The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation

Zengyu Wang

Richard A Dixon

Fang Chen

Maria Harrison

Yaxin Ge

Xiaofei Cheng

Jiyi Zhang

The invention provides methods for increasing the level of fermentable carbohydrates in a biofuel crop plant such as alfalfa or switchgrass, by modification of the lignin biosynthetic pathway. Also provided are plants prepared by the methods of the invention. Methods for processing plant tissue and for producing ethanol by utilizing such plants are also provided.

Biofuel production methods and compositions

The invention provides methods for transforming monocotyledonous plants with, for example, using stolons as a target tissue. The invention allows creation of transgenic plants without the need for callus as a target tissue for transformation, thus providing a rapid method for the production of transgenic plants. The ability to directly regenerate transgenic plants from stolons significantly reduces the time, labor and other complications required to produce transgenic plants. Plants produced by such methods are also provided by the invention.

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The invention provides plants with delayed flowering and methods of making such plants. Also provided are constructs comprising nucleic acids for making these plants. The invention is significant in that plants with delayed flowering may exhibit increased nutritional value and cold tolerance. Delayed flowering will also find use in plant breeding methods.

Plants with delayed flowering

The invention provides genes that activate wax biosynthesis in plants. Also provided are constructs comprising these sequences, plants transformed therewith and methods of use thereof. The invention allows the modification of plants for increased wax production, particularly in leaves. The inventors have demonstrated increased drought tolerance in connection with increased leaf wax production engineered in plants.

Increased wax production in plants

The invention provides MtHP promoter sequences capable of functioning as a strong plant promoter. Compositions comprising these sequences described, as are transgenic cells transformed with such sequences. Further provided by the invention are methods for the expression of transgenes in plant and other cells comprising the use of these sequences. The sequences of the invention represent a valuable new tool for the creation of transgenic cells expressing one or more selected coding regions.

Growing community of inventors

Ardmore, OK, United States of America

Zengyu Wang