Modified Peptides Enhance Plant Stability and Growth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Harpin proteins used in agriculture have limitations such as poor solubility, stability, and chemical degradation, limiting their effectiveness in inducing active plant responses like growth enhancement and stress resistance when applied as powdered solids.
Innovation Solution
Development of novel peptides with specific amino acid sequences that are soluble, stable, and resistant to chemical degradation, which induce active plant responses without triggering hypersensitive responses, allowing for improved plant growth and stress resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If harpin proteins are used as powdered solids coated on starch, then they can be stored and transported, but their solubility and stability in liquid suspension deteriorate rapidly after 48-72 hours
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the amino acid sequence of harpin proteins to create peptides with improved solubility and stability parameters. Specific amino acid substitutions and truncations were made to optimize the peptides' physical-chemical properties, enabling them to maintain stability in liquid suspension for extended periods while remaining soluble and biologically active.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the full-length harpin protein into smaller peptide fragments. By truncating the protein sequence to specific regions (e.g., residues 1-70, 1-60, or other defined segments), the invention creates minimal peptides that retain biological activity while improving solubility and stability characteristics compared to the complete protein.
2Reliability
If traditional harpin proteins are applied to plants, then they can induce disease resistance and growth enhancement, but they suffer from chemical degradation that limits their effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by systematically modifying amino acid residues at specific positions in the harpin sequence to enhance chemical stability. substitutions at key positions (such as replacing susceptible residues with more stable alternatives) were made to resist proteolytic degradation and chemical modification, thereby maintaining reliability during storage and application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies this principle by creating stable, synthetic peptide versions that can be produced cost-effectively and applied as needed, replacing the need for storing and handling expensive, degradation-prone natural protein extracts. The synthetic peptides serve as reliable, long-lasting alternatives that maintain activity throughout their intended use period.
3Productivity
If harpin proteins are used to induce active plant responses, then growth enhancement and stress resistance are achieved, but hypersensitive response may be triggered which limits application
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making specific, localized modifications to particular regions of the harpin protein sequence. By altering amino acids at specific positions (such as the N-terminal region or hydrophobic domains) while leaving other regions intact, the invention selectively modulates the protein's ability to trigger hypersensitive response versus its ability to induce growth enhancement and stress resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by adjusting the hydrophobicity, charge distribution, and structural conformation parameters of the harpin peptide through amino acid substitutions. These parameter modifications tune the peptide's interaction with plant receptors to favor beneficial responses (growth, stress resistance) while minimizing activation of hypersensitive response pathways.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are peptides that induce an active plant response, but not a hypersensitive response, when applied to plant tissue. These peptides also preferably exhibit improved solubility, stability, resistance to chemical degradation, or a combination of these properties. Use of these peptides or fusion polypeptides, or DNA constructs encoding the same, for modulating plant biochemical signaling, imparting disease resistance to plants, enhancing plant growth, imparting tolerance to biotic stress, imparting tolerance and resistance to abiotic stress, imparting desiccation resistance to cuttings removed from ornamental plants, imparting post-harvest disease or post-harvest desiccation resistance to a fruit or vegetable, or enhancing the longevity of fruit or vegetable ripeness are also disclosed.