Transgenic Plants with Homeobox Proteins for Trait Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for introducing recombinant DNA into plant genomes do not consistently produce transgenic plants with enhanced agronomic traits, and there is a need for efficient methods to select and identify plants with desired traits such as improved yield, stress tolerance, and herbicide resistance.
Innovation Solution
The use of recombinant DNA constructs with promoters functional in plant cells, linked to proteins with Homeobox and HALZ protein domains, to express proteins that confer enhanced traits like water use efficiency, cold tolerance, and herbicide tolerance, along with methods for screening and selecting transgenic plants with these traits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If recombinant DNA is introduced into plant genomes, then transgenic plants with enhanced traits can be produced, but the ability to consistently produce plants with desired traits and efficiently identify them remains insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by incorporating selectable marker genes (such as herbicide resistance genes or antibiotic resistance genes) into the recombinant DNA construct before transformation. This allows transformed plants to be pre-marked with identifiable characteristics that enable efficient selection. The marker genes are expressed simultaneously with the target gene, so that when plants are exposed to the selective agent (herbicide or antibiotic), only those that successfully integrated the recombinant DNA survive, thereby efficiently identifying desired transgenic plants before further characterization.
2Manufacturing precision
If specific DNA is introduced into plant genomes to improve agronomic traits, then enhanced traits can be achieved, but methods to select and identify individual transgenic events with desired traits are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the target gene (providing the desired agronomic trait) with a selectable marker gene into a single recombinant DNA construct. This combination ensures that selection for the marker trait (e.g., herbicide resistance) automatically selects for plants that also contain and express the target gene. The merged construct is transformed into plants as a single unit, simplifying the selection process while maintaining precision in introducing the specific DNA sequence desired for trait improvement.
Solution Approach 2:
The selectable marker gene serves as an intermediary that facilitates the identification and selection of transgenic plants containing the target gene. Rather than directly detecting or selecting for the target gene expression (which may be difficult or time-consuming), the marker gene provides an easily detectable phenotype (resistance to herbicide or antibiotic) that correlates with successful transformation. This intermediary approach simplifies the selection process while maintaining accuracy in identifying plants with the desired traits.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure describes screening a population of transgenic plants derived from plant cells transformed with recombinant DNA for expression of proteins with homeobox domains to identify plant cells of specific transgenic events that are useful for imparting enhanced traits to transgenic crop plants. Traits include enhanced nitrogen use efficiency, increased yield, enhanced water use efficiency, enhanced tolerance to cold stress and/or improved seed compositions. Also disclosed are transgenic seeds for growing a transgenic plant having the recombinant DNA in its genome and exhibiting the screened enhance trait. Also disclosed are methods for generating seed and plants based on the transgenic events.