Swetree Technologies Ab

Basf Plant Science Gmbh

Plant Sciences, Inc.

Oskar Erikson

Helke Hillebrand

Magnus Hertzberg

Marcus Ebneth

Torgny Näsholm

This invention relates to fertilizer and herbicide compositions. The present invention provides a composition for selective fertilization of a transgenic plant comprising a polypeptide which metabolizes a D-amino acid substrate; said composition comprising said D-amino acid substrate. Another aspect of the present invention provides a selective herbicide composition comprising a D-amino acid. Such a herbicide will inhibit or reduce the growth of plants which do not contain the appropriate D-amino acid metabolizing enzyme, while the growth of transgenic plants which are able to metabolize the D-amino acid will be unaffected or, more preferably, be increased or enhanced. Methods and means are also provided for selectively modulating the growth and stress tolerance such plants using D-amino acids. The methods can be used either for detoxification of phytotoxic D-amino acids such as D-alanine and D-serine, thereby allowing for selection of plants comprising said D-amino acid metabolizing enzymes, or for enhancing toxicity of lesser phytotoxic D-amino acids such as D-isoleucine, thereby allowing for selection of plants not comprising said D-amino acid metabolizing enzymes.

Compositions comprising D-amino acids

This invention relates to plants and plant cells which express heterologous D-amino acid metabolizing enzymes and may therefore employ D-amino acids as a source of nitrogen. Methods and means are provided for selectively modulating the growth and stress tolerance of such plants using D-amino acids. The methods can be used either for detoxification of phytotoxic D-amino acids such as D-alanine and D-serine, thereby allowing for selection of plants comprising said D-amino acid metabolizing enzymes, or for enhancing toxicity of lesser phytotoxic D-amino acids such as D-isoleucine, thereby allowing for selection of plants not comprising said D-amino acid metabolizing enzymes.

Selective plant growth using d-amino acids

Growing community of inventors

Umea, Sweden

Oskar Erikson