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
2001-08-06
2004-11-16
Kruse, David H (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
C800S298000, C800S314000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06818807
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to transgenic cotton plants, plant material and seeds, characterized by harboring a specific transformation event, particularly by the presence of a gene encoding a protein that confers herbicide tolerance, at a specific location in the cotton genome. The cotton plants of the invention combine the herbicide tolerant phenotype with an agronomic performance, genetic stability and adaptability to different genetic backgrounds equivalent to the non-transformed cotton line in the absence of weed pressure.
All documents cited herein are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The phenotypic expression of a transgene in a plant is determined both by the structure of the gene itself and by its location in the plant genome. At the same time the presence of the transgene at different locations in the genome will influence the overall phenotype of the plant in different ways. The agronomically or industrially successful introduction of a commercially interesting trait in a plant by genetic manipulation can be a lengthy procedure dependent on different factors. The actual transformation and regeneration of genetically transformed plants are only the first in a series of selection steps, which include extensive genetic characterization, breeding, and evaluation in field trials.
Cotton fiber is the single most important textile worldwide. About 80 million acres of cotton are harvested annually across the globe. Cotton is the fifth largest crop in the U.S. in terms of acreage production, with over 15 million acres planted in 2000. Primary weed species for cotton are
Ipomoea
sp. (morning glory),
Amaranthus
spp. (pigweed),
Cyperus
spp. (nutsedge),
Xanthium
spp. (cocklebur) and
Sorghum
spp. (johnsongrass). Before the introduction of broad-leaf herbicides that could be used on a growing cotton field, growers used directed, post-emergence applications of nonselective herbicides taking care not to contact the growing crop plants. As this requires a difference in height between the weeds and the crop, this is not always possible. Especially for small cotton, this practice is time-consuming and potentially damaging to the crop.
The bar gene (Thompson et al, 1987, EMBO J 6:2519-2523; Deblock et al. 1987, EMBO J. 6:2513-2518) is a gene encoding the enzyme phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (PAT), which, when expressed in a plant, confers resistance to the herbicidal compounds phosphinothricin (also called glufosinate) or bialaphos (see also for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,646,024 and 5,561,236) and salts and optical isomers thereof. Phosphinothricin controls broadleaf weeds including morning glory and has a wide window of application.
Successful genetic transformation of cotton has been obtained by a number of methods including Agrobacterium infection of cotton explants (Firoozabady et al. 1987, Plant Molecular Biology 10:105-116; Umbeck et al. 1987, Bio/Technology 5:263-266 and in WO 00/71733, U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,863, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,135), as well as direct gene transfer by microprojectile bombardment of meristematic cotton tissues (Finer and Mc Mullen, 1990, Plant Cell Reports, 5:586-589; McCabe and Martinell, 1993, Bio/Technology 11:596-598, WO92/15675, EP0 531 506). Increased transformation efficiency for Agrobacterium transformation has been reported using the methods described by Hansen et al. (1994, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 91:7603-7607) Veluthambi et al. (1989, Journal of Bacteriology 171:3696-3703) and WO 00/71733.
Different methods for regeneration of cotton plants have also been described (WO 89/05344, U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,802, U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,036, WO89/12102, WO98/15622, and WO97/12512).
However, the foregoing documents fail to teach or suggest the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a transgenic cotton plant, or seed, cells or tissues thereof, comprising, stably integrated into its genome, an expression cassette which comprises a herbicide tolerance gene comprising the coding sequence of the bar gene (as described in Example 1.1 herein), which is herbicide tolerant and, in the absence of weed pressure, has an agronomic performance which is substantially equivalent to the non-transgenic isoline. Under weed pressure and the appropriate Liberty™ treatment, the plant will have a superior agronomic phenotype compared to the non-transgenic plant.
In one embodiment of the invention, the cotton plant or seed, cells or tissues thereof, comprises the expression cassette of pGSV71 (as described in Example 1.1, Table 1 herein). In the preferred embodiment of the invention the cotton plant or seed, cells or tissues thereof comprise elite event EE-GH1.
In another embodiment of the invention, the transgenic cotton plant or seed, cells or tissues thereof comprises:
(i) event EE-GH1 in its genome ;or
(ii) event EE-GH1 with the proviso that the bar gene used in the event is substituted with a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to the complement of the bar gene under stringent conditions.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a transgenic cotton plant, seed, cells or tissues thereof, the genomic DNA of which is characterized by the fact that, when analyzed in a PCR identification protocol as described herein, using two primers directed to the 5′ or 3′ flanking region of EE-GH1 and the foreign DNA, respectively, yields a fragment which is specific for EE-GH1. Preferably the primers are directed against the 5′ flanking region within SEQ ID NO: 1 and the foreign DNA respectively; most preferably, the primers comprise the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 and SEQ ID NO: 3 respectively, and yield a DNA fragment of between 250 and 290 bp, preferably of about 269 bp.
Reference seed comprising the elite event of the invention has been deposited at the ATCC under accession number PTA-3343. Thus, a preferred embodiment of the invention is the seed comprising elite event EE-GH1 deposited as ATTC accession number PTA-3343, which will grow into a cotton plant resistant to glufosinate. The seed of ATCC deposit number PTA-3343, which is a seed lot consisting of about 50% non-transgenic kernels and 50% transgenic kernels hemizygous for the transgene, comprising the elite event of the invention, which will grow into glufosinate tolerant plants. The seed can be sown and the growing plants can be treated with PPT or Liberty™ as described herein to obtain 100% glufosinate tolerant plants, comprising the elite event of the invention. The invention further relates to cells, tissues, progeny, and descendants from a plant comprising the elite event of the invention grown from the seed deposited at the ATCC having accession number PTA-3343. The invention further relates to plants obtainable by propagation of and/or breeding with a cotton plant comprising the elite event of the invention grown from the seed deposited at the ATCC having accession number PTA-3343.
The invention further relates to plants, seeds, cells or tissues comprising a foreign DNA sequence, preferably a herbicide tolerance gene as described herein, integrated into the chromosomal DNA in a region which comprises the plant DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 and/or SEQ ID NO: 4, more particularly which comprises the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, or a sequence which hybridizes under stringent conditions to a sequence that is complementary to a sequence comprising the plant DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 4 and/or SEQ ID NO: 5.
The invention further provides a process for producing a transgenic cell of a cotton plant, which comprises inserting a recombinant DNA molecule into a region of the chromosomal DNA of a cotton cell, tissue or callus which comprises the plant DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 and/or SEQ ID NO: 4, more particularly which comprises the DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 5, or which comprises a sequence which hybridizes under stringent conditions to a sequence that is complementary to a sequence comprising the plant DNA sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 4 and/or SEQ ID NO: 5.
The invent
Debeuckeleer Marc
Gwyn Jefferson
Trolinder Linda
Bayer BioScience N.V.
Hunton & Williams LLP
Kruse David H
LandOfFree
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