Purdue Research Foundation

Clinton C S Chapple

Max Otto Ruegger

Rochus Franke

The present invention is directed to a method for altering secondary metabolism in plants, specifically phenylpropanoid metabolism. The present invention is further directed to a mutant p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase gene, referred to herein as the ref8 gene, its protein product which can be used to prepare gene constructs and transgenic plants. The gene constructs and transgenic plants are further aspects of the present invention.

Genes encoding p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase (C3H) and methods of use

The present invention relates to methods and materials in the field of molecular biology, the manipulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway and the regulation of proteins synthesis through plant genetic engineering. More particularly, the invention relates to the introduction of a foreign nucleotide sequence into a plant genome, wherein the introduction of the nucleotide sequence effects an increase in the syringyl content of the plant's lignin. In one specific aspect, the invention relates to methods for modifying the plant lignin composition in a plant cell by the introduction there into of a foreign nucleotide sequence comprising at issue specific plant promoter sequence and a sequence encoding an active ferulate- -hydroxylase (F H) enzyme. Plant transformants harboring an inventive promoter-F H construct demonstrate increased levels of syringyl monomer residues in their lignin, rendering the polymer more readily delignified and, thereby, rendering the plant more readily pulped or digested.

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West Lafayette, IN, United States of America

Clinton C S Chapple