoot apex, cotyledon, petiol, inflorescence stem, flower, stigma, anthers, and silique, and auxin-inducible in roots); VSP2 (expressed in flower buds, flowers, and leaves, and wound inducible); SUC2 (expressed in vascular tissue of cotyledons, leaves and .
  • hypocotyl phloem flower buds, sepals and ovaries
  • AAP2 sique-preferred
  • SUC1 Anther and pistil preferred
  • AAP1 seed preferred
  • Saur-ACl auxin inducible in cotyledons, hypocotyl and flower
  • Enod 40 expressed in root, stipule, cotyledon, hypocotyl and flower
  • amd VSP1 expressed in young siliques, flowers and leaves.
  • Seed preferred promoters are preferentially expressed during seed development and/or germination.
  • seed preferred promoters can be embryo-preferred, endosperm preferred and seed coat-preferred. See Thompson and • Larkins (1989) BioEssays 10: 108 (PMID: 2658986).
  • seed preferred promoters include, but are not limited to cellulose synthase (celA), Ciml, gamma- zein, globulin- 1, maize 19 kD zein (cZ19Bl) and the like.
  • promoters useful in the expression cassettes of the invention include, but are not limited to, the major chlorophyll a/b binding protein promoter, histone promoters, the prolifera promoter, the Ap3 promoter, the ⁇ -conglycin promoter, the phaseolin promoter, the napin promoter, the soy bean lectin promoter, the maize 15kD zein promoter, the 22 kD zein promoter, the 27 kD zein promoter, the g-zein promoter, the waxy, shrunken 1, shrunken 2 and bronze promoters, the Zml3 promoter (U.S. patent 5,086,169), the maize polygalacturonase promoters (PG) (U.S. patents 5,412,085 and 5,545,546) and the SGB6 promoter (U.S. patent 5,470,359), as well as synthetic or other natural promoters.
  • the major chlorophyll a/b binding protein promoter include, but are not
  • heterologous DNA binding domains include the LexA and GAL4 DNA binding domains.
  • the LexA DNA-binding domain is part of the repressor protein LexA from Escherichia coli (E. coli) (Brent and Ptashne (1985) Cell 43: 729 - 36 (PMID: 3907859)).
  • the promoter comprises a minimal promoter operably linked to an upstream activation site comprising four DNA-binding domains of the yeast transcriptional activator GAL4. Schwechheimer et al.
  • Polyadenlation signals include, but are not limited to, the Agrobacterium octopine synthase signal (Gielen et al. (1984) EMBOJ3: 835 - 46 (PMID: 6327292)) and the nopaline synthase signal (Depicker et al. (1982) Mol andAppl Genet 1: 561 - 73 (PMID: 7153689)).
  • Transcriptional termination regions include, but are not limited to, the terminators of the A. tumefaciens Ti plasmid octopine synthase and nopaline synthase genes. See Ballas et al. (1989) Nuc Acid Res 17: 7891 - 903 (PMID: 2798133), Guerineau et al. (1991) Mol Gen Genet 262: 141 - 4 (PMID: 1709718), Joshi (1987) Nuc Acid Res 15: 9627 - 39 (PMID: 3697078), Mogen et al. (1990) Plant Cell 2: 1261 - 72 (PMID: 1983794), Munroe et al.
  • the expression cassettes of the invention may be covalently linked to a polynucleotide encoding a selectable or screenable marker.
  • markers include genes encoding drug or herbicide resistance, such as hygromycin resistance (hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT)), spectinomycin (encoded by the aada gene), kanamycin and gentamycin resistance (neomycin phosphotransferase (nptll)), streptomycin resistance (streptomycin phosphotransferase gene (SPT)), phosphinothricin or basta resistance (barnase (bar)), chlorsulfuron reistance (acetolactase synthase (ALS)), chloramphenicol resistance (chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT)), G418 resistance, lincomycin resistance, methotrexate resistance, glyphosate resistance, and the like.
  • HPT
  • the expression cassettes of the invention may be covalently linked to genes encoding enzymes that are easily assayed, for example, luciferase, alkaline phosphatase, ⁇ -galactosidase ( ⁇ -gal), ⁇ - glucuronidase (GUS) and the like.
  • the invention provides an expression cassette, comprising a polynucleotide encoding an antisense RNA that is complementary to a nucleic acid encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide having at least 80%) sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to a promoter that can be active in a plant cell.
  • the antisense RNA comprises the complement of SEQ ID NO:l. In another embodiment, the antisense RNA has at least 80% sequence identity with at least 20 consecutive nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1. In still another embodiment, the antisense RNA hybridizes under high stringency conditions to the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:l.
  • the invention provides vectors containing the expression cassettes of the invention.
  • vector is intended a polynucleotide sequence that is able to replicate in a host cell.
  • the vector contains genes that serve as markers useful in the identification and/or selection of transformed cells. Such markers include, but are not limited to barnase (bar), G418, hygromycin, kanamycin, bleomycin, gentamicin and the like.
  • the vector can comprise DNA or RNA and can be single or double stranded, and linear or circular.
  • Various plant expression vectors and reporter genes are described in Gruber et al.
  • the vector is an E. coli/ A. tumefaciens binary vector.
  • the expression cassette is inserted between the right and left borders of a T-DNA from an Agrobacterium Ti plasmid.
  • the invention provides plants, plant cells and plant tissues transformed with at least one polynucleotide, expression cassette or vector of the invention.
  • transformation is meant the introduction of a polynucleotide into a target plant cell or plant tissue.
  • Antisense polynucleotides, dsRNA and ribozymes can be introduced directly into plant cells, in the form of RNA.
  • the antisense polynucleotides, dsRNA and ribozymes of the present invention may be provided as RNA via transcription in plant cells transformed with expression constructs encoding such RNAs.
  • a plant or plant cell is transformed with an expression cassette, comprising a polynucleotide encoding an antisense RNA that is complementary to a nucleic acid encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to a promoter that can be active in a plant cell.
  • the polynucleotides of the invention may be introduced into any plant or plant cell.
  • plants is meant angiosperms (monocotyledons and dicotyledons) and gymnosperms, and the cells, organs and tissues thereof.
  • Methods for the introduction of polynucleotides into plants and for generating transgenic plants are known to those skilled in the art. See, for example, Weissbach & Weissbach (1988) Methods for Plant Molecular Biology, Academic Press, N.Y. and Grierson & Corey (1988) Plant Molecular Biology, 2 nd Ed., Blackie, London, Miki et al. (1993) Procedures for Introducing foreign DNA into Plants, CRC Press, Inc. pp.67 - 80.
  • Such methods include, but are not limited to electroporation (Fromm et al. (1985) Proc Natl Acad Sci 82: 5824 (PMID: 3862099) and Riggs et al. (1986) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 83: 5602 - 6 (PMID: 3016708)), particle bombardment (US patents 4,945,050 and 5,204,253, the contents of which are incorporated by reference, Klein et al. (1987) Nature 327: 70 - 3, McCabe et al. (1988) Biotechnology 6: 923 - 26), microinjection (Crossway (1985) Mol Gen Genet 202: 179 - 85 and Crossway et al.
  • the polynucleotides of the invention are introduced into a plant cell by agroinfection.
  • a DNA construct comprising a polynucleotide of the invention is inserted between the right and left T-DNA borders in an Agrobacterium tumefaciens vector.
  • the virulence proteins of the A. tumefaciens host cell will mediate the transfer of the inserted DNA into a plant cell infected with the bacterium.
  • Agrobacterium rhizogenes- mediated transformation may be used as an alternative to the A. tumefacien 7Ti plasmid system. See Lichtenstein and Fuller in: Genetic Engineering, Volume 6, Ribgy (ed) Academic Press, London, 1987; Lichtenstem and Draper, in DNA Cloning, Volume 2, Glover (ed) IRI Press, Oxford, 1985.
  • transgenic seeds and plants can be produced directly.
  • a preferred method of producing transgenic Arabidopsis seeds and plants involves agroinfection of the flowers and collection of the transgenic seeds produced from the agroinfected flowers.
  • transformed plant cells can be regenerated into plants by methods known to those skilled in the art. See, for example, Evans et al, Handbook of Plant Cell Cultures, Vol I, MacMollan Publishing Co. New York, 1983; and Vasil, Cell Culture and Somatic Cell Genetics of Plants, Acad Press, Orlando, Vol II, 1986. Once a transgenic plant has been obtained, it may be used as a parent to produce progeny plants and plant lines.
  • the transformed plants and plant cells of the invention include the progeny of said plant or plant cell, as long as the progeny plants or plant cells still contain the antisense expression cassette.
  • Progeny may be generated by both asexual and sexual methods.
  • Progeny of a plant include seeds, subsequent generations of the plant and the seeds thereof.
  • the antisense, ribozymes, dsRNA and sense polynucleotides of the invention may be directly transformed into a plant cell.
  • the expression cassettes or vectors of the invention may be introduced into a plant cell. Once in the cell, expression of the antisense, ribozymes, dsRNA and sense polynucleotides of the invention may be transient or stable. Stable expression requires that all or a part of the polynucleotide, expression cassette or vector is integrated into a plant chromosome or a stable extra-chromosomal replicon.
  • the invention provides a method for modulating plant growth and/or development, comprising: a) introducing into a plant or plant cell at least one RNA polynucleotide, wherein said RNA polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of: i) an RNA complementary to SEQ ID NO: 1 ; ii) an RNA complementary to at least 20 consecutive nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:l; iii) an RNA complementary to a nucleic acid having at least 80%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:l ; iv) an RNA complementary to at least 30 consecutive nucleotides of a nucleic acid encoding SEQ ID NO:2; v) an RNA complementary to a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2; vi) a ribozyme specific for a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2; vi)
  • the invention provides a method for modulating the growth and/or development of a plant, plant cell or plant tissue, comprising: transforming said plant, plant cell or plant tissue with an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding a sense RNA encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:
  • the promoter is a tissue specific promoter.
  • the invention provides a method for modulating the growth and/or development of a plant, plant cell or plant tissue, comprising: transforming said plant, plant cell or plant tissue with at least one expression cassette, wherein said expression cassette(s) comprise(s) the polynucleotides encoding a dsRNA that is specific for a nucleic acid encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein said polynucleotides are operably linked to a promoter that can be active in a plant cell.
  • the promoter is a tissue specific promoter.
  • the invention provides a method for modulating the growth and/or development of a plant, plant cell or plant tissue, comprising: transforming said plant, plant cell or plant tissue with an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding a ribozyme specific for a nucleic acid encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to a promoter that can be active in a plant cell.
  • the promoter is a tissue specific promoter.
  • the invention provides a method for modulating the growth and/or development of a plant, plant cell or plant tissue, comprising: transforming said plant, plant cell or plant tissue with an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding an antisense RNA that is complementary to a nucleic acid encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2, or a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein said polypeptide is operably linked to a promoter that can be active in a plant cell.
  • the promoter is a tissue specific promoter.
  • Male tissue-preferred expression of any of these RNAs in one or more male tissues can result in a male sterile plant.
  • the plant progeny obtained by cross-pollination show more vigor than the progeny obtained through self-pollination.
  • the invention provides a method for generating a male sterile plant, comprising: a) transforming a plant cell with an expression cassette selected from the group consisting of: i) an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding an antisense RNA complementary to either a nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.; wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to a plant male tissue-preferred promoter; ii) an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding a sense
  • RNA encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.; wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to a plant male tissue-preferred promoter; and iii) at least one expression cassette, wherein said expression cassette(s) comprise(s) the polynucleotides encoding a dsRNA that is specific for a nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.; wherein said polynucleotides are operably linked to a plant male tissue-preferred promoter; and b) obtaining a male sterile plant from said transformed plant cell.
  • the male-tissue preferred promoter is a pollen-preferred promoter.
  • Ovule-preferred expression of any of the RNAs of the invention will result in a reduction of seed size.
  • reduced seed size is meant that the seed is reduced by at least 10%>.
  • the seed is reduced in size to 25%, 50%, 75%, 90%> or is absent.
  • the seed of any plant may be reduced in size, however preferred plants include cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, cherries, grapes, pomegranates and the like.
  • the invention provides a method for generating a plant with reduced seed size, comprising: a) transforming a plant cell with an expression cassette selected from the group consisting of: i) an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding an antisense RNA complementary to either a nucleic acid encoding the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.; wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to an ovule-preferred promoter; ii) an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding a sense RNA encoding either the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO:2 or a polypeptide having at least 80%> sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:2.; wherein said polynucleotide is operably linked to an ovule-preferred promoter; and iii) at least one expression cassette, wherein said expression cassette
  • the "Driver” is an artificial transcription factor comprising a chimera of the DNA-binding domain of the yeast GAL4 protein (amino acid residues 1 - 137) fused to two tandem activation domains of herpes simplex virus protein VP16 (amino acid residues 413-490). Schwechheimer et al. (1998) Plant Mol Biol 36: 195-204.
  • This chimeric driver is a transcriptional activator specific for promoters having GAL4 binding sites. Expression of the driver is controlled by two tandem copies of the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter.
  • the driver expression cassette was introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana by agroinfection. Transgenic plants that stably expressed the driver transcription factor were obtained.
  • a fragment of an Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA corresponding to SEQ ID NO:l was ligated into the Pacl/Ascl sites of an E. coli/ Agrobacterium binary vector in the antisense orientation. This placed transcription of the antisense RNA under the control of an artificial promoter that is active only in the presence of the driver transcription factor described above.
  • the artificial promoter contains four contiguous binding sites for the GAL4 transcriptional activator upstream of a minimal promoter comprising a TATA box.
  • the ligated DNA was transformed into E.coli. Kanamycin resistant clones were selected and purified. DNA was isolated from each clone and characterized by PCR and sequence analysis. pPG5603 expresses the A.
  • thaliana antisense RNA which is complementary to a portion of the DNA of SEQ ID NO: 1.
  • This antisense RNA is complementary to the cDNA sequence found in the TIGR database at locus At2g28800.
  • the coding sequence for this locus is shown as SEQ ID NO: 1.
  • the protein encoded by these mRNAs is shown as SEQ ID NO:2.
  • the name pPG5603 is used for applicants' internal reference, and one skilled in the art will understand that this particular plasmid is not required to practice the invention.
  • the antisense expression cassette and a constitutive chemical resistance expression cassette are located between right and left T-DNA borders.
  • the antisense expression cassettes can be transferred into a recipient plant cell by agroinfection.
  • pPG5603 was transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens by electroporation. Transformed Agrobacterium colonies were isolated using chemical selection. DNA was prepared from purified resistant colonies and the inserts were amplified by PCR and sequenced to confirm sequence and orientation.
  • the antisense expression cassette was introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana wild-type plants by the following method. Five days prior to agroinfection, the primary inflorescence of Arabidopsis thaliana plants grown in 2.5 inch pots were clipped in order enhance the emergence of secondary bolts.
  • 5 ml LB broth (10 g/L Peptone, 5 g/L Yeast extract, 5 g/L NaCl, pH 7.0 plus 25 mg/L kanamycin added prior to use) was inoculated with a clonal glycerol stock of Agrobacterium carrying pPG5603.
  • the cultures were incubated overnight at 28°C at 250 rpm until the cells reached stationary phase.
  • 200 ml LB in a 500 ml flask was inoculated with 500 ⁇ l of the overnight culture and the cells were grown to stationary phase by overnight incubation at 28°C at 250 rpm.
  • the cells were pelleted by centrifugation at 8000 rpm for 5 minutes. The supernatant was removed and excess media was removed by setting the centrifuge bottles upside down on a paper towel for several minutes. The cells were then resuspended in 500 ml infiltration medium (autoclaved 5%> sucrose) and 250 ⁇ l/L Silwet L-77TM (84% polyalkyleneoxide modified heptamethyltrisiloxane and 16%) allyloxypolyethyleneglycol methyl ether), and transferred to a one liter beaker.
  • 500 ml infiltration medium autoclaved 5%> sucrose
  • Silwet L-77TM 84% polyalkyleneoxide modified heptamethyltrisiloxane and 16%) allyloxypolyethyleneglycol methyl ether
  • the previously clipped Arabidopsis plants were dipped into the Agrobacterium suspension so that all above ground parts were immersed and agitated gently for 10 seconds.
  • the dipped plants were then covered with a tall clear plastic dome in order to maintain the humidity, and returned to the growth room. The following day, the dome was removed and the plants were grown under normal light conditions until mature seeds were produced. Mature seeds were collected and stored desiccated at 4 °C.
  • Transgenic Arabidopsis TI seedlings were selected. Approximately 70 mg seeds from an agrotransformed plant were mixed approximately 4:1 with sand and placed in a 2 ml screw cap cryo vial. One vial of seeds was then sown in a cell of an 8 cell flat. The flat was covered with a dome, stored at 4°C for 3 days, and then transferred to a growth room. The domes were removed when the seedlings first emerged. After the emergence of the first primary leaves, the flat was sprayed uniformly with a herbicide corresponding to the chemical resistance marker plus 0.005%o Silwet (50 ⁇ l/L) until the leaves were completely wetted. The spraying was repeated for the following two days.
  • Example 4 were crossed with the Arabidopsis transgenic driver line described above.
  • the resulting FI seeds were then subjected to a PGI plate assay to observe seedling growth over a 2-week period: Seedlings were inspected for growth and development.
  • the transgenic plant line containing the pPG5603 antisense construct exhibited chlorosis and reduced growth in six often seedlings examined.
  • the following protocol may be employed to obtain the purified ALB3 protein.
  • Cloning &expression strategies The pPG5603 gene can be cloned into E. coli (p ⁇ T vectors-Novagen), Baculovirus (Pharmingen) and Yeast (Invitrogen) expression vectors containing His/fusion protein tags. Evaluate the expression of recombinant protein by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis.
  • the enzymatic activity of ALB 3 may be determined in the presence and absence of candidate inhibitors in a suitable reaction mixture, such as described by any of the following known assay protocols:
  • a crude extract containing mitochondria and thylakoid membranes is prepared from seedlings of interest. Approximately 2 g of leaf tissue from young seedlings is ground with a mortar and pestle in a buffer containing 0.3 M sucrose, 50 mM MOPS, andl mM EDTA, pH 7.0; and the supernatant is filtered through Miracloth (CALBiochem, La Jolla, CA).
  • Mictochondria are separated along with other organelles and membranes from debris on a sucrose gradient and collected from the layer between 20 and 52%> sucrose after thirty minutes of centrifugation at 19,000 g. This material is slowly suspended in four volumes of phosphate buffer with i sucrose and recollected by centrifugation at 19,000 g for twenty minutes.
  • the washed mitochondria and thylakoid membranes are resuspended in phosphate buffer with sucrose.
  • Cycochrome C oxidase activity is measured in a spectrophotometer at 550 nm.
  • Fumarase activity is used to measure the relative amount of mitochondria in the organelle preparations. Fumarase activity is measured spectrophotomefrically at 340 nm as the steady state production of NADPH in a medium containing 25 mM Hepes, pH 5.5, 5 mM KH 2 PO 4 , 4 mM MgC12, 0.055 (v/v) Triton X- 100.TM nonionic detergent (octylphenol ethyl ene oxide condensate, 100%> active ingredient), 0.4 mM NADP, 6 mM fumarase, 0.1 units of NADP- malic enzyme, and another portion of the organelle preparations.

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Abstract

Nous avons découvert que le polypeptide décrit dans SEQ ID NO:2 est essentiel pour la croissance végétale. Par conséquent, on peut utiliser ce polypeptide comme cible pour l'identification d'herbicides. Ainsi, la présente invention concerne des procédés d'identification de composés servant d'herbicides et inhibant l'expression ou l'activité du polypeptide codé par SEQ ID NO:2. Par ailleurs, font également l'objet de cette invention des procédés et des compositions de modulation de la croissance végétale et du développement végétal.
PCT/US2002/035736 2001-11-08 2002-11-07 Procedes d'identification d'herbicides et modulation de la croissance vegetale Ceased WO2003077648A2 (fr)

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