Ethylene insensitive plants

Abstract

Nucleic acid and polypeptide sequences are described which relate to an EIN6 gene, a gene involved in the plant ethylene response. Plant transformation vectors and transgenic plants are described which display an altered ethylene-dependent phenotype due to altered expression of EIN6 in transformed plants.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence that hybridizes to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22 under high stringency and encodes an EIN6 protein.  
     
     
         2 . The isolated polynucleotide of  claim 1 , wherein said polynucleotide comprises the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 23.  
     
     
         3 . The isolated polynucleotide of  claim 1 , wherein said polynucleotide comprises the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 22.  
     
     
         4 . The isolated polynucleotide of  claim 1 , wherein said EIN6 protein comprises the amino acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 20.  
     
     
         5 . An isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 80% homology to SEQ ID NO: 22.  
     
     
         6 . The polynucleotide of  claim 5 , wherein the polynucleotide has at least 85% homology to SEQ ID NO: 22.  
     
     
         7 . The polynucleotide of  claim 5 , wherein the polynucleotide has at least 90% homology to SEQ ID NO: 22.  
     
     
         8 . The polynucleotide of  claim 5 , wherein the polynucleotide has at least 95% homology to SEQ ID NO: 22.  
     
     
         9 . An isolated polypeptide having at least 80% homology to SEQ ID NO: 20.  
     
     
         10 . The polypeptide of  claim 9 , wherein the polypeptide has at least 85% homology to SEQ ID NO: 20.  
     
     
         11 . The polypeptide of  claim 9 , wherein the polypeptide has at least 90% homology to SEQ ID NO: 20.  
     
     
         12 . The polypeptide of  claim 9 , wherein the polypeptide has at least 95% homology to SEQ ID NO: 20.  
     
     
         13 . The polypeptide of  claim 9 , wherein the polypeptide comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 20.  
     
     
         14 . An isolated polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21.  
     
     
         15 . A method for making a plant insensitive to ethylene, comprising: 
 contacting plant cells with a vector that disrupts the EIN6 gene, wherein the EIN6 gene comprises the nucleic acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 22;    producing a plant from the plant cells; and    selecting plants that a found to be insensitive to ethylene.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said plant is a dicotyledonous plant.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the plant is a monocotyledonous plant.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said vector comprises the nucleic acid sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 22.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , comprising contacting the plant cells with a vector that disrupts the een gene.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the contacting is by physical means.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the contacting is by chemical means.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the plant cell is selected from the group consisting of protoplasts, gamete producing cells, and cells which regenerate into a whole plant.