Generation of plants with altered oil content

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to methods of generating plants with an altered oil content phenotype.

1 . A method of generating a plant having a high oil phenotype comprising identifying a plant that has an allele in its HIO1002 gene that results in increased oil content compared to plants lacking the allele and generating progeny of said identified plant, wherein the generated progeny inherit the allele and have the high oil phenotype. 
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying a plant comprises employing candidate gene/quantitative trait locus (QTL) methodology. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying a plant comprises employing targeting induced local lesion in genome (TILLING) methodology. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein TILLING methodology comprises inducing lesions in a plant part. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the plant part is a seed. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein inducing lesions in a plant part comprises ethyl methyl sulfonate (EMS) treatment of the seed. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising planting the seed in conditions that allow the seed to grow into a plant. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising isolating DNA from the resulting plant and identifying a plant that has an allele in its HIO1002 gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein amplification of a nucleic acid sequence with 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NOs: 1, 3 or 5 indicates a plant has an allele in its HIO1002 gene that results in increased oil content. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein amplification of a nucleic acid sequence with the sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 1, 3 or 5 indicates a plant has an allele in its HIO1002 gene that results in increased oil content.