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Temperature-regulated promoters

IP issues

1. Heat-inducible promoters

Mycogen Plant Sciences, The United States Department of Health and Human Services and The General Hospital Corporation have granted patents and patent applications that relate in general to DNA sequences of heat shock promoters and methods for expressing a gene of interest under the control of such promoters. Some of the inventions relate to the use of the heat shock promoters in transformed plants, while others do not specify the organism to be transformed. For some properties of heat shock promoters please also refer to the plant ubiquitin promoters.

A. Mycogen Plant Sciences’ patents

The patents granted to Mycogen in the United States, Europe and Canada are directed to:

  • consensus DNA sequences of plant heat shock promoters;
  • bacterial strains containing a vector with a consensus heat shock promoter and a gene of interest under its control for expression in plants;
  • recombinant Agrobacterium Ti-plasmids comprising a heat shock promoter;
  • methods for expressing a heterologous gene under the control of a heat shock promoter in plant cells; and
  • methods for identifying transformed plants.

patent claims in particular the use of a soybean heat shock promoter to drive the expression of a structural gene in a plant. The soybean heat shock promoter and the structural gene are engineered in a plasmid carried by an Agrobacterium strain used to infect the plant to be transformed.

Mycogen Plant Sciences has changed its name to Mycogen Seeds and is now an affiliate of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Therefore , Mycogen patents and patent applications are probably controlled by Dow AgroSciences LLC.  The contact information can be found at http://www.dowagro.com/contact/index.htm or
http://www.dowagro.com/mycogen/contact/index.htm.

Patent Number

Title, Independent Claims and Summary of Claims

Assignee
US 5447858

  • Earliest priority – 5 September 1984
  • Filed – 5 September 1984
  • Granted – 5 September 1995
  • Expected expiry – 5 September 2012
 Title – Heat shock promoter and gene

Claim 1
A recombinant heat shock gene comprising a plant heat shock promoter and a heterologous structural gene whose expression is controllable thereby, wherein said promoter comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A,T,C or G.
Claim 2
A recombinant heat shock gene comprising a plant heat shock promoter and a heterologous structural gene whose expression is controlled thereby, wherein said promoter comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-S-G-A-A-M-R-T-A-C-W-M-K-3′ where S is C or G; M is A or C; R is A or G; W is A or T; and K is T or G.
Claim 8
A vector comprising a fragment of DNA capable of functioning as a plant heatshock promoter wherein said fragment of DNA comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A, T, C cr G.
Claim 9
A vector comprising a fragment of DNA capable of functioning as a plant heat shock promoter wherein said fragment comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence of 5′-C-T-S-G-A-A-M-R-T-A-C-W-M-K-3′ where S is C or G; M is A or C; R is A or G; W is A or T; and K is T or G.
Claim 19
A bacterial strain containing therein recombinant DNA comprising:
(a) a fragment of DNA capable of controlling heatshock expression of a gene in a plant; and
(b) a structural gene oriented with respect to said fragment of DNA so as to be expressible under the control thereof wherein said fragment of DNA capable of controlling heat shock expression of a gene in a plant comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A, T, C or G.
Claim 20
A bacterial strain containing therein recombinant DNA comprising:
(a) a fragment of DNA capable of controlling heat shock expression of a gene in a plant; and
(b) a structural gene oriented with respect to said fragment of DNA so as to be expressible under the control thereof wherein the fragment of DNA capable of controlling heat shock expression of a gene in a plant comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-S-G-A-A-M-R-T-A-C-W-M-K-3′ where S is C or G; M is A or C; R is A or G; W is A or T; and K is T or G.
Claim 34
A method for recognizing a plant cell containing recombinant DNA comprising the steps of:
(1) transferring into said plant cell recombinant DNA comprising:
(a) a heat shock promoter which comprises the consensus sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A, T, C, or G;
(b) a transformation recognition gene under the control of said heat shock promoter capable of causing an observable or detectable reaction when expressed;
(2) applying a stress to said plant cell in which it is desired to recognize those containing recombinant DNA, which stress is capable of inducing a response in said heat shock promoter; and
(3) observing or detecting the reaction caused by expression of said transformation recognition gene under the control of said heat shock promoter to recognize said plant cell containing recombinant DNA including said transformation recognition gene.
Claim 36
A method for recognizing a plant cell containing recombinant DNA comprising the steps of:
(1) transferring into said plant cell recombinant DNA comprising:
(a) a heat shock promoter which comprises the consensus sequence 5′-C-T-S-G-A-A-M-R-T-A-C-W-M-K-3′ where S is C or G; M is A or C; R is A or G; W is A or T; and K is T or G;
(b) a transformation recognition gene under the control of said heat shock promoter capable of causing an observable or detectable reaction when expressed;
(2) applying a stress to said plant cell in which it is desired to recognize those containing recombinant DNA, which stress is capable of inducing a response in said heat shock promoter; and
(3) observing or detecting the reaction caused by expression of said transformation recognition gene under the control of said heat shock promoter to recognize said plant cell containing recombinant DNA including said transformation recognition gene.

Mycogen Plant Sciences
EP 159884 B1

  • Earliest priority – 13 April 1984
  • Filed – 12 April 1985
  • Granted – 10 February 1993
  • Expected expiry – 12 April 2005
 Title – Heat shock promoter and gene

The claims are the same as US 5447858 (see above).
CA 1338010 

  • Earliest priority – 13 April 1984
  • Filed – 11 April 1985
  • Granted – 30 January 1996
  • Expected expiry – 29 January 2013
 Title – Heat shock promoter and gene

This Canadian patent claims in particular the use of a soybean heat shock promoter to drive the expression of a structural gene in a plant. The soybean heat shock promoter and the structural gene are engineered in a plasmid carried by an Agrobacterium strain used to infect the plant to be transformed.

Claim 1
A recombinant heat shock gene comprising a plant heat shock promoter and a heterologous structural gene whose expression is controllable thereby, wherein said promoter comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A,T,C or G.
Claim 8
A vector comprising a fragment of DNA capable of functioning as a plant heatshock promoter wherein said fragment of DNA comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A, T, C cr G.
Claim 19
A bacterial strain containing therein recombinant DNA comprising:
(a) a fragment of DNA capable of controlling heatshock expression of a gene in a plant; and
(b) a structural gene oriented with respect to said fragment of DNA so as to be expressible under the control thereof wherein said fragment of DNA capable of controlling heat shock expression of a gene in a plant comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A, T, C or G.
Claim 34
A method for obtaining a transiet increase in expression level of a heterologous structural gene in a plant comprising
inserting into said genome a DNA fragment comprising a promoter capable of inducing a heat shock reaponse in a plant exposed to  stress, which promoter comprises the consensus nucleotide sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A, T, C, or G, said promoter being combined with said structural gene such that said structural gene is expressed under the control of said promoter, followed by
exposing said plant to stress such that said promoter responds thereby obtaining a transient increase in expression level of said structural gene in said plant.
Claim 54

A method for recognizing a plant cell containing recombinant DNA comprising the steps of:
(1) transferring into said plant cell recombinant DNA comprising:
(a) a heat shock promoter which comprises the consensus sequence 5′-C-T-X-G-A-A-X-X-T-A-C-X-X-X-3′, where X is A, T, C, or G;
(b) a transformation recognition gene under the control of said heat shock promoter capable of causing an observable or detectable reaction when expressed;
(2) applying a stress to said plant cell in which it is desired to recognize those containing recombinant DNA, which stress is capable of inducing a response in said heat shock promoter; and
(3) observing or detecting the reaction caused by expression of said transformation recognition gene under the control of said heat shock promoter to recognize said plant cell containing recombinant DNA including said transformation recognition gene.

Remarks

 There are two related applications pending in Japan (JP 60248176 A2 and JP 7075567 A2).

Note: Patent information on this page was last updated on 4 May 2006.

Search terms: “Heat shock promoter” in abstract; “Mycogen Plant Sciences” in applicant

Patent database: Patent Lens