National Research Council of Canada

Jin-Zhuo Dong

Wilfred A Keller

Gopalan Selvaraj

Fawzy Georges

Raju S S Datla

Atta A K Hussain

In a method for altering a nutritional profile of a plant, a nucleic acid sequence is selected for its ability to encode a protein capable of modifying the utilization of a substrate in the sugar alcohol secondary metabolic pathway of a plant. The protein is non-native to the sugar alcohol secondary metabolic pathway. Plant cells are transformed with an expression cassette containing the nucleic acid sequence. Genetically altered plants are recovered from the plant cells, the plants having an altered nutritional profile relative to wild-type plants. Genetically modified plants having improved nutritional profiles, and obtainable by the above method, are also provided.

Methods and compositions for modifying levels of secondary metabolic compounds in plants

The present invention provides a method of making a genetically transformed plant which has an altered content of at least one product of a secondary metabolic pathway. The method consists of introducing into a plant cell capable of being transformed and regenerated to a whole plant a DNA expression cassette. The expression cassette includes DNA sequences required for transformation and selection in plant cells. It also includes a DNA sequence that, under the control of a promoter active in plant cells, encodes a protein capable of modifying the utilization of a substrate in the secondary metabolic pathway. The substrate is not a primary metabolite of the group selected from glucose, amino acids, common fatty acids and nucleotides. A plant or plant tissues including seeds can then be recovered having an altered content of at least one product of the secondary metabolic pathway. The invention also provides for feed products derived from the plants and seeds obtained according to the method.

Growing community of inventors

Saskatoon, Canada

Jin-Zhuo Dong