Drought resistance multigene construct

Abstract

The present invention relates to a polygenic DNA construct consisting of three abiotic stress tolerance genes, separated by nucleic acids encoding FMDV 2A peptides under the control of a stress inducible promoter. The stable insertion of the construct into plants confers drought tolerance to the plants. The invention also provides for vectors, host cells, transgenic plants and transgenic seeds containing the construct.

1 . A recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a polygenic nucleic acid construct operably linked to an abiotic stress inducible promoter,
 wherein the polygenic nucleic acid construct comprises:   a. a nucleotide sequence encoding a Xvsap1 polypeptide,   b. a nucleotide sequence encoding a first 2A element peptide,   c. a nucleotide sequence encoding a XvAld polypeptide,   d. a nucleotide sequence encoding a second 2A element peptide,   e. a nucleotide sequence encoding a XvPrx2 polypeptide, and   f. a terminator.   
     
     
         2 . The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , wherein the 2A element peptide is a Foot-and-Mouth disease virus 2A element peptide. 
     
     
         3 . The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 , wherein the abiotic stress is selected from the group consisting of osmotic stress, dehydration stress, temperature stress, drought, salinity and desiccation. 
     
     
         4 . A recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a polygenic nucleic acid construct operably linked to an abiotic stress inducible promoter,
 wherein the polygenic nucleic acid construct comprises:   a. a nucleotide sequence encoding a first polypeptide of interest,   b. a nucleotide sequence encoding a first 2A element peptide,   c. a nucleotide sequence encoding a second polypeptide of interest,   d. a nucleotide sequence encoding a second 2A element peptide,   e. a nucleotide sequence encoding a third polypeptide of interest, and   f. a terminator,   and further wherein the abiotic stress inducible promoter comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.   
     
     
         5 . The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 4  wherein the polygenic nucleic acid construct comprises a sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1. 
     
     
         6 . The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 4 , wherein the first, second, and third polypeptides of interest are abiotic stress tolerance polypeptides. 
     
     
         7 . The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 4 , wherein the first, second and third polypeptides of interest are selected from the group consisting of XvSap1, XvPrx2 and XvAld. 
     
     
         8 . The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 4 , wherein the 2A element peptide is a Foot-and-Mouth disease virus 2A element peptide. 
     
     
         9 . The recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 4 , wherein the abiotic stress is selected from the group consisting of osmotic stress, dehydration stress, temperature stress, drought, salinity, and desiccation. 
     
     
         10 . A vector comprising a recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         11 . A host cell transformed with the vector of  claim 10 . 
     
     
         12 . The host cell of  claim 11  wherein the host cell is a plant cell. 
     
     
         13 . The host cell of  claim 11  wherein the host cell is stably transformed with the recombinant nucleic acid molecule. 
     
     
         14 . A transgenic plant comprising the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         15 . The transgenic plant of  claim 14 , wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of alfalfa, barley, canola, cassava, cotton, maize, oats, rye, sorghum, soybean, sunflower, sweet potato, tobacco and wheat. 
     
     
         16 . A transgenic seed comprising the recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         17 . A method of producing an abiotic stress tolerant transgenic plant, the method comprising:
 obtaining a recombinant nucleic acid molecule of  claim 1 ; and   stably transforming the plant with the recombinant nucleic acid molecule.   
     
     
         18 . A transgenic plant comprising the host cell of  claim 11 . 
     
     
         19 . The transgenic plant of  claim 18 , wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of alfalfa, barley, canola, cassava, cotton, maize, oats, rye, sorghum, soybean, sunflower, sweet potato, tobacco and wheat.