Mendel Biotechnology, Inc.

Koch Biological Solutions, LLC

Monsanto Technology LLC

Monsanto Company

Swetree Technologies Ab

Oliver J Ratcliffe

T Lynne Reuber

Robert A Creelman

Jacqueline E Heard

Jose Luis Riechmann

Cai-Zhong Jiang

Omaira Pineda

Neal I Gutterson

Luc Adam

Roderick W Kumimoto

Karen S Century

Peter P Repetti

Roger D Canales

Jeffrey M Libby

Frederick D Hempel

Guo-Liang Yu

James Z Zhang

James S Keddie

Hans E Holtan

Colleen M Marion

Marsha L Pilgrim

Arnold N DuBell, Iii

Katherine Krolikowski

Graham J Hymus

Pierre Broun

Suqin Cai

Paul S Chomet

Thomas Gene Ruff

Robert J Meister

Marie E Petracek

Kimberly Faye Zobrist Duff

Bradley K Sherman

Susanne Kjemtrup-Lovelace

Qingzhang Xu

Gregory Nadzan

Shiv Bahadur Tiwari

Volker Haake

Pierre E Broun

Raymond R Samaha

Emily L Queen

R Eric Cerny

Luc J Adam

Arnold N Dubell

Kimberly Faye Duff

Richard Eric Cerny

Megan Lau

Bonnie R Brayton

Yu Shen

Marjorie R Lundgren

Lynne Reuber

Amanda J Burek

Roger Canales

Stanton B Dotson

Balasulojini Karunanandaa

Linda L Lutfiyya

Jingrui Wu

Karen Gabbert

Magnus Hertzberg

Changlin Fu

Michael Fromm

Torgny Näsholm

Jindong Sun

Joseph Michael Palys

Yifan Mao

Jennifer M Costa

Ganesh Kumar

Kimberly Faye Zobrist-Duff

Tracy A Morrison

Arnold Dubell

Neal L Gutterson

Susanne Kjemtrup-lovelace

Lynne T Reuber

Guo Liang Yu

Peter Repetti

Polynucleotides incorporated into nucleic acid constructs have been introduced into plants and were ectopically expressed. The encoded polypeptides of the invention have been shown to confer at least one regulatory activity and confer earlier flowering, longer floral organ retention, increased cold tolerance, greater tolerance to water deprivation, altered carbon-nitrogen balance sensing, increased low nitrogen tolerance, and/or increased tolerance to hyperosmotic stress as compared to a control plant.

Plant tolerance to low water, low nitrogen and cold II

The invention relates to plant transcription factor polypeptides, polynucleotides that encode them, homologs from a variety of plant species, and methods of using the polynucleotides and polypeptides to produce transgenic plants having advantageous properties compared to a reference plant. Sequence information related to these polynucleotides and polypeptides can also be used in bioinformatic search methods and is also disclosed.

Polynucleotides and polypeptides in plants

A new and strong transcriptional activation domain was identified from theprotein Ethylene Response Factor 98 (AtERF98). This domain has been designated as the 'EDLL domain' and has a number of highly conserved amino acid residues that are found throughout the members of the AtERF98 family from plants, including in monocot and eudicot orthologs. The EDLL domain was shown to be highly active when it was fused to transcription factors from plant and yeast, and was also shown to have activation potential comparable to the widely-used VP16 activation domain derived from. The EDLL domain was also active when it was targeted to a gene promoter by a sequence-specific DNA binding protein or by protein-protein interactions. Unlike other known activation domains such as VP16 and GAL4, the EDLL domain is relatively small in size, and being of plant origin, it is favored as a strong transcriptional activation tool for application in transgenic food crops.

Strong activation domain

Polynucleotides and polypeptides incorporated into expression vectors have been introduced into plants and were ectopically expressed. The polypeptides of the invention have been shown to confer at least one regulatory activity and confer increased yield, greater height, greater early season growth, greater canopy coverage, greater stem diameter, greater late season vigor, increased secondary rooting, more rapid germination, greater cold tolerance, greater tolerance to water deprivation, reduced stomatal conductance, altered C/N sensing, increased low nitrogen tolerance, increased low phosphorus tolerance, or increased tolerance to hyperosmotic stress as compared to the control plant as compared to a control plant.

Yield and stress tolerance in transgenic plants IV

Transcription factor polynucleotides and polypeptides incorporated into nucleic acid constructs, including expression vectors, have been introduced into plants and were ectopically expressed. Transgenic plants transformed with many of these constructs have been shown to be more resistant to disease (in some cases, to more than one pathogen), or more tolerant to an abiotic stress (in some cases, to more than one abiotic stress). The abiotic stress may include, for example, salt, hyperosmotic stress, water deficit, heat, cold, drought, or low nutrient conditions.

Stress tolerance in plants

The application describes producing polynucleotide variants of the AtHB 17 clade members and introducing the mutant variants into plants to improve plant traits. The mutant polynucleotides encode polypeptides that comprise mutations in the EAR motifs.

Mutation of the EAR motif of class II HD-ZIP polypeptides

This disclosure provides transgenic plants, including crop plants and methods for their production. The transgenic plants comprise recombinant DNA constructs for the expression of polypeptides encoded by the DNA constructs. The polypeptides are capable of conferring improved traits to the transgenic plants when expressed under the control of a tissue-enhanced promoter. This disclosure also pertains to transgenic plants and their progeny plants, wherein the transgenic or progeny plants comprise the recombinant DNA constructs and are selected for having enhanced nitrogen use efficiency and/or nitrogen uptake. Seed of the transgenic plants that can be grown into a plant that comprise the disclosed recombinant DNA constructs and exhibits having enhanced nitrogen use efficiency, and which may be selected for this trait, are also envisioned.

Nitrogen uptake in plants

Polynucleotides and polypeptides incorporated into expression vectors are introduced into plants and were ectopically expressed. These polypeptides may confer at least one regulatory activity and increased yield, increased resource use efficiency, increased water use efficiency, increased light use efficiency, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased photosynthetic rate, increased photosynthetic resource use efficiency, greater vigor, and/or greater biomass as compared to a control plant.

Resource use efficiency improvement in plants

The invention relates to plant transcription factor polypeptides, polynucleotides that encode them, homologs from a variety of plant species, and methods of using the polynucleotides and polypeptides to produce transgenic plants having improved tolerance to drought, shade, and low nitrogen conditions, as compared to wild-type or reference plants.

Plant transcriptional regulators

Polynucleotides and polypeptides incorporated into expression vectors are introduced into plants and were ectopically expressed. These polypeptides may confer at least one regulatory activity and increased yield, increased light use efficiency, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased photosynthetic rate, increased photosynthetic resource use efficiency, greater vigor, and/or greater biomass as compared to a control plant.

Yield improvement in plants

A new and strong transcriptional activation domain was identified from theprotein Ethylene Response Factor 98 (AtERF98). This domain has been designated as the 'EDLL domain' and has a number of highly conserved amino acid residues that are found throughout the members of the AtERF98 family from plants, including in monocot and eudicot orthologs. The EDLL domain was shown to be highly active when it was fused to transcription factors from plant and yeast, and was also shown to have activation potential comparable to the widely-used VP16 activation domain derived from Herpes simplex. The EDLL domain was also active when it was targeted to a gene promoter by a sequence-specific DNA binding protein or by protein-protein interactions. Unlike other known activation domains such as VP16 and GAL4, the EDLL domain is relatively small in size, and being of plant origin, it is favored as a strong transcriptional activation tool for application in transgenic food crops.

Growing community of inventors

Oakland, CA, United States of America

Oliver J Ratcliffe