To optimize plant growth it is necessary to ensure proper nutrient uptake as well as monitor osmotic stress such as drought, temperature stress, and salinity. Current methods of detecting plant osmotic stress include visual assessment, sample testing, aerial imagery and radiometry. While visual assessment lacks the accuracy and resolution afforded by other methods, aerial imagery may be costlier; sample testing offers better accuracy and resolution but can be more labor- and cost-intensive. Radiometry strikes a better balance between volume and resolution, but its readings are sensitive to sunlight intensity, sun angle, cloud cover and interaction of sun angle with plant geometry; it needs to correct for these variations by taking the intensity of incoming light as well as the light reflected from the crop into account. Therefore there is a need for a different method that can improve the accuracy of the measurement of osmotic stress (more...)

Plant growth and development depends on the coordination of gene expression in a tissue-, temporal-, or signal-dependent manner. Often, the complex expression pattern observed for a given gene derives from regulation at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. This multi-layered approach to gene control is part of what makes plants robust, adaptable, and efficient as living photosynthetic systems. Complex gene regulation requires a multi-level approach. Current technology for transgene regulation in plants is based almost exclusively on transcriptional activation. For example, tissue-specific and stress-responsive promoters are extensively employed for inducible gene regulation, though many of these conditional promoters are species-specific. Alternative splicing of mRNA is an important mechanism of gene regulation in plants. The two possible consequences of alternative splicing of an mRNA are: (i) to change the protein coding sequence, by inserting or deleting sequences, or by shifting the reading frame, or (ii) to change the fate of the mRNA, by inserting or deleting sequences that target the RNA for degradation, localization, or other processes. This research has identified how to use RNA elements that regulate alternative splicing of mRNAs for inducible control of gene expression. (more...)

The flowering process consumes 25 to 35 percent of the energy of a typical plant. Thus, for trees used for lumber or pulp production, for example, it can be advantageous to suppress flowering in order increase the yield of wood. Suppression of flowering also can be a desirable trait to eliminate the production of allergic pollen, or to prevent pollen dissemination. (more...)

Patent rights to a group of novel rice beta-glucanase genes and the corresponding beta-glucanase enzymes are available for non-exclusive licensing.  The genes, and the gene promoters, are useful in a variety of transgenic monocot plants for achieving increased plant resistance to fungal infection, improved growth characteristics, biomass conversion and high levels of expression of heterologous protein in various tissues obtained from the plants. (more...)

Inorganic nitrogen is a vital nutrient for plants. Soil nitrate provides as much as 90 percent of the nitrogen taken up by most plants and leads to a dramatic change in gene expression, which is critical to direct the productivity and survival of the plant. Consequently, nitrate is commonly provided by way of fertilizer to improve crop yield. However, many crop plants are inefficient in their ability to utilize the nitrogen. For example, corn and wheat typically only utilize 50 percent of the nitrogen applied to the soil and paddy rice may recoup as little as 30 percent. Nitrogen not used by crops may contribute to severe environmental problems, including pollution of ground water, run-off into nearby bodies of water, and release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Plants take up and assimilate nitrate in response to its availability in the soil and the demands of the plant, but with varying efficiency among species. Understanding and improving the ability of particular plant species to respond to and utilize nitrogen could therefore lead to increased crop productivity and decreased water and air pollution. (more...)

  Normal 0 0 1 137 783 UC Berkeley 6 1 961 11.1282 0 0 0 Imprinting regulates a number of genes essential for normal development in mammals and angiosperms. In mammals such imprinted genes contribute to the control of fetal growth and development. Human diseases may also be linked to mutations in imprinted genes or aberrant regulation of their expression.. Differential DNA methylation can be established during oogenesis or spermatogenesis by de novo methyltransferases and maintained somatically by methyltransferases. The conversion of cytosine to 5'-methylcytosine in promoter associated CpG islands has been linked to changes in chromatin structure and often results in transcriptional silencing of the associated gene. Transcriptional silencing by DNA methylation has been linked to mammalian development, imprinting and X-Chromosome inactivation, suppression of parasitic DNA and numerous cancer types. This invention provides for demethylase polypeptides that excise methylated cytosines in DNA. (more...)

UC San Diego inventors have identified and cloned a nitric oxide (NO) synthase gene from plants, AtNOS1, which has been shown to play a role in plant growth, stomatal movement, hormonal signaling and fertility. The protein was expressed in bacteria as a fusion protein with glutathione-S-transferase (GST-AtNOS1), purified and assayed. The inventors were able to show that extracts from bacteria expressing the fusion protein had higher levels of NOS activity. It is particularly interesting that this gene in plants has been known, but never isolated. (more...)

Researchers from UC San Diego have found a key gene that plays a central role in regulating lignin accumulation within plant cells. Specifically, mutants of this gene produce excess lignins in "ectopic" positions, while transgene constructs incorporating a constitutive promotor nearly abolish lignin biosynthesis. Furthermore, this patented technology details how certain cells that would normally become lignified show a complete absence of lignin in double mutants for this and a related gene, suggesting that these two genes act redundantly to positively regulate lignin production. These results suggest that these genes can be used to regulate lignification of plant cells.Specifically, the technology provides a method of reducing lignification in a vascular plant by ectopically expressing a nucleic acid molecule encoding an AGL8-like gene product in the plant, whereby lignification is reduced due to ectopic expression of the nucleic acid molecule. (more...)

N genes were shown to require partial alternative processing of the third intron, which produces a truncated N protein, to provide full viral resistance. Insertion of a complete cDNA or truncated construct alone did not provide resistance in transgenic plants. Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed constructs comprising (1) a cDNA molecule corresponding to the tobacco N gene, and (2) at least a portion of the third intron of the N gene. Transgenic plants with this construct result in the required, partial, alternative processing to result in virus resistance. (more...)

Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a method for producing a transgenic cell having a stably integrated, single copy of a transgene. The method, which resolves complicated gene insertions into a single copy, involves introducing into a cell the desired transgene flanked on each end by a recombination site. The recombination sites are oriented such that contact with a recombinase would not result in deletion of the polynucleotide sequence from the construct. When the multiple, tandem copies of the introduced polynucleotide locus are reacted with a recombinase, the multiple, tandem copies are resolved to a single copy. A different set of recombination sites can flank a marker gene to allow its deletion from the genome. The final single copy transgene includes unique recombinaiton target sites that can facilitate re-introduction of new DNA into the same chromosomal site through site-specific integration. References: V Srivastava & et al. 1999. Single-copy transgenic wheat generated through the resolution of complex integration patterns. PNAS. 96:11117-21. CD Day & et al. 2000. Transgene integration into the same chromosome location can produce alleles that express at a predictable level, or alleles that are differentially silenced. Genes & Dev. 14:2869-80 (more...)

Investigators at the University of California, Berkeley have developed improved compositions and methods for the transformation of monocots from embryogenic callus. Such methods include, for example, use of an intermediate incubation medium after callus induction to increase the competence of the transformed cells for regeneration; dim light conditions during early phases of selection; use of green callus tissue as a target for microprojectile bombardment; and media with optimized levels of phytohormones and copper concentrations. (more...)

Plant cells are encased in cell walls that form the skeleton of plants, enabling and stabilizing growth. As the individual plant cells are separated by the cell wall and cannot directly touch, plants have evolved cytoplasmic bridges called plasmodesmata that connect the cytoplasm of adjacent cells and allow intercellular movement of large molecules. Researchers at UCB have identified a gene that modifies the plasmodesmata aperture and is modulates the movement of molecules from cell-to-cell. Control of aperture size and activity is critical for viral disease susceptibility or control since viral genomes are spread cell-to-cell through the plasmodesmata. (more...)

Synopsis: This invention consists of an artificial promoter system that can be fused upstream of any desired gene, enabling reversible and light-switchable induction or repression of gene expression in any suitable host cell. New data to be filed in a provisional patent application demonstrates optimized expression conditions and a "switching off" mechanism in addition to the "switching on" mechanism. (more...)

Hollick, Jay B.; Chandler, Vicki L. Genetic factors required to maintain repression of a paramutagenic maize pl1 allele. Genetics. January, 2001. 157(1):369-378. Abstract: A genetic screen identified two novel gene functions required to maintain mitotically and meiotically heritable gene silencing associated with paramutation of the maize purple plant 1 (pl1) locus. Paramutation at pl1 leads to heritable alterations of pl1 gene regulation; the Pl-Rhoades (Pl-Rh) allele, which typically confers strong pigmentation to juvenile and adult plant structures, changes to a lower expression state termed Pl'-mahogany (Pl'). Paramutation spontaneously occurs at low frequencies in Pl-Rh homozygotes but always occurs when Pl-Rh is heterozygous with Pl'. We identified four mutations that caused increased Pl' pigment levels. Allelism tests revealed that three mutations identified two new maize loci, required to maintain repression 1 (rmr1) and rmr2 and that the other mutation represents a new allele of the previously described mediator of paramutation 1 (mop1) locus. RNA levels from Pl' are elevated in rmr mutants and genetic tests demonstrate that Pl' can heritably change back to Pl-Rh in rmr mutant individuals at variable frequencies. Pigment levels controlled by two pl1 alleles that do not participate in paramutation are unaffected rmr mutants. These results suggest that RMR functions are intimately involved in maintaining the repressed expression state of paramutant Pl' alleles. Despite strong effects on Pl' repression, rmr mutant plants have no gross developmental abnormalities even after several generations of inbreeding, implying that RMR1 and RMR2 functions are not generally required for developmental homeostasis. also see: Dorweiler, Jane E.; Carey, Charles C.; Kubo, Kenneth M.; Hollick, Jay B.; Kermicle, Jerry L.; Chandler, Vicki L. mediator of paramutation1 is required for establishment and maintenance of paramutation at multiple maize loci. Plant Cell. November, 2000. 12(11):2101-2118. Abstract: Paramutation is the directed, heritable alteration of the expression of one allele when heterozygous with another allele. Here, the isolation and characterization of a mutation affecting paramutation, mediator of paramutation1-1 (mop1-1), are described. Experiments demonstrate that the wild-type gene Mop1 is required for establishment and maintenance of the paramutant state. The mop1-1 mutation affects paramutation at the multiple loci tested but has no effect on alleles that do not participate in paramutation. The mutation does not alter the amounts of actin and ubiquitin transcripts, which suggests that the mop1 gene does not encode a global repressor. Maize plants homozygous for mop1-1 can have pleiotropic developmental defects, suggesting that mop1-1 may affect more genes than just the known paramutant ones. The mop1-1 mutation does not alter the extent of DNA methylation in rDNA and centromeric repeats. The observation that mop1 affects paramutation at multiple loci, despite major differences between these loci in their gene structure, correlations with DNA methylation, and stability of the paramutant state, suggests that a common mechanism underlies paramutation. A protein-based epigenetic model for paramutation is discussed. (more...)

Light-Independent Phytochrome Signaling (more...)

Transgenic Plants with Increased Tolerance for Stress and Pathogens (more...)

Novel Strong Promoter for Use in Conjunction with or Replacement of the 35S Promoter (more...)