TRANSGENIC PLANTS HAVING ALTERED BIOMASS COMPOSITION

• US 20190323029A1
• Filed: 05/08/2019
• Published: 10/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ceres (Land O'Lakes Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Ceres (Land O'Lakes Incorporated)
• Inventors: Park, Joon-Hyun, Pennell, Roger I., Flavell, Richard, Wu, Chuan-Yin
• Granted Patent: US 10,822,616 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: C07K 14/415 from plants
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 15/8245 involving modified carbohydrate or sugar alcohol metabolism, e.g. starch biosynthesis
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 15/8246 Non-starch polysaccharides, e.g. cellulose, fructans, levans
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 15/8261 with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 15/8297 Gibberellins; GA3
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/146 Genetically Modified [GMO] plants, e.g. transgenic plants

Abstract

Methods and materials for modulating biomass composition in plants are disclosed. For example, nucleic acids encoding biomass composition-modulating polypeptides are disclosed as well as methods for using such nucleic acids to transform plant cells. Also disclosed are plants having altered biomass composition and plant products produced from plants having altered biomass composition.

Claims

1. A Sorghum, Miscanthus, Panicum, or sugarcane plant cell comprising an exogenous nucleic acid, said exogenous nucleic acid comprising a regulatory region operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having 90 percent or greater sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

473, wherein a plant produced from said plant cell has a difference in biomass composition as compared to the corresponding composition of a control plant that does not comprise said nucleic acid.

3. The plant cell of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

473.

11. A transgenic Sorghum, Miscanthus, Panicum, or sugarcane plant comprising the plant cell of claim 1.

2. A Sorghum, Miscanthus, Panicum, or sugarcane plant comprising an exogenous nucleic acid said exogenous nucleic acid comprising a regulatory region operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having 90 percent or greater sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

473, wherein the plant has a difference in biomass composition as compared to the corresponding composition of a control plant that does not comprise said exogenous nucleic acid.

4. The plant of claim 2, wherein the polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:

473.

5. The plant of claim 2, wherein the plant is selected for having a biomass with increased saccharification efficiency relative to the saccharification efficiency of a biomass of a control plant that does not comprise the exogenous nucleic acid.

6. The plant of claim 2, wherein the difference in biomass composition in said plant is selected from the group consisting of an increase in the total sugar content, an increase in sugar availability from the cell wall, an increase in total glucose released from pretreatment, an increase in total sugar content in juice, an increased juice brix, an increase in yield of juice, an increase in sucrose purity in juice, and an increase in sugar yield in juice from said plant.

7. The plant of claim 2, wherein the difference in biomass composition in said plant is at least a 1.5 fold, a 2.0 fold, or a 2.5 fold increase in glucose as compared to that of a control plant that does not comprise said exogenous nucleic acid.

8. The plant of claim 2, wherein the difference in biomass composition in said plant is at least a 3 fold, a 4 fold, or a 6 fold increase in sugar yield as compared to that of a control plant that does not comprise said exogenous nucleic acid.

9. The plant of claim 2, wherein the difference in biomass composition in said plant is an increase in conversion efficiency as compared to that of a control plant that does not comprise said exogenous nucleic acid.

10. The plant of claim 2, wherein the difference in biomass composition in said plant is selected from the group consisting of a decrease in ash content and an increase in the total glucan content.

64. The plant of claim 2, wherein the plant is selected for or having a biomass with increased saccharification efficiency, resulting in an at least 2.0 fold increase in glucose, fructose, and sucrose, relative to the saccharification efficiency of a biomass of a control plant that does not comprise said nucleic acid, and wherein the regulatory region is heterologous with respect to the nucleotide sequence.

65. The plant of claim 64, wherein the plant is selected for having an increase in sugar concentration relative to a control plant that does not comprise said nucleic acid.

66. The plant of claim 64, wherein the plant is further selected for having an increase in plant height relative to a control plant that does not comprise said nucleic acid.

12-63. -63. (canceled)