Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and – Method of introducing a polynucleotide molecule into or...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-07
2002-11-12
Bui, Phuong T. (Department: 1638)
Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and
Method of introducing a polynucleotide molecule into or...
C800S298000, C800S320000, C800S320100, C800S320200, C800S320300, C800S317000, C800S312000, C800S314000, C800S322000, C536S023200, C536S024100, C536S023600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06479730
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to plant molecular biology. More specifically, it relates to nucleic acids and methods for modulating their expression in plants.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
DNA ligase is an important component of the machinery that all living cells use to maintain the integrity of their genetic material. This enzyme catalyzes the ligation of DNA strand breaks generated during various cellular metabolic events such as DNA replication and recombination. It also plays a crucial role in repairing DNA strand breaks generated in response to various environmental insults (Lindahl, T. and Barnes, D.,
Ann. Rev. Biochem.
61: 251-81, 1992; Lasko, D. D., et al.,
Mutation Research
236: 277-287, 1990). Higher eukaryotes have more than one type of DNA ligase. In fact, five distinct ligase activities have been reported in humans. Three human ligase genes LIG I, LIG II and LIG III have also been characterized (Lindahl T., et al.,
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology,
Vol. LVIII, pp.619-624, 1993). Ligase II is believed to be a proteolytic product of Ligase I. Ligase III
a
and III
b
are produced from LIG III by differential processing. In addition to being encoded by different genes, these ligases also exhibit differential substrate specificity and are localized in different cellular compartments. Therefore, it has been proposed that they are involved in different metabolic functions in eukaryotic organisms (Lindahl, T. and Barnes, D.,
Ann. Rev. Biochem.
61: 251-81, 1992; Lasko, D. D., et al.,
Mutation Research
236: 277-287, 1990; Lindahl T., et al.,
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology,
Vol. LVIII, pp.619-624, 1993; Tomkinson, A. E. and Mackey, Z. B.,
Mutation Research
407: 1-9, 1998).
During the past three decades, DNA ligase genes have been cloned from a large number of organisms (Lindahl, T. and Barnes, D.,
Ann. Rev. Biochem.
61: 251-81, 1992; Lasko, D. D., et al.,
Mutation Research
236: 277-287, 1990; Lindahl T., et al.,
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology,
Vol. LVIII, pp.619-624, 1993; Tomkinson, A. E. and Mackey, Z. B.,
Mutation Research
407: 1-9, 1998). Ligase enzymes from higher eukaryotes are very similar to those from viruses or phage in their requirement for ATP, while bacterial ligase enzymes require NAD as a co-factor. Nonetheless, all ligases share many common structural motifs characteristic of this family of proteins. Despite the similarities, there are important differences in the primary structure of DNA ligases from different species. This may account for the difficulty of cloning plant DNA ligases by homology. In effect, DNA ligase was only recently cloned from
Arabidopsis thaliana
(Taylor, R. M, et al.,
Plant Journal
14: 75-81, 1998).
DNA ligase enzymes play a role in DNA integration. Control of DNA integration by the modulation of DNA Ligase II provides the means to modulate the efficiency in which heterologous nucleic acids are incorporated into the genomes of a target plant cell. Control of these processes has important implications in the creation of novel recombinantly engineered crops such as maize. The present invention provides this and other advantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Generally, it is the object of the present invention to provide nucleic acids and proteins relating to maize DNA Ligase II. It is an object of the present invention to provide: 1) antigenic fragments of the proteins of the present invention; 2) transgenic plants comprising the nucleic acids of the present invention; 3) methods for modulating, in a transgenic plant, the expression of the nucleic acids of the present invention.
Therefore, in one aspect, the present invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid comprising a member selected from the group consisting of (a) a polynucleotide having a specified sequence identity to a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention; (b) a polynucleotide which is complementary to the polynucleotide of (a); and, (c) a polynucleotide comprising a specified number of contiguous nucleotides from a polynucleotide of (a) or (b). The isolated nucleic acid can be DNA.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to recombinant expression cassettes, comprising a nucleic acid of the present invention operably linked to a promoter.
In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a host cell into which has been introduced the recombinant expression cassette.
In a further aspect, the present invention relates to an isolated protein comprising a polypeptide having a specified number of contiguous amino acids encoded by an isolated nucleic acid of the present invention.
In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a polynucleotide amplified from a
Zea mays
nucleic acid library using primers which selectively hybridize, under stringent hybridization conditions, to loci within polynucleotides of the present invention.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid comprising a polynucleotide of specified length, which selectively hybridizes under stringent conditions to a polynucleotide of the present invention, or a complement thereof. In some embodiments, the isolated nucleic acid is operably linked to a promoter.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a recombinant expression cassette comprising a nucleic acid amplified from a library as referred to supra, wherein the nucleic acid is operably linked to a promoter. In some embodiments, the present invention relates to a host cell transfected with this recombinant expression cassette. In some embodiments, the present invention relates to a protein of the present invention that is produced from this host cell.
In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a transgenic plant comprising a recombinant expression cassette comprising a plant promoter operably linked to any of the isolated nucleic acids of the present invention. The present invention also provides transgenic seed from the transgenic plant.
Definitions
Units, prefixes, and symbols may be denoted in their SI accepted form. Unless otherwise indicated, nucleic acids are written left to right in 5′ to 3′ orientation; amino acid sequences are written left to right in amino to carboxy orientation, respectively. Numeric ranges are inclusive of the numbers defining the range and include each integer within the defined range. Amino acids may be referred to herein by either their commonly known three letter symbols or by the one-letter symbols recommended by the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission. Nucleotides, likewise, may be referred to by their commonly accepted single-letter codes. Unless otherwise provided for, software, electrical, and electronics terms as used herein are as defined in The New IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronics Terms (5
th
edition, 1993). The terms defined below are more fully defined by reference to the specification as a whole.
By “amplified” is meant the construction of multiple copies of a nucleic acid sequence or multiple copies complementary to the nucleic acid sequence using at least one of the nucleic acid sequences as a template. Amplification systems include the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system, ligase chain reaction (LCR) system, nucleic acid sequence based amplification (NASBA, Cangene, Mississauga, Ontario), Q-Beta Replicase systems, transcription-based amplification system (TAS), and strand displacement amplification (SDA). See, e.g.,
Diagnostic Molecular Microbiology: Principles and Applications
, D. H. Persing et al., Ed., American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C. (1993). The product of amplification is termed an amplicon.
The term “antibody” includes reference to antigen binding forms of antibodies (e.g., Fab, F(ab)
2
). The term “antibody” frequently refers to a polypeptide substantially encoded by an immunoglobulin gene or immunoglobulin genes, or fragments thereof which specifically bind and recognize an analyte (antigen). However, while various antibody fragme
Mahajan Pramod B.
Shi Jinrui
Bui Phuong T.
Ibrahim Medina A.
Pioneer Hi-Bred International , Inc.
Pioneer-Hi-Bred International, Inc.
LandOfFree
DNA Ligase II orthologue uses thereof does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with DNA Ligase II orthologue uses thereof, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and DNA Ligase II orthologue uses thereof will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2928425