Plant having altered environmental stress tolerance

Abstract

A transformed plant is provided which comprises one or more environmental stress tolerance genes; a DNA regulatory sequence which regulates expression of the one or more environmental stress tolerance genes; a sequence encoding a binding protein capable of binding to the DNA regulatory sequence and inducing expression of the one or more environmental stress tolerance genes; and a recombinant promoter which regulates expression of the gene encoding the binding protein. A method for altering an environmental stress tolerance of a plant is also provided which comprises the steps of transforming a plant with a promoter which regulates expression of at least one copy of a gene encoding a binding protein capable of binding to a DNA regulatory sequence which regulates one or more environmental stress tolerance genes in the plant; expressing the binding protein encoded by the gene; and stimulating expression of at least one environmental stress tolerance gene through binding of the binding protein to the DNA regulatory sequence.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A progeny plant derived from a parental plant, comprising: 
 (a) at least one environmental stress tolerance gene;    (b) a DNA regulatory sequence comprising CCG which regulates expression of the environmental stress tolerance gene; and    (c) a polynucleotide encoding a DNA binding protein that binds to the DNA regulatory sequence and inducing expression of the environmental stress tolerance gene; wherein the progeny plant is characterized by an increase in environmental stress resistance compared to the parental plant.    
     
     
         2 . A progeny plant derived from a parental plant, comprising: 
 (a) at least one environmental stress tolerance gene;    (b) a DNA regulatory sequence comprising CCG which regulates expression of the environmental stress tolerance gene;    (c) a polynucleotide encoding a DNA binding protein that binds to the DNA regulatory sequence and inducing expression of the environmental stress tolerance gene; and    (d) a recombinant promoter operably linked to the polynucleotide encoding the DNA binding protein,    wherein the progeny plant is characterized by an increase in environmental stress resistance compared to the parental plant.    
     
     
         3 . The progeny plant of  claim 1  wherein the progeny plant is a transgenic plant.  
     
     
         4 . The progeny plant of  claim 1  wherein the progeny plant is a transformed plant.  
     
     
         5 . The progeny plant of  claim 1  wherein the progeny plant is a non-naturally occurring plant.  
     
     
         6 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the DNA binding protein comprises an amino acid sequence homologous to a sequence selected from an amino acid sequence depicted in FIG. 19A, 19B,  19 C,  19 D, or  19 E that binds to the DNA regulatory sequence that induces expression of the environmental stress tolerance gene.  
     
     
         7 . The plant of  claim 6  wherein the amino acid sequence comprises consecutive amino acid residues of Thr-Xaa (13) -Ala-Xaa (12) -Ser, wherein Xaa represents any amino acid residue.  
     
     
         8 . The plant of  claim 6  wherein the amino acid sequence comprises consecutive amino acid residues of Asn-Xaa (12) -Thr-Xaa (13) -Ala-Leu-Arg-Xaa (8) -Ala-Xaa-Ser, wherein Xaa represents any amino acid residue.  
     
     
         9 . The plant of  claim 6  wherein the amino acid sequence comprises consecutive amino acid residues of Gly-Val-Arg-Xaa-Arg-Tyr-Xaa (4-5) -Trp-Val-Xaa-Glu-Xaa-Arg-Glu-Xaa (6) -Arg-Glu-Xaa-Asn-Lys-Xaa (2) -Arg-Ile-Trp-Xaa-Gly-Thr-Phe-Xaa (5) -Ala-Ala-Xaa-Ala-Xaa-Asp-Xaa-Ala-Ala-Xaa (4) -Gly-Xaa (2) -Ala-Xaa-Leu-Asn, wherein Xaa represents any amino acid residue.  
     
     
         10 . The plant of  claim 6  wherein the amino acid sequence comprises consecutive amino acid residues of Gly-Val-Arg-Xaa-Arg-Tyr-Xaa (4-5) -Trp-Val-Xaa-Glu-Xaa-Arg-Glu-Xaa (6) -Arg-Glu-Xaa-Asn-Lys-Xaa (2) -Arg-Ile-Trp-Xaa-Gly-Thr-Phe-Xaa-Thr-Xaa (3) -Ala-Ala-Xaa-Ala-Xaa-Asp-Xaa-Ala-Ala-Xaa-Ala-Xaa (2) -Gly-Xaa (2) -Ala-Xaa-Leu-Asn-Xaa (3) -Ser, wherein Xaa represents any amino acid residue.  
     
     
         11 . The plant of  claim 6  wherein the amino acid sequence comprises consecutive amino acid residues of His-Pro-Xaa-Tyr-Gly-Val-Arg-Xaa-Arg-Tyr-Xaa (4-5) -Trp-Val-Xaa-Glu-Xaa-Arg-Glu-Xaa-Asn-Lys-Xaa (2) -Arg-Glu-Xaa-Asn-Lys-Xaa (2) -Arg-Ile-Trp-Xaa-Gly-Thr-Phe-Xaa-Thr-Xaa-Glu-Xaa-Ala-Ala-Arg-Ala-Asp-His-Asp-Val-Ala-Ala-Xaa-Ala-Leu-Arg-Gly-Xaa (2) -Ala-Xaa-Leu-Asn-Xaa-Ala-Asp-Ser, wherein Xaa represents any amino acid residue.  
     
     
         12 . The plant of  claim 6  wherein the amino acid sequence comprises a nuclear localization signal, an AP2 activator domain, and an acidic transcriptional activator domain homologous to a sequence of amino acid residues 32 through 213 of SEQ ID NO:2 that binds to the DNA regulatory sequence that induces expression of the environmental stress tolerance gene.  
     
     
         13 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of corn, soy, wheat, rice, rye, triticale, bentgrass, sorghum, barley, millet, bluegrass, turfgrass, sugarcane, potato, Arabidopsis, oilseed rape, sunflower, tobacco, poplar, pine, eucalyptus, and citrus.  
     
     
         14 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is a monocot.  
     
     
         15 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is a dicot.  
     
     
         16 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of corn, soy, wheat, rice, rye, triticale, bentgrass, sorghum, barley, millet, bluegrass, turfgrass, and sugarcane.  
     
     
         17 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of potato, Arabidopsis, oilseed rape, sunflower and tobacco.  
     
     
         18 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of poplar, pine, eucalyptus, and citrus.  
     
     
         19 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is corn.  
     
     
         20 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is soy.  
     
     
         21 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is wheat.  
     
     
         22 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is rice.  
     
     
         23 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is rye.  
     
     
         24 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is triticale.  
     
     
         25 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is bentgrass.  
     
     
         26 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is sorghum.  
     
     
         27 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is barley.  
     
     
         28 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is millet.  
     
     
         29 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is bluegrass.  
     
     
         30 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is turfgrass.  
     
     
         31 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is sugarcane.  
     
     
         32 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is potato.  
     
     
         33 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is Arabidopsis.  
     
     
         34 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is oilseed rape.  
     
     
         35 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is sunflower.  
     
     
         36 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is tobacco.  
     
     
         37 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is pine.  
     
     
         38 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is eucalyptus.  
     
     
         39 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is poplar.  
     
     
         40 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant is citrus.  
     
     
         41 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the polynucleotide encodes a binding protein native to the plant.  
     
     
         42 . Isolated plant material of the progeny plant of  claim 1  wherein the plant material is: 
 (a) plant tissue;  
 (b) fruit;  
 (c) seed;  
 (d) plant cell;  
 (e) embryo;  
 (f) protoplast; or  
 (g) pollen.  
 
     
     
         43 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein expression of the polynucleotide is increased as compared to expression of endogenous polynucleotide.  
     
     
         44 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein expression of the DNA binding protein is increased by the expression of the polynucleotide as compared to expression of endogenous DNA binding protein.  
     
     
         45 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein transcriptional activation activity of the DNA binding protein is increased as compared to transcriptional activation activity of endogenous DNA binding protein.  
     
     
         46 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein transcribed messenger RNA levels induced by the DNA binding protein is increased as compared to transcribed messenger RNA levels induced by endogenous DNA binding protein.  
     
     
         47 . A progeny plant derived from a parental plant wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least three fold greater messenger RNA levels than the parental plant, wherein the messenger RNA encodes a DNA binding protein which is capable of binding to a DNA regulatory sequence comprising CCG and inducing expression of an environmental stress tolerance gene, wherein the progeny plant is characterized by an increase in environmental stress resistance compared to the parental plant.  
     
     
         48 . The progeny plant of  claim 47  wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least ten fold greater messenger RNA levels than the parental plant.  
     
     
         49 . The progeny plant of  claim 47  wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least fifty fold greater messenger RNA levels than the parental plant.  
     
     
         50 . The progeny plant of  claim 47  wherein the progeny plant is a transgenic plant.  
     
     
         51 . The progeny plant of  claim 47  wherein the progeny plant is a transformed plant.  
     
     
         52 . The progeny plant of  claim 47  wherein the progeny plant is a non-naturally-occurring plant.  
     
     
         53 . A progeny plant derived from a parental plant wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least three fold greater protein levels than the parental plant, wherein the protein is a DNA binding protein which is capable of binding to a DNA regulatory sequence comprising CCG and inducing expression of an environmental stress tolerance gene, wherein the progeny plant is characterized by an increase in environmental stress resistance compared to the parental plant.  
     
     
         54 . The progeny plant of  claim 53  wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least ten fold greater protein levels than the parental plant.  
     
     
         55 . The progeny plant of  claim 53  wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least fifty fold greater protein levels than the parental plant.  
     
     
         56 . The progeny plant of  claim 53  wherein the progeny plant is a trangenic plant.  
     
     
         57 . The progeny plant of  claim 53  wherein the progeny plant is a transformed plant.  
     
     
         58 . The progeny plant of  claim 53  wherein the progeny plant is a non-naturally-occurring plant.  
     
     
         59 . A progeny plant derived from a parental plant wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least three fold greater transcriptional activation activity of a protein than the parental plant, wherein the protein is a DNA binding protein which is capable of binding to a DNA regulatory sequence comprising CCG and inducing expression of an environmental stress tolerance gene, wherein the progeny plant is characterized by an increase in environmental stress resistance compared to the parental plant.  
     
     
         60 . The plant of  claim 59  wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least ten fold greater transcriptional activation activity of a protein than the parental plant.  
     
     
         61 . The plant of  claim 59  wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least fifty fold greater transcriptional activation activity of a protein than the parental plant.  
     
     
         62 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the DNA binding protein is a protein in a signal transduction pathway wherein binding of the DNA binding protein to the DNA regulatory sequence results in an increase in environmental stress tolerance.  
     
     
         63 . The plant of  claim 62  wherein binding of the DNA binding protein to the DNA regulatory sequence is activated by the signal transduction pathway.  
     
     
         64 . The plant of  claim 62  wherein binding of the DNA binding protein to the DNA regulatory sequence activates the signal transduction pathway.  
     
     
         65 . A method for increasing environmental stress resistance in a plant comprising: 
 a) introducing into a parental plant a polynucleotide operably linked to a recombinant promoter to produce a transgenic plant; and    b) expressing the polynucleotide in the transgenic plant whereby the expression of the polynucleotide increases the expression of a DNA binding protein that binds to a DNA regulatory sequence comprising CCG that induces expression of an environmental stress tolerance gene whereby the transgenic plant is characterized by an increase in environmental stress resistance compared to the parental plant.    
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 65  wherein the DNA binding protein comprises an amino acid sequence homologous to a sequence selected from an amino acid sequence depicted in FIG. 19A, 19B,  19 C,  19 D, or  19 E that binds to the DNA regulatory sequence that induces expression of the environmental stress tolerance gene.  
     
     
         67 . A progeny plant produced by the method of  claim 65 .  
     
     
         68 . The progeny plant of  claim 65  wherein the progeny plant is a transgenic plant.  
     
     
         69 . The progeny plant of  claim 65  wherein the progeny plant is a transformed plant.  
     
     
         70 . The progeny plant of  claim 65  wherein the progeny plant is a non-naturally-occurring plant.  
     
     
         71 . A progeny plant derived from a parental plant wherein the progeny plant exhibits at least three fold greater protein levels than the parental plant, wherein the protein is a DNA binding protein capable of binding to a DNA regulatory sequence comprising CCG and inducing expression of an environmental stress tolerance gene, wherein the progeny plant is characterized by an increase in environmental stress resistance compared to the parental plant.  
     
     
         72 . A progeny plant produced by the method of  claim 71 .  
     
     
         73 . The progeny plant of  claim 72  wherein the progeny plant is a trangenic plant.  
     
     
         74 . The progeny plant of  claim 72  wherein the progeny plant is a transformed plant.  
     
     
         75 . The progeny plant of  claim 72  wherein the progeny plant is a non-naturally-occurring plant.  
     
     
         76 . The plant of  claim 1  wherein the environmental stress tolerance is selected from the group consisting of: 
 (a) increased tolerance to freezing;  
 (b) increased tolerance to cold stress;  
 (c) increased tolerance to dehydration stress;  
 (d) increased tolerance to high salinity stress; or  
 (e) increased tolerance to osmotic stress.  
 
     
     
         77 . Seed produced by the progeny plant of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         78 . An essentially homogeneous population of plants produced by growing seed of the plant of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         79 . Seed produced by the plant of  claim 78 .  
     
     
         80 . Progeny seed produced from crossing the plant of  claim 78  with another plant or by self-pollinating the plant of  claim 78 .  
     
     
         81 . A plant produced from the seed of  claim 65 .  
     
     
         82 . A process of producing seed, comprising self-pollinating a plant of  claim 1  or crossing a first parent plant with a parent plant, wherein the first or second plant is the plant of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         83 . The process of claim  82 , wherein crossing comprises the steps of 
 (a) planting in pollinating proximity seeds of the first and second plants;    (b) cultivating the seeds of the first and second plants into plants that bear flowers;    (c) emasculating the male flowers of the first or second plant to produce an emasculated plant;    (d) allowing cross-pollination to occur between the first and second plants; and    (e) harvesting hybrid seeds produced on the emasculated plant.    
     
     
         84 . The process of claim  83 , further comprising growing the harvested seed to produce a hybrid plant.  
     
     
         85 . Hybrid seed produced by the process of claim  83 .  
     
     
         86 . A hybrid plant produced by the process of claim  84 .  
     
     
         87 . The hybrid plant of claim  86 , wherein the plant is a first generation (F1) hybrid plant.