Control of fruit dehiscence in Arabidopsis by indehiscenti genes

An isolated nucleic acid comprising a mutant allele of the IND1 polynucleotide sequence encoding which is at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO:1 wherein said mutant allele does not encode a functional IND1 polynucleotide sequence.

A plant comprising a mutant allele of the IND1 polynucleotide sequence encoding a mutant IND1 polypeptide which is at least 60% identical to SEQ ID NO:2 said mutant IND1 having reduced activity in plants when compared to the activity of the IND1 polypeptide.

A plant comprising a mutant allele of the IND1 polynucleotide sequence encoding which is at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO:1 wherein said mutant allele does not encode a functional IND1 polynucleotide sequence.

A method of delaying fruit dehiscence in a plant comprising the steps of

• a. treating seeds or plant material with a mutagenic chemical substance or with ionizing radiation;
• b. identifying plants with a mutant allele of IND1 wherein said mutant allele of IND1 encodes a polypeptide having at least 60% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 and wherein said polypeptide comprises an amino acid substitution, addition or deletion in a region corresponding to a basic helix-loop-helix domain of SEQ ID NO:2.