Pre- and post-harvest inhibition of remobilisation of storage compounds

Abstract

This invention describes a method to prevent sprouting in vegetatively propagated plants such as potato, strawberry, banana and bulbous plants such as onion and bulbous flowers, by transforming a plant or a plant from one of its parental lines with a gene coding for trehalose phosphate synthase. Restoration of sprouting is also provided for.

1 . A method to inhibit pre- and/or postharvest remobilisation of storage compounds in plants by transforming a plant or a plant from its parental line with a recombinant DNA capable of expression of a protein, characterized in that the protein is trehalose phosphate synthase (TPS).  
     
     
         2 . A method to prevent sprouting of a plant part by transforming the plant or a plant from its parental line with a recombinant DNA capable of expression of a protein, characterized in that the protein is trehalose phosphate synthase (TPS).  
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 2 , characterized in that the recombinant DNA comprising the gene coding for TPS is of bacterial, fungal, animal, plant or human origin, preferably derived from  Escherichia coli.    
     
     
         4 . Method to induce sprouting in a plant which is made non-sprouting according to the method of  claim 2  or  3  characterized in that said plant is provided with recombinant DNA coding for TPS flanked by target sites of a site-specific recombinase and that the recombinant DNA coding for TPS is removed by providing said plant either through tranformation with a gene coding for the corresponding recombinase or through crossing with a plant harbouring a recombinant DNA capable of expressing said recombinase.  
     
     
         5 . Method to induce sprouting in a plant which is made non-sprouting according to the method of  claim 2  or  3  by transforming it with a recombinant DNA which comprises a gene coding for a compound which is capable of neutralising the effects of TPS under control of and inducible promoter and forcing expression of the TPS neutralizing compound by induction of the inducible promoter.  
     
     
         6 . Method according to  claim 5 , characterized in that the neutralising compound is trehalose phosphate (TPP).  
     
     
         7 . Method according to  claim 5 , characterized in that the neutralising compound is antisense trehalose phosphate synthase.  
     
     
         8 . Method according to  claim 5 , characterized in that the neutralizing compound is trehalose phosphate hydrolase (TreC).  
     
     
         9 . Method according to  claim 5  characterized in that the neutralising factor is a suppressor which is capable of suppressing expression of the TPS.  
     
     
         10 . A method to release the inhibition of pre- and/or postharvest remobilisation of storage compounds in plants caused by the expression of trehalose phosphate synthase, by treating the storage organ of the plant with gibberellic acid.  
     
     
         11 . Method to induce sprouting in a plant which is made non-sprouting according to the method of  claim 2  or  3  by treating the plant with gibberellic acid.  
     
     
         12 . Method to induce sprouting in a plant which is made non-sprouting according to the method of  claim 2  or  3  by treating wounding the plant.  
     
     
         13 . Method according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the storage compound is inulin and the plant is chicory.  
     
     
         14 . Method according to  claim 10 , characterized in that the storage compound is sucrose and the plant is chicory.  
     
     
         15 . Method according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the storage compound is sucrose and the plant is sugarbeet.  
     
     
         16 . Method according to  claim 10 , characterized in that the storage compound is sucrose and the plant is sugarbeet.