Genetically engineered plant cells and plants exhibiting resistance to glutamine synthetase inhibitors, DNA fragments and recombinants for use in the production of said cells and plants
AssigneePlant Genetic Systems, N.V.
InventorsJan Leemans, Johan Botterman, Marc De Block, Charles Thompson, Rao Mouva
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Abstract
The invention relates to a DNA fragment containing a determined gene, the expression of which inhibits the antibiotic and herbicidal effects of Bialaphos and related products. It also relates to recombinant vectors, containing such DNA fragment, which enable this protective gene to be introduced and expressed into cells and plant cells.
Claims43
A process for the production of a plant cell that is tolerant or resistant to the herbicidal activity of a glutamine synthetase inhibitor including phosphinothricin or a compound with a phosphinothricin moiety, which comprises the step of incorporating into the nuclear genome of a starting plant cell a recombinant DNA comprising:
- a) a promoter recognized by the polymerases of said starting plant cell, and
- b) a coding region comprising a DNA fragment from a microorganism which produces said glutamine synthetase inhibitor, wherein said DNA fragment encodes a protein with acetyltransferase activity to said glutamine synthetase inhibitor.
A process for the protection of a group of cultivated plants of a plant species in the field by destroying weeds and/or fungi wherein said plants have incorporated into the genome of their cells a recombinant DNA comprising
- a) a promoter recognized by the polymerases of cells of said plants, and
- b) a coding region comprising a DNA fragment from a microorganism which produces a glutamine synthetase inhibitor including phosphinothricin or a compound having a phosphinothricin moiety, wherein said DNA fragment encodes a protein with acetyltransferase activity to said glutamine synthetase inhibitor,
- and wherein said weeds and/or fungi are destroyed by application of a herbicide comprising said glutamine synthetase inhibitor as an active ingredient.
A process for the production of a pure culture of transformed plant cells that have a foreign DNA incorporated into the nuclear genome of their cells which comprises the steps of:
- i) transforming starting plant cells in a plant cell culture with a foreign DNA which comprises:
- a) a promoter recognized by the polymerases of said starting plant cell, and
- b) a coding region comprising a DNA fragment from a microorganism which produces a glutamine synthetase inhibitor, including phosphinothricin or a compound with a phosphinothricin moiety wherein said DNA fragment encodes a protein with acetyltransferase activity to said glutamine synthetase inhibitor;
- and
- ii) selecting the transformed plant cells by applying to the plant cell culture said glutamine synthetase inhibitor at a sufficient concentration to kill the untransformed plant cells.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.