Methods of increasing crop yield under abiotic stress

Abstract

Methods and materials for increasing abiotic stress tolerance in plants are disclosed. For example, nucleic acids encoding abiotic stress tolerance-increasing polypeptides are disclosed as well as methods for using such nucleic acids to transform plant cells. Also disclosed are plants having increased tolerance to abiotic stress and methods of increasing plant yield under abiotic stress conditions.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method of increasing plant yield in a plant grown under drought stress, osmotic stress, or nitrogen deficiency, said method comprising growing a plant comprising an exogenous nucleic acid under drought stress, osmotic stress, or nitrogen deficiency, said exogenous nucleic acid comprising a regulatory region operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:209, and wherein yield of said plant is increased as compared to the corresponding yield of a control plant that does not comprise said nucleic acid. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein growing said plant is under drought stress, and said drought stress is selected from pre-flowering and post-flowering drought stress. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein growing said plant is under osmotic stress, and said osmotic stress is selected from a soil electric conductivity between 4 and 5 dS/m, and a soil conductivity between 6 and 7 dS/m. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein growing said plant is under nitrogen deficiency, and said nitrogen deficiency is selected from a 50 Kg per hectare nitrogen application, and a 75 Kg per hectare nitrogen application. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising harvesting biomass from said plant. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the amino acid sequence of said polypeptide has at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:209. 
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . A method of producing a plant with tolerance to drought stress, osmotic stress, or nitrogen deficiency, said method comprising
 (a) expressing in a plurality of plants an exogenous nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide, said exogenous nucleic acid comprising a regulatory region operably linked to the nucleotide sequence, and the polypeptide having at least 80% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:209, and wherein yield of said plant is increased as compared to the corresponding yield of a control plant that does not comprise said nucleic acid, and   (b) selecting from said plurality a plant that has increased tolerance to drought stress, osmotic stress, or nitrogen deficiency.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein growing said plant is under drought stress, and said drought stress is selected from pre-flowering and post-flowering drought stress. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein growing said plant is under osmotic stress, and said osmotic stress is selected from a soil electric conductivity between 4 and 5 dS/m, and a soil conductivity between 6 and 7 dS/m. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein growing said plant is under nitrogen deficiency stress, and said nitrogen deficiency stress is selected from a 50 Kg per hectare nitrogen application, and a 75 Kg per hectare nitrogen application. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the polypeptide has 90% or greater sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:209. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein said exogenous nucleic acid has 95% or greater sequence identity to the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO:209. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of  Panicum virgatum, Sorghum bicolor, Miscanthus giganteus, Saccharum  sp.,  Populus balsamifera, Zea mays, Glycine max, Brassica napus, Triticum aestivum, Gossypium hirsutum, Oryza sativa, Helianthus annuus, Medicago sativa, Beta vulgaris , or  Pennisetum glaucum.    
     
     
         16 - 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . A plant cell comprising a modified endogenous nucleic acid, said nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide, wherein said polypeptide has 80 percent or greater sequence identity to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:209, and wherein a plant produced from said plant cell has a difference in tolerance to drought stress, osmotic stress, or nitrogen deficiency as compared to the corresponding composition of a control plant where said nucleic acid has not been modified. 
     
     
         19 . The plant cell according to  claim 18 , wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of  Panicum virgatum, Sorghum bicolor, Miscanthus giganteus, Saccharum  sp.,  Populus balsamifera, Zea mays, Glycine max, Brassica napus, Triticum aestivum, Gossypium hirsutum, Oryza sativa, Helianthus annuus, Medicago sativa, Beta vulgaris , or  Pennisetum glaucum.    
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A method of increasing plant yield in a plant grown under drought stress, osmotic stress, or nitrogen deficiency stress, said method comprising growing a plant comprising a plant cell according to  claim 18  under drought stress, osmotic stress, or nitrogen deficiency stress, and wherein yield of said plant is increased as compared to the corresponding yield of a control plant that does not comprise said modified endogenous nucleic acid.