Dominant Gene Suppression Transgenes and Methods of Using Same
AssigneePioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
InventorsAndrew Cigan, Timothy Fox, Howard Hershey, Erica Unger, Yongzhong Wu
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Abstract
Pairs of plants are provided in which complementing constructs result in suppression of a parental phenotype in the progeny. Methods to generate and maintain such plants, and methods of use of said plants, are provided, including use of parental plants to produce sterile plants for hybrid seed production. Also provided are regulatory elements for pollen-preferred expression of linked polynucleotides. Also provided are methods for identifying gene function, methods for testing allelic variants, and methods for repressing transmission of transgenes.
Claims19
A breeding pair of plants comprising four polynucleotides, wherein
- (a) the first plant of said pair comprises (i) a first polynucleotide which encodes a gene product and is operably linked to a promoter A, and (ii) a second polynucleotide which encodes a pIR polynucleotide targeting a promoter sequence B, wherein promoter B is not present in said first plant;
- and
- (b) The second plant of said pair comprises (iii) a third polynucleotide which encodes a gene product and is operably linked to said promoter B, and (ii) a fourth polynucleotide which encodes a pIR polynucleotide targeting said promoter A, wherein promoter A is not present in said second plant.
A method for selectively expressing a first polynucleotide of interest in progeny of a plant, comprising:
- (a) transforming said plant with a first construct comprising said polynucleotide operably linked to a first exogenous promoter;
- (b) transforming a second plant with a second construct comprising a promoter inverted repeat (pIR) targeting said first exogenous promoter;
- (c) crossing said first and second plants;
- and
- (d) selecting progeny comprising said first and second constructs, where expression is not desired;
- and
- (e) selecting progeny comprising said first construct but not said second construct, where expression is desired.
A method of evaluating the function of an allelic variant of an endogenous gene in a plant or plant cell, comprising:
- (a) silencing said endogenous gene using a promoter inverted repeat construct targeted to said endogenous promoter;
- and
- (b) expressing said allelic variant operably linked to a non-target promoter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.