Shine clade of transcription factors and their use

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of transgenic plants with novel phenotypes, especially plants with enhanced drought tolerance. Provided are SHINE proteins and nucleic acid sequences encoding these, which are useful in conferring novel phenotypes to plants.

1 . A transgenic monocotyledonous crop plant comprising a chimeric gene, integrated in its genome, which chimeric gene comprises a transcription regulatory sequence active in plant cells, operably linked to a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SHN protein that comprises the sequence SEQ ID NO:15. 
     
     
         2 . The plant according to  claim 1 , wherein said SHN protein further comprises the sequence SEQ ID NO:16. 
     
     
         3 . The plant according to  claim 1 , the phenotype of which is one or more of: (i) enhanced drought tolerance without modification of its epicuticular wax layer, (ii) enhanced wound healing properties, (iii) enhanced suberization, (iv) enhanced salinity tolerance, and (v) fruit with an enhanced weight percentage of soluble solids. 
     
     
         4 . The plant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plant is male sterile or has enhanced pod shatter resistance, and wherein said SHN protein further comprises a fused repressor domain. 
     
     
         5 . The plant according to  claim 4 , wherein the repressor domain is the EAR repressor domain the sequence of which is SEQ ID NO:21. 
     
     
         6 . The plant according to  claim 1 , wherein said transcription regulatory sequence is selected from the group consisting of: a constitutive promoter, an inducible promoter, a tissue-specific promoter and a developmentally-regulated promoter. 
     
     
         7 . The plant according to  claim 1 , wherein the plant is selected from a genus  Zea, Oryza, Triticum, Hordeum, Avena  or  Sorghum.    
     
     
         8 . The plant according to  claim 1 , wherein the sequence of the SHN protein is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:11, SEQ ID NO:12, SEQ ID NO:13, SEQ ID NO:14 and SEQ ID NO:24. 
     
     
         9 . A seed or a fruit of a plant according to  claim 1 , which seed or fruit comprises said chimeric gene. 
     
     
         10 . A chimeric gene comprising a tissue specific-, inducible- or developmentally-regulated promoter active in plant cells, operably linked to a nucleic acid sequence encoding a SHN protein that comprises the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:15. 
     
     
         11 . A nucleic acid vector comprising the chimeric gene according to  claim 10 . 
     
     
         12 . A method of generating a transgenic plant according to  claim 1 , comprising introducing and expressing in said plant a nucleic acid sequence encoding said SHN protein, thereby generating said plant. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein:
 (a) the plant has one or more of the following properties: enhanced drought tolerance and an unmodified epicuticular wax layer, enhanced male sterility, enhanced pod shatter resistance, enhanced wound healing, enhanced suberization, enhanced salinity tolerance and fruit with an enhanced weight percentage of soluble solids, and   (b) the introduced SHN protein comprises the amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO:15.