Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, As Represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada As Represented by the Ministerof Agriculture and Agri-food Canada

Teresa Martin-Heller

Brian Miki

Keqiang Wu

Kamal Malik

Jiro Hattori

Elizabeth Foster

Lining Tian

Peijun Zhang

John A Simmonds

Linda J Harris

Leslie Cass

Sharon Allard

Thérèse Ouellet

Th&eacute;r&egrave;se Ouellet

Raymond Tropiano

David A Theilmann

Ti Xing

Dan Brown

Hélène Labbé

Ming Hu

Daniel Charles William Brown

Daniel C Brown

T-DNA tagging with a promoterless &#x3b2;-glucuronidase (GUS) gene generated transgenicplants that expressed GUS activity either only in developing seed coats, or constitutively. Cloning and deletion analysis of the GUS fusion revealed that the promoter responsible for seed coat specificity was located in the plant DNA proximal to the GUS gene. Analysis of the region demonstrated that the seed coat-specificity of GUS expression in this transgenic plant resulted from T-DNA insertion next to a cryptic promoter. This promoter is useful in controlling the expression of genes to the developing seed coat in plant seeds. Similarly, cloning and characterization of the cryptic constitutive promoter revealed the occurrence of several cryptic regulatory regions. These regions include promoter, negative regulatory elements, transcriptional enhancers, core promoter regions, and translational enhancers and other regulatory elements.

Cryptic regulatory elements obtained from plants

This invention is directed to a regulatory region obtained from a wheat aleurone gene LtpW1. This regulatory region, truncated derivatives, mutations, or deletions of this regulatory region, can be used to express heterologous genes of interest within aleurone cells of a plant. Furthermore, this invention is directed to a truncated LtpW1 regulatory region that exhibits constitutive activity with both monocot and dicot plants. This invention is also directed to vectors comprising these regulatory regions operatively linked with a heterologous gene of interest, as well as plant cell cultures and transgenic plants comprising these vectors. A method for the preparation of a plant using the regulatory regions of this invention are also disclosed.

Regulatory region of a lipid transfer protein (LtpW1) from aleuron tissue of wheat

The present invention is directed to translational regulatory elements that mediate the amount of protein produced within a host capable of expressing a construct comprising one or more translational regulatory elements in operative association with a gene of interest. These translational regulatory elements were derived from T1275 (tCUP) and exhibit a high degree of similarity with members of the RENT family of repetitive elements. Translational regulatory elements are disclosed that either increase or decrease he amount of protein produced within the host organism. These translational elements are operative in a wide range of hosts including plant, animals, yeast, fungi and bacteria. Analogs, derivatives and fragments of these translational elements are also disclosed.

Translational regulatory elements

A mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase gene, tMEK2, was isolated from tomato cv. Bonny Best. By mutagenesis, a permanently-active variant, tMEK2 , was created. Both wild type tMEK2 and mutant tMEK2 were driven by a strong constitutive promoter, tCUP&Dgr;, in a tomato protoplast transient expression system. Pathogenesis-related genes, PR1b1 and PR3, and a wound-inducible gene, ER5, were activated by tMEK2 expression revealing the convergence of the signal transduction pathways for pathogen attack and mechanical stress at the level of MAPKK. Activation of biotic and abiotic stress response genes downstream of tMEK2 occurred through divergent pathways involving at least two classes of mitogen-activated protein kinase. This study shows that tMEK2 may play an important role in the interaction of signal transduction pathways that mediate responses to both biotic (eg disease) and abiotic (wound responsiveness) stresses.

Plant-derived map kinase kinase

Growing community of inventors

Gloucester, Canada

Teresa Martin-Heller