Plant biochemical systems and uses thereof

Abstract

Plants and plant cells including an isolated nucleic acid encoding for prephenate dehydratase, wherein the nucleic acid is operably linked to a promoter such that prephenate dehydratase is expressed at sufficient levels to protect the plant cell from damage from an abiotic or biotic stressor. The abiotic or biotic stressor may include UV radiation, cold, drought, heat, salt, hormones, fungi, bacteria, arthropods, worms and products of biotic organisms.

1 . A plant cell comprising an isolated nucleic acid encoding for prephenate dehydratase, the nucleic acid operably linked to a promoter such that prephenate dehydratase is expressed at sufficient levels to protect the plant cell from damage from an abiotic or biotic stressor. 
     
     
         2 . The plant cell of  claim 1 , wherein the abiotic or biotic stressor is selected from the group consisting of: UV radiation, cold, drought, heat, salt, hormones, fungi, bacteria, arthropods, worms and products of biotic organisms. 
     
     
         3 . The plant cell of  claim 1 , wherein the promoter is a tissue-specific promoter. 
     
     
         4 . The plant cell of  claim 1 , wherein the plant cell is comprised within a plant. 
     
     
         5 . The plant cell of  claim 4 , wherein the plant is a crop plant. 
     
     
         6 . The plant cell of  claim 5 , wherein the crop plant is a soybean plant. 
     
     
         7 . The plant cell of  claim 1 , wherein the damage from a stressor is at least one of root damage, leaf damage, meristematic damage, shoot damage, inflorescence damage, pod damage, seed damage, and any damage adversely impacting or reducing yield. 
     
     
         8 . The plant cell of  claim 1 , wherein the isolated nucleic acid is comprised within a vector, the nucleic acid is operably linked to a tissue-specific promoter, and the at least one prephenate dehydratase is prephenate dehydratase 1 or a homologue thereof.