Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Bayer Cropscience Nv

Danny James Llewellyn

Frank Meulewaeter

Elizabeth Salisbury Dennis

William James Peacock

Yingru Wu

Robert Furbank

Yong-Ling Ruan

Adriane Cristine Machado

Fiona Ruth Murray

The present invention relates to materials and methods for the expression of a gene of interest selectively in cotton fibers. In particular, the invention provides an expression cassette for regulating fiber-selective expression in plants.

Fiber selective promoters

The present application discloses a chimeric gene comprising a promoter region consisting of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 from nucleotide 1 to nucleotide 1437 operably linked to a nucleic acid coding for an expression product of interest, and a transcription termination and polyadenylation sequence. Also disclosed herein are a vector, a transgenic plant cell, a transgenic plant and a seed comprising such a chimeric gene. Methods disclosed herein relate to the production of a transgenic plant, growing cotton, producing a seed, effecting fiber-preferential expression of a product in cotton and of altering fiber properties in a cotton plant using the chimeric gene described.

Fiber-preferential promoter in cotton

The present invention provides polypeptides, and polynucleotides encoding therefore, involved in the regulation of fibre initiation and/or elongation in fibre producing plants. In particular, the present invention provides methods of altering fibre initiation in cotton making use of transcription factors, regulatory proteins or cell cycle proteins produced at or around anthesis. The invention also relates to the use of these as markers of fibre production in plants including cotton.

Genes involved in plant fibre development

Methods and means are provided to modulate fiber quality in fiber-producing plants, such as cotton by modulating sucrose synthase activity and/or expression in such plants. The methods and means may also be used to obtain plants with seedless fruits or male-sterile plants.

Modification of sucrose synthase gene expression in plant tissue and uses therefor

Expression of the glucose oxidase gene in transgenic organisms

Growing community of inventors

O'Connor, Australia

Danny James Llewellyn