Eden Bioscience Corporation

Cornell Research Foundation Inc.

Hao Fan

Zhong-Min Wei

Steven V Beer

Ron J Laby

Shane S Swanson

Jennifer J Stephens

The present invention is directed to an isolated DNA molecule encoding ahypersensitive response elicitor protein or polypeptide. The DNA molecule that encodes such protein has the following uses: imparting disease resistance to plants, enhancing plant growth, controlling insects on plants, imparting stress resistance, imparting post-harvest disease resistance, maximizing the benefit of or overcoming a yield penalty associated with a transgenic trait, inhibiting desiccation of cuttings from ornamental plants, and promoting early flowering of an ornamental plant. These can be achieved by expression of the hypersensitive response elicitor in transgenic plants. Transgenic plants, plants seeds, and cuttings from such transgenic plants are also disclosed.

Nucleic acid encoding a hypersensitive response elicitor from Xanthomonas campestris

The present invention is directed to isolated active fragments of a hypersensitive response elicitor protein or polypeptide which fragment does not elicit a hypersensitive response in plants. Also disclosed are isolated DNA molecules which encode such fragments. Isolated fragments of hypersensitive response elicitor proteins or polypeptides in accordance with the present invention and the isolated DNA molecules that encode them have the following activities: imparting disease resistance to plants, enhancing plant growth, and/or controlling insects on plants. This can be achieved by applying the fragments of a hypersensitive response elicitor in a non-infectious form to plants or plant seeds under conditions effective to impart disease resistance, to enhance plant growth, and/or to control insects on plants or plants grown from the plant seeds. Alternatively, transgenic plants or plant seeds transformed with a DNA molecule encoding the fragment can be provided and the transgenic plants or plants resulting from the trasgenic plant seeds are grown under conditions effective to impart disease resistance, to enhance plant growth, and/or to control insects on plants or plants grown from the plant seeds.

Hypersensitive response elicitor fragments which are active but do not elicit a hypersensitive response

Growing community of inventors

Bothell, WA, United States of America

Hao Fan