Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and – Plant – seedling – plant seed – or plant part – per se – Higher plant – seedling – plant seed – or plant part
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-09
2004-12-07
Bui, Phuong T. (Department: 1638)
Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and
Plant, seedling, plant seed, or plant part, per se
Higher plant, seedling, plant seed, or plant part
C800S278000, C800S287000, C800S290000, C536S023100, C536S023600, C435S468000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06828478
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A flower is the reproductive structure of a flowering plant. Following fertilization, the ovary of the flower becomes a fruit and bears seeds. As a practical consequence, production of fruit and seed-derived crops such as grapes, beans, corn, wheat, rice and hops is dependent upon flowering.
Early in the life cycle of a flowering plant, vegetative growth occurs, and roots, stems and leaves are formed. During the later period of reproductive growth, flowers as well as new shoots or branches develop. However, the factors responsible for the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth, and the onset of flowering, are poorly understood.
A variety of external signals, such as length of daylight and temperature, affect the time of flowering. The time of flowering also is subject to genetic controls that prevent young plants from flowering prematurely. Thus, the pattern of genes expressed in a plant is an important determinant of the time of flowering.
Given these external signals and genetic controls, a relatively fixed period of vegetative growth precedes flowering in a particular plant species. The length of time required for a crop to mature to flowering limits the geographic location in which it can be grown and can be an important determinant of yield. In addition, since the time of flowering determines when a plant is reproductively mature, the pace of a plant breeding program also depends upon the length of time required for a plant to flower.
Traditionally, plant breeding involves generating hybrids of existing plants, which are examined for improved yield or quality. The improvement of existing plant crops through plant breeding is central to increasing the amount of food grown in the world since the amount of land suitable for agriculture is limited. For example, the development of new strains of wheat, corn and rice through plant breeding has increased the yield of these crops grown in underdeveloped countries such as Mexico, India and Pakistan. Unfortunately, plant breeding is inherently a slow process since plants must be reproductively mature before selective breeding can proceed.
For some plant species, the length of time needed to mature to flowering is so long that selective breeding, which requires several rounds of backcrossing progeny plants with their parents, is impractical. For example, perennial trees such as walnut, hickory, oak, maple and cherry do not flower for several years after planting. As a result, breeding of such plant species for insect or disease-resistance or to produce improved wood or fruit, for example, would require decades, even if only a few rounds of selection were performed.
Methods of promoting early reproductive development can make breeding of long generation seed plants such as trees practical for the first time. Methods of promoting early reproductive development also would be useful for shortening growth periods, thereby broadening the geographic range in which a crop such as rice, corn or coffee can be grown. Unfortunately, methods for promoting early reproductive development in a seed plant have not yet been described. Thus, there is a need for methods that promote early reproductive development. The present invention satisfies this need and provides related advantages as well.
Definitions
As used herein, the term “transgenic” refers to a seed plant that contains in its genome an exogenous nucleic acid molecule, which can be derived from the same or a different plant species. The exogenous nucleic acid molecule can be a gene regulatory element such as a promoter, enhancer or other regulatory element or can contain a coding sequence, which can be linked to a heterologous gene regulatory element.
As used herein, the term “seed plant” means an angiosperm or a gymnosperm. The term “angiosperm,” as used herein, means a seed-bearing plant whose seeds are borne in a mature ovary (fruit). An angiosperm commonly is recognized as a flowering plant. The term “gymnosperm,” as used herein, means a seed-bearing plant with seeds not enclosed in an ovary.
Angiosperms are divided into two broad classes based on the number of cotyledons, which are seed leaves that generally store or absorb food. Thus, a monocotyledonous angiosperm is an angiosperm having a single cotyledon, and a dicotyledonous angiosperm is an angiosperm having two cotyledons. Angiosperms are well known and produce a variety of useful products including materials such as lumber, rubber, and paper; fibers such as cotton and linen; herbs and medicines such as quinine and vinblastine; ornamental flowers such as roses and orchids; and foodstuffs such as grains, oils, fruits and vegetables.
Angiosperms encompass a variety of flowering plants, including, for example, cereal plants, leguminous plants, oilseed plants, hardwood trees, fruit-bearing plants and ornamental flowers, which general classes are not necessarily exclusive. Such angiosperms include for example, a cereal plant, which produces an edible grain cereal. Such cereal plants include, for example, corn, rice, wheat, barley, oat, rye, orchardgrass, guinea grass, sorghum and turfgrass. In addition, a leguminous plant is an angiosperm that is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae) and produces a characteristic fruit known as a legume. Examples of leguminous plants include, for example, soybean, pea, chickpea, moth bean, broad bean, kidney bean, lima bean, lentil, cowpea, dry bean, and peanut. Examples of legumes also include alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, clover and sainfoin. An oilseed plant also is an angiosperm with seeds that are useful as a source of oil. Examples of oilseed plants include soybean, sunflower, rapeseed and cottonseed.
An angiosperm also can be a hardwood tree, which is a perennial woody plant that generally has a single stem (trunk). Examples of such trees include alder, ash, aspen, basswood (linden), beech, birch, cherry, cottonwood, elm, eucalyptus, hickory, locust, maple, oak, persimmon, poplar, sycamore, walnut and willow. Trees are useful, for example, as a source of pulp, paper, structural material and fuel.
An angiosperm also can be a fruit-bearing plant, which produces a mature, ripened ovary (usually containing seeds) that is suitable for human or animal consumption. For example, hops are a member of the mulberry family prized for their flavoring in malt liquor. Fruit-bearing angiosperms also include grape, orange, lemon, grapefruit, avocado, date, peach, cherry, olive, plum, coconut, apple and pear trees and blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, pineapple, tomato, cucumber and eggplant plants. An ornamental flower is an angiosperm cultivated for its decorative flower. Examples of commercially important ornamental flowers include rose, orchid, lily, tulip and chrysanthemum, snapdragon, camellia, carnation and petunia plants. The skilled artisan will recognize that the methods of the invention can be practiced using these or other angiosperms, as desired.
Gymnosperms encompass four divisions: cycads, ginkgo, conifers and gnetophytes. The conifers are the most widespread of living gymnosperms and frequently are cultivated for structural wood or for pulp or paper. Conifers include redwood trees, pines, firs, spruces, hemlocks, Douglas firs, cypresses, junipers and yews. The skilled artisan will recognize that the methods of the invention can be practiced with these and other gymnosperms.
As used herein, the term “non-naturally occurring seed plant” means a seed plant containing a genome that has been modified by man. A transgenic seed plant, for example, is a non-naturally occurring seed plant that contains an exogenous nucleic acid molecule and, therefore, has a genome that has been modified by man. Furthermore, a seed plant that contains, for example, a mutation in an endogenous floral meristem identity gene regulatory element as a result of calculated exposure to a mutagenic agent also contains a genome that has been modified by man. In contrast, a seed plant containing a spontaneous or naturally occurring mutation is not a “non-naturally occurring seed plant
Ditta Gary
Pelaz Soraya
Yanofsky Martin F.
Baum Stuart F.
Bui Phuong T.
The Regents of the University of California
Townsend and Townsend / and Crew LLP
LandOfFree
Combinations of genes for producing seed plants exhibiting... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Combinations of genes for producing seed plants exhibiting..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Combinations of genes for producing seed plants exhibiting... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3281849