Plants having increased biomass and methods for making the same
Inventors
Grennan, Aleel K. • Ort, Donald R. • Moose, Stephen Patrick • Bilgin, Damla D. • Clemente, Thomas • Altpeter, Fredy • Long, Stephen P.
Assignees
US Department of Agriculture USDA • University of Florida Research Foundation Inc • University of Nebraska System • University of Illinois System
Publication Number
US-10577617-B2
Publication Date
2020-03-03
Expiration Date
2036-01-13
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Abstract
The impact of plastid size change in both monocot and dicot plants has been examined. In both, when plastid size is increased there is an increase in biomass relative to the parental lines. Thus, provided herein are methods for increasing the biomass of a plant, comprising decreasing the expression of at least one plastid division protein in a plant. Optionally, the level of chlorophyll in the plant is also reduced.
Core Innovation
This invention relates to methods and materials involved in modulating biomass levels in plants by manipulating gene expression to produce plants with increased biomass levels. The methods specifically involve decreasing the level of expression or activity of the FtsZ gene or other plastid division proteins in plants, resulting in an increase in plastid size and/or decrease in plastid number, which correlates with increased biomass relative to wild-type plants.
The problem being solved is the need for plants with increased and/or improved biomass useful for diverse applications such as agriculture, horticulture, biomass to energy conversion, paper production, and plant product production. Particularly, there is a need to increase biomass in dedicated energy crops like switchgrass, miscanthus, sorghum, and sugarcane. Biomass is a quantitative trait influenced by many biochemical pathways, and improving biomass is essential for sustainable energy and population demands due to rising oil prices and other concerns.
The invention provides methods of producing plants having increased biomass by introducing exogenous nucleic acids that reduce expression of plastid division genes, such as FtsZ1, optionally using RNA interference or gene editing, which leads to increased plastid size and biomass. The disclosure includes compositions such as vectors with nucleic acid constructs comprising at least 80% homology to particular FtsZ sequences, and plants produced by these methods. Optionally, the level of chlorophyll can also be reduced by inhibiting enzymes like magnesium chelatase and chlorophyll synthase to modulate the biomass phenotype further.
Claims Coverage
The patent discloses one independent claim related to methods of producing plants with increased biomass via reduction of FtsZ1 gene expression using specific nucleic acid constructs. The inventive features focus on the method of transformation, nucleic acid sequence identity, biomass measurement, plant regeneration, and optional chlorophyll level modulation.
Method of producing increased biomass plant with RNAi targeting FtsZ1 gene
A method comprising introducing into a plant cell a nucleic acid construct that reduces expression of a FtsZ1 gene by RNA interference silencing, where the construct comprises nucleic acid sequences having at least 80% identity to positions 12-248 and 343-579 of SEQ ID NO: 1; regenerating a plant from the transformed plant cell; measuring biomass through fresh or dry weight; and selecting a plant with increased biomass relative to a control plant with reduced FtsZ1 expression.
Optional reduction of chlorophyll expression
The method may further include reducing chlorophyll expression in the regenerated plant by inhibiting expression of magnesium chelatase and/or chlorophyll synthase.
Applicability to monocot plants
The method applies to monocotyledonous plants including corn, sorghum, sugarcane, Miscanthus, switchgrass, Setaria, and cordgrass.
Applicability to dicot plants
The method applies to dicotyledonous plants including soybean, cotton, tobacco, pepper, potato, and tomato.
Nucleic acid sequence identity in construct
The nucleic acid construct comprises sequences with 100% identity to positions 12-248 and 343-579 of SEQ ID NO: 1 for effective targeting of FtsZ1 gene expression reduction.
The claims cover a method of producing plants with increased biomass by RNAi-mediated reduction of FtsZ1 gene expression using defined nucleic acid constructs comprising sequences with high sequence identity to specified regions, applicable to various monocot and dicot plants, optionally combined with chlorophyll reduction to further modulate biomass.
Stated Advantages
Increased biomass accumulation relative to parental or wild-type plants when plastid division protein expression, particularly FtsZ1, is decreased.
The increase in biomass is stable and reproducible across plant generations and field conditions.
The method applies to both monocot and dicot plants, including important crop species like sugarcane, sorghum, and Arabidopsis.
Documented Applications
Use in agriculture, horticulture, biomass to energy conversion, paper production, and plant product production.
Increasing biomass in dedicated energy crops such as Panicum virgatum L. (switchgrass), Miscanthus x gigantus (miscanthus), Sorghum sp., and Saccharum sp. (sugarcane).
Production of plants and plant parts with increased biomass through genetic transformation techniques including RNAi and gene editing.
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