New Mexico State University

Suman Bagga

John D Kemp

Champa Sengupta-Gopalan

The subject invention pertains to materials and methods for transformed plants and plant tissues that are capable of expressing high levels of stable proteins which are localized as protein bodies within the plant cell. Transformed plants co-expressing high levels of both the 15 kD and 10 kD zein proteins are disclosed which accumulate to high levels as protein bodies in the vegetative tissue of the plant. Transformed plants co-expressing the 15 kD and 10 kD zein proteins are useful for providing forage crops containing increased levels of sulfur containing amino acids, such as methionine, in the diet of animals that normally feed on such crops. Also contemplated by the subject invention are transformed plants or plant tissue comprising stable protein bodies which contain heterologous proteinaceous material. In one embodiment, a stable protein body is expressed in a plant or plant tissue as a fusion protein comprising a zein protein and an operably linked protein or peptide. The protein bodies provided in the present invention are resistant to rumin digestion or environmental degradation.

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Las Cruces, NM, United States of America

Suman Bagga