Ciba-geigy Corporation

Novartis Finance Corporation

Syngenta Participations Ag

Syngenta Investment Corporation

Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule

Ingo Potrykus

Jerzy Paszkowski

Thomas Hohn

Barbara Hohn

Michael William Saul

Vaclav Mandak

Raymond Douglas Shillito

Raymond D Shillito

Christof Sautter

Heinz Waldner

Gabor Lazar

Hideaki Shinshi

Peter Beyer

Isabelle Rauseo

Ioan Negrutiu

The present invention provides means and methods of transforming plant cells, seeds, tissues or whole plants in order to yield transformants capable of expressing all enzymes of the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway that are essential for the targeted host plant to accumulate carotenes and/or xanthophylls of interest. The present invention also provides DNA molecules designed to be suitable for carrying out the method of the invention, and plasmids or vector systems comprising said molecules. Furthermore, the present invention provides transgenic plant cells, seeds, tissues and whole plants that display an improved nutritional quality and contain such DNA molecules and/or that have been generated by use of the methods of the present invention.

Method for improving the agronomic and nutritional value of plants

A novel process for the direct transfer of foreign genes to plant genomes is described. The novel process comprises placing a gene under the control of plant expression signals and transferring it, by contact with protoplasts without the aid of natural systems for infecting plants, direct to plant cells from which genetically transformed plants can subsequently be derived.

Transformation of hereditary material of plants

Transformation of hereditary material of Brassica plants and cells

In a tubular pressure chamber a drop of a DNA solution with gold particles suspended therein is atomized at the opening of a cannula by a pressure impact. The fog droplets containing the gold particles and the DNA entrained by them, are pressured by the pressure impact through a restriction at the end of the pressure chamber and thereby accelerated and focused. They subsequently traverse in free flight an evacuated specimen chamber and impact in a narrowly limited target area with a predetermined pulse, cells fixed on a holder, thereby penetrating them.

Process and apparatus for the genetic transformation of cells

The present invention relates to an improved process for transforming plant protoplasts using simple, purely chemical, process steps, and to the plant material obtainable by this method. The transfer of the genetic material into the plant cell is carried out directly, without the use of a natural plant-infective system such as a plant bacterium or plant virus, and without transfer by insects or phytopathogenic fungi, by joint incubation in a suitable incubation medium of the DNA to be transformed and plant protoplasts. In this manner, desired genes can very simply and efficiently be transferred to plant material, resulting in plants with improved properties.

Process for transforming plant protoplast

A novel process for the direct transfer of foreign genes to plant genomes is described. The novel process comprises placing a gene under the control of plant expression signals and transferring it, by contact with protoplasts without the aid of natural systems for infecting plants, directly to plant cells from which genetically transformed plants can subsequently be derived.

A process for the maintenance and proliferation of defective, non-infectious viruses or virus genomes, comprising mutations, i.e. deletions, substitutions, insertions and new rearrangements of the viral genes or combinations of the virus DNA with heterologous genetic material in proliferating plant material and for the regeneration of whole plants containing stably integrated into their genome said defective, non-infectious virus DNA.

Process for the maintenance and proliferation of defective

The invention describes a process for culturing proliferating aggregates of plant cells, which comprises (a) uniformly plating isolated protoplasts, or isolated cells regenerated from protoplasts, in or on an agarose-solidified culture medium, and/or (b) cutting this pretreated and solidified culture medium into segments, transferring said segments to a liquid nutrient solution and continuing culturing in both cases until the cell aggregates have attained the desired size.

Growing community of inventors

Magden, Switzerland

Ingo Potrykus