Methods to improve crops through increased accumulation of methionine
AssigneePlant Sensory Systems, LLC
InventorsMichelle B. PRICE, Frank J. TURANO, Kathleen A. TURANO
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Abstract
The present invention describes an alternative approach to increase methionine (Met) production in eukaryotes, namely by the insertion of components of a sulfur-metabolic pathway in organisms where the pathway does not exist or has not clearly been identified. The invention describes methods for the use of polynucleotides that encode functional cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) alone or CDO and sulfinoalanine decarboxylase (SAD) polypeptides in plants to increase Met production. The preferred embodiment of the invention is in plants but other organisms may be used. Changes in Met availability will improve nutritional value of the crop.
Claims8
A method for increasing the production of methionine in a plant, comprising
- planting a transgenic plant seed comprising either
- (a) two expression units stably integrated in its genome wherein (i) a first expression unit encodes cysteine dioxygenase and (ii) a second expression unit encodes sulfinoalanine decarboxylase or
- (b) a single expression unit stably integrated in its genome wherein the single expression unit encodes either (1) cysteine dioxygenase or (2) cysteine dioxygenase fused to sulfinoalanine decarboxylase and
- growing a plant produced by the transgenic plant seed under conditions suitable for expression of either (A) cysteine dioxygenase and sulfinoalanine decarboxylase or (B1) cysteine dioxygenase or (B2) cysteine dioxygenase fused to sulfinoalanine decarboxylase
- wherein
- (i) the first expression unit comprises a first promoter operably linked to a first nucleic acid comprising (a) a first polynucleotide which encodes a plastid transit peptide having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:10 operatively linked to (b) a second polynucleotide which encodes cysteine dioxygenase having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:4 (CDO);
- (ii) the second expression unit comprises a second promoter operably linked to a second nucleic acid comprising (a) a third polynucleotide which encodes a plastid transit peptide having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:10 operatively linked to (b) a fourth polynucleotide which encodes sulfinoalanine decarboxylase having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:8 (SAD);
- (iii) the single expression unit comprises a third promoter operably linked to a third nucleic acid comprising (a) a fifth polynucleotide which encodes a plastid transit peptide having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:10 operatively linked to (b) a sixth polynucleotide which encodes either CDO or CDO fused to SAD;
- and
- whereby the expression of either (A) cysteine dioxygenase and sulfinoalanine decarboxylase or (B1) cysteine dioxygenase or (B2) cysteine dioxygenase fused to sulfinoalanine decarboxylase in the transgenic plant increases the production of methionine in the transgenic plant compared to a plant not comprising the expression units.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.