Mendel Biotechnology, Inc.

Roger D Canales

Oliver J Ratcliffe

T Lynne Reuber

Karen S Century

Neal I Gutterson

Robert A Creelman

Jacqueline E Heard

Roderick W Kumimoto

Peter P Repetti

Frederick D Hempel

Cai-Zhong Jiang

Omaira Pineda

Luc Adam

Jose Luis Riechmann

Emily L Queen

James Z Zhang

Jeffrey M Libby

Shiv Bahadur Tiwari

James S Keddie

Katherine Krolikowski

Bradley K Sherman

Jennifer M Costa

Tracy A Morrison

Neal L Gutterson

Peter Repetti

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

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 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

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.

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, including disease stress and abiotic stress tolerance, as compared to wild-type or control plants. The invention also pertains to expression systems that may be used to regulate these transcription factor polynucleotides, providing constitutive, transient, inducible and tissue-specific regulation.

Transcriptional regulation of plant disease tolerance

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

MYB-related transcriptional regulators that confer altered root hare, trichome morphology, and increased tolerance to abiotic stress in plants

The present invention provides nucleic acid constructs, including plasmids, expression vectors or expression cassettes comprising polynucleotides encoding CCAAT-binding transcription factor polypeptides that have the ability to increase a plant's tolerance to abiotic stress. Polynucleotides encoding functional CCAAT-binding transcription factors were incorporated into expression vectors, introduced into plants, and ectopically expressed. The encoded polypeptides of the invention significantly increased the cold and water deficit tolerance of the transgenic plants, as compared to tolerance to these stresses of control plants.

Plants with improved water deficit and cold tolerance

Biotic and abiotic stress tolerance 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 advantageous properties, tolerance low nitrogen, cold and water deficit conditions, and resistance to disease, as compared to wild-type or other control plants.

Conferring biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in plants

Plant Transcriptional Regulators

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Roger D Canales