Plants Having Increased Tolerance to Herbicides

Abstract

The present invention refers to a plant or plant part comprising a polynucleotide encoding a mutated TriA polypeptide, the expression of said polynucleotide confers to the plant or plant part tolerance to herbicides.

1 . A plant, plant part, or plant cell comprising a polynucleotide encoding a mutated TriA polypeptide, wherein the expression of said polynucleotide confers to the plant, plant part, or plant cell tolerance to herbicides. 
     
     
         2 . The plant or plant part of  claim 1 , wherein the herbicide comprises a compound which inhibits cellulose biosynthesis. 
     
     
         3 . The plant or plant part of  claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide encoding the mutated TriA polypeptide comprises the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, or a homologue, variant or derivative thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The plant or plant part of  claim 1 , wherein the mutated TriA polypeptide is a functional variant having, over the full-length of the variant, at least about 60% or more amino acid sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 2. 
     
     
         5 . The plant or plant part of  claim 1 , wherein the mutated TriA refers to a TriA polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, an orthologue, paralogue, or homologue thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence at one or more positions corresponding to positions 69, 70, 71, 74, 82, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 96, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 155, 157, 160, 167, 170, 174, 180, 182, 216, 217, 219, 220, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 298, 301, 302, 304, 328 of SEQ ID NO: 2. 
     
     
         6 . The plant part of  claim 1  comprising a seed, wherein the seed is capable of germination into a plant comprising in at least some of its cells a polynucleotide operably linked to a promoter operable in plant cells, the promoter capable of expressing a mutated TriA polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide, the expression of the mutated TriA polypeptide conferring to the plant tolerance to herbicides. 
     
     
         7 . The plant, plant part, or plant cell of  claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide is operably linked to a promoter operable in a plant cell. 
     
     
         8 . A product prepared from the plant, plant part, or plant cell of  claim 1 , wherein the product comprises the polynucleotide encoding a mutated TriA polypeptide. 
     
     
         9 . A method for controlling weeds at a locus for growth of a plant, the method comprising: (a) applying an herbicide composition comprising herbicides to the locus; and (b) planting a seed at the locus, wherein the seed is capable of producing a plant that comprises in at least some of its cells a polynucleotide operably linked to a promoter operable in plant cells, the promoter capable of expressing a mutated TriA polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotide, the expression of the mutated TriA polypeptide conferring to the plant tolerance to herbicides. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein herbicide composition is applied to the weeds and to the plant produced by the seed. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the herbicide comprises a compound which inhibits cellulose biosynthesis. 
     
     
         12 . The plant, plant part, or plant cell of  claim 1 , wherein the plant, plant part, or plant cell further comprises a second herbicide-tolerant trait. 
     
     
         13 . An isolated and/or recombinantiy produced and/or synthetic nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a mutated TriA polypeptide selected from the group consisting of
 (a) a nucleic acid molecule encoding a mutated TriA polypeptide comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a variant, paralogue, orthologue or homolog thereof;   (b) a nucleic acid molecule comprising the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a variant, paralogue, orthologue or homolog thereof;   (c) a nucleic acid molecule, which, as a result of the degeneracy of the genetic code, can be derived from a TriA polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a variant, paralogue, orthologue or homolog thereof, and confers increased herbicide tolerance or resistance, as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a plant or a part thereof;   (d) a nucleic acid molecule having 30% or more identity with the nucleic acid molecule sequence of a polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid molecule of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a variant, paralogue, orthologue or homolog thereof, and confers increased herbicide tolerance or resistance, as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a plant or a part thereof;   (e) a nucleic acid molecule encoding a mutated TriA polypeptide having 30% or more identity with the amino acid sequence of the TriA polypeptide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, and confers increased herbicide tolerance or resistance, as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a plant or a part thereof;   (f) nucleic acid molecule which hybridizes with a nucleic acid molecule of (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) under stringent hybridization conditions and confers increased herbicide tolerance or resistance, as compared to a corresponding, non-transformed, wild type plant cell, a plant or a part thereof;   wherein the amino acid sequence of the mutated TriA polypeptide differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a TriA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:2: 69, 70, 71, 74, 82, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 96, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 155, 157, 160, 167, 170, 174, 180, 182, 216, 217, 219, 220, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 298, 301, 302, 304, 328.   
     
     
         14 . An expression cassette comprising the nucleic acid molecule as defined in  claim 13 , and a promoter operable in plant cells. 
     
     
         15 . The expression cassette of  claim 14 , wherein the promoter is a root-specific promoter. 
     
     
         16 . A vector comprising the nucleic acid molecule as defined in  claim 13  or the expression cassette. 
     
     
         17 . An isolated, recombinant and/or chemically synthesized mutated TriA polypeptide encoded by the nucleic acid molecule as claimed in  claim 13  or a polypeptide having at least 80%, 90%, 95%, 98%, 99% identity to the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, or a variant, paralogue, orthologue or homolog thereof, wherein the amino acid sequence of the mutated TriA polypeptide differs from the wildtype amino acid sequence of a TriA polypeptide at one or more positions corresponding to the following positions of SEQ ID NO:2: 69, 70, 71, 74, 82, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 96, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 155, 157, 160, 167, 170, 174, 180, 182, 216, 217, 219, 220, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 298, 301, 302, 304, 328. 
     
     
         18 . A method for producing a plant product, the method comprising processing the plant or a plant part of  claim 1  to obtain the plant product, wherein the plant product comprises the polynucleotide encoding a mutated TriA polypeptide. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the plant product is fodder, seed meal, oil, or seed-treatment-coated seeds. 
     
     
         20 . The product of  claim 8 , wherein the product is fodder, seed meal, oil, or seed-treatment-coated seed.