Method for the alteration of plants using cle polypeptides/peptides

Abstract

The present invention relates to altering the biomass and / or structure of a plant, in order to maximise its potential as a source of feedstock or increase its potential as a feedstock for the paper industry. CLE41 and / or CLE42 are used to manipulate growth and structure of the vascular tissue of the plant. The present invention also provides plants in which the levels of CLE41 and / or CLE42 are increased compared to those of a native plant grown under identical conditions, and parts of such plants. Also provided are methods for using such plants or plant parts in the production of plant derived products such as paper or biofuels.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to manipulating the growth and / or structure of a plant through modulation of the amount of CLE41 and / or CLE42 expressed in the plant, and additionally or alternatively, modulating the amount of PXY in the plant. Manipulating the growth and / or structure of a plant can be used to alter the mechanical properties of a plant or plant derived product, or to maximise its potential for the production of plant derived products such as biofuels and paper.BACKGROUND[0002]In multi-cellular organisms, cells must communicate with each other in order for growth and development to occur in an ordered manner. In animals, it has long been known that polypeptides act as signalling molecules in mediating communication between cells, a common example being insulin in humans. These signalling molecules are responsible for initiating many cellular processes, typically by binding to a receptor at the cell surface, which in turn transmits a message t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0106]In a further aspect, there is provided a nucleic acid molecule encoding a functional equivalent of PXY, preferably derived from Arabidopsis thaliana, poplar or rice, and more preferably encoding the amino acid sequence of the consensus sequence of FIG. 12. Also provided is a polypeptide sequence encoding a functional equivalent of PXY, preferably derived from Arabidopsis thaliana, poplar or rice, and preferably comprising an amino acid sequence of the consensus sequence of FIG. 12. Preferably, the amino acid sequence comprises the sequence of pttPXY, PXYL-1, PXYL-2 or Os02g02140.1, or Os03g05140.1 of FIG. 12. Also included are sequences having 70% sequence identity or sequence homology thereto.

[0107]It is apparent that the levels of CLE41, CLE42 and or a receptor thereof, such as PXY,

Problems solved by technology

At present, however, most of the CLE family remain functionally undefined.

Over expression of CLV3 results in loss of apical stem cells, thus post-embryonic above ground parts of the plant are lost.

However, whilst there has been much investigation into the regulation of growth at the apical meristems, there is less understanding of the growth of the vascular tissue.

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