Microbial Starch Branching Enzyme Expression in Transgenic Plants

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for improving plant properties, such as yield and stress tolerance, are limited in their ability to effectively introduce and express microbial polypeptides in transgenic plants, leading to suboptimal performance under environmental stresses and disease resistance.

Innovation Solution

Development of recombinant DNA constructs with plant-specific promoters to express microbial polypeptides, ensuring improved phenotypic properties and stress responses in transgenic plants by utilizing polynucleotides encoding polypeptides from microbial sources, optimized for efficient expression and modified sequences for enhanced gene expression in plants.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If microbial polypeptides are introduced into transgenic plants using current methods, then plant properties such as yield and stress tolerance can be improved, but the expression efficiency and performance under environmental stresses remain suboptimal

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestress toleranceVSAvoidexpression efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent modifies the microbial polynucleotide sequences by optimizing codon usage to match plant preferred codons, adjusting GC content, and modifying regulatory elements to enhance expression levels in transgenic plants, thereby improving both expression efficiency and stress tolerance performance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses plant-specific promoters and regulatory sequences as intermediaries to bridge the expression of microbial polypeptides in plant systems, ensuring proper transcriptional control and efficient protein production that enhances stress tolerance without compromising expression efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If microbial polypeptides are expressed in transgenic plants, then disease resistance and growth rate can be improved, but the ability to effectively introduce and express these polypeptides is limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedisease resistanceVSAvoidtransformation efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent optimizes polynucleotide sequences by modifying codon usage patterns to match plant preferences, adjusting nucleotide composition, and engineering regulatory elements to facilitate efficient transformation and high-level expression of disease resistance genes in transgenic plants

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary optimization of microbial polynucleotide sequences before introduction into plants, including codon optimization and regulatory element modification, to ensure efficient transformation and expression, thereby overcoming the limitations of current introduction methods

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS9024113B2Polynucleotides for expression of microbial starch branching enzymes in plants for production of plants with improved yield
Publication Date: 2015.05.05 MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

Recombinant constructs and methods useful for improvement of plants are provided. In particular, recombinant constructs comprising promoters functional in plant cells positioned for expression of polynucleotides encoding starch branching enzymes from microbial sources are provided. The disclosed constructs and methods find use in production of transgenic plants to provide plants, particularly crop plants, having improved yield.