Transcription factor sequences for conferring advantageous properties to plants

Abstract

The invention relates to plant transcription factor polypeptides, polynucleotides that encode them, homologs from a variety of plant species, and methods of using the polynucleotides and polypeptides to produce transgenic plants having advantageous properties compared to a reference or control plant, including increased plant size, seed size, increased leaf size, lignification, water deprivation tolerance, cold tolerance, or altered flowering time. Sequence information related to these polynucleotides and polypeptides can also be used in bioinformatic search methods and is also disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for altering a biochemical characteristic in a plant, wherein said method includes the steps of transforming into a target plant an expression vector comprising any of SEQ ID NO: 2n-1, wherein n=1-84, or SEQ ID NO: 2n, wherein n=121-127, or a polypeptide encoded by the expression vector. 
     
     
         2 . A method for producing a transgenic plant having larger size and/or delayed flowering relative to a wild-type plant of the same species, the method steps comprising:
 (a) producing an expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising a conserved domain with at least 69% sequence identity to the conserved domain of amino acid coordinates 11-80 of SEQ ID NO: 66, wherein the polypeptide has a property of SEQ ID NO: 66 of increasing size and/or delaying flowering in a plant relative to a wild-type plant; and   (b) introducing the expression vector into a target plant to produce a transgenic plant;   wherein the polypeptide is overexpressed in the transgenic plant and said overexpression results in the transgenic plant having larger size and/or delayed flowering relative to the wild-type plant.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the polypeptide comprises a conserved domain with at least 69% sequence identity to the conserved domain of amino acid coordinates 11-80 of SEQ ID NO: 66. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the transgenic plant is a seed comprising the polypeptide. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the expression vector comprises a constitutive, inducible, or tissue-specific promoter operably linked to the nucleotide sequence. 
     
     
         6 . A method for delaying flowering time and/or increasing size of a plant relative to a wild-type plant of the same species, the method steps comprising:
 (a) producing an expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising a conserved domain with at least 69% sequence identity to the conserved domain of amino acid coordinates 11-80 of SEQ ID NO: 66, wherein the polypeptide has a property of SEQ ID NO: 66 of increasing size and/or delaying flowering in a plant relative to a wild-type plant;   (b) introducing the expression vector into a target plant to produce a transgenic plant, wherein the polypeptide is overexpressed in the transgenic plant; and   (c) selecting the transgenic plant by identifying its larger size and/or delayed flowering relative to the wild-type plant.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the polypeptide comprises a conserved domain with at least 69% sequence identity to the conserved domain of amino acid coordinates 11-80 of SEQ ID NO: 66. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the transgenic plant is a seed comprising the polypeptide. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the expression vector comprises a constitutive, inducible, or tissue-specific promoter operably linked to the nucleotide sequence. 
     
     
         10 . A method for producing a plant having more lignification and/or greater tolerance to osmotic stress and/or drought relative to a wild-type plant of the same species, the method steps comprising:
 (a) producing an expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising a conserved domain with at least 69% sequence identity to the conserved domain of amino acid coordinates 11-80 of SEQ ID NO: 66, wherein the polypeptide has a property of SEQ ID NO: 66 of increasing lignification and/or increasing tolerance to osmotic stress and/or drought in a plant relative to the wild-type plant; and   (b) introducing the expression vector into a target plant to produce a transgenic plant;   wherein the polypeptide is overexpressed in the transgenic plant and said overexpression results in the transgenic plant having more lignification and/or greater tolerance to the osmotic stress and/or the drought than the wild-type plant.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the plant is a seed comprising the polypeptide. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein during the osmotic stress and/or drought the plant has larger size and more root growth relative to the wild-type plant during the osmotic stress and/or drought 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the expression vector comprises a constitutive, inducible, or tissue-specific promoter operably linked to the nucleotide sequence. 
     
     
         14 . A method for increasing lignification and/or increasing tolerance to osmotic stress and/or drought in a plant relative to a wild-type plant of the same species, the method steps comprising:
 (a) producing an expression vector comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising a conserved domain with at least 69% sequence identity to the conserved domain of amino acid coordinates 11-80 of SEQ ID NO: 66, wherein the polypeptide has a property of SEQ ID NO: 66 of increasing lignification and/or increasing tolerance to osmotic stress and/or drought in a plant relative to the lignification and/or tolerance of the wild-type plant to osmotic stress and/or the drought; and   (b) introducing the expression vector into a target plant to produce a transgenic plant, wherein the polypeptide is overexpressed in the transgenic plant; and   (c) selecting the transgenic plant by identifying its greater lignification and/or greater tolerance to the osmotic stress and/or the drought relative to the lignification and/or tolerance to the osmotic stress and/or the drought of the wild-type plant.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the plant is a seed comprising the polypeptide. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein during the osmotic stress and/or drought the plant has larger size and more root growth relative to the wild-type plant during the osmotic stress and/or drought. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the expression vector comprises a constitutive, inducible, or tissue-specific promoter operably linked to the nucleotide sequence.