Performance Plants, Inc.

Queen's University at Kingston

Daniel D Lefebvre

Mohammad A Malboobi

Kevin S Gellatly

Chad D Edwards

Mohammed A Malboobi

This invention provides a method of biosynthesizing nanoparticles and quantum dots. The method may comprise culturing photosynthetic cells and/or fungal cells of a multicellular fungus in a culture medium comprising one or more species of metal in ionic or non-ionic form; and one or more counter elements to the one or more species of metal, or one or more compound comprising one or more counter elements to the one or more species of metal; wherein the cells biosynthesize nanoparticles and quantum dots incorporating the metal. The invention also provides biosynthesized nanoparticles and quantum dots.

Biosynthesis of nanoparticles

This invention provides an isolated promoter which induces transcription of a gene under conditions in which phosphate is limited to an organism. Vectors, host cells, and transgenic photosynthetic organisms incorporating this promoter are also provided.

Phosphate-deficiency inducible promoter

This invention provides proteins, especially protein kinases and glucosidases, which are expressed under conditions of phosphate deprivation. Further provided are nucleic acids and nucleic acid constructs encoding these proteins, cells containing the nucleic acids described and transgenic photosynthetic organisms with altered phosphate-inducible enzyme activity.

Phosphate starvation-inducible proteins

This invention provides a novel family of plant phosphatases. Further provided are nucleic acids and nucleic acid constructs encoding the genes for plant phosphatases, cells containing the nucleic acids described and transgenic photosynthetic organisms with altered phosphate metabolism.

Growing community of inventors

Kingston, Canada

Daniel D Lefebvre