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Poplar

Summary

The invention disclosed by Fillatti & Comai (owned by Calgene Inc.) in patents granted in the United States and Australia is directed to the transformation of poplar leaves with an armed (tumor-causing genes) A. tumefaciens having a gene of interest.

The construct inserted into a transformed poplar comprises a transcription initiation region, an open reading frame (ORF) expressing a peptide and a transcription termination region.

Specific Patent Information

Patent Number Title, Independent Claims and Summary of Claims Assignee
US 4795855

  • Earliest priority – 14 November 1985
  • Filed – 24 February 1986
  • Granted – 3 January 1989
  • Expected expiry – 3 January 2006
 Title – Transformation and foreign gene expression with woody species

Claim 1
A transformed poplar plant comprising transformed cells, said cells comprising a DNA construct as a result of transforming of poplar cells with said DNA construct, which construct comprises in the 5′-3′ direction

(1) a transcription-initiation region;

(2) an open reading frame other than T-DNA expressing a peptide downstream from said transcription-initiation region, and under the transciptional regulation of said transcription-initiation region; and

(3) a transcription-termination region to provide an expression cassette capable of expression in said cells, wherein

  • at least one of said open reading frame, transcription initiation region, and transcription termination region is from a plant other than poplar, and wherein
  • said expression cassette is bordered by at least the right T-DNA border, and wherein
  • said construct is a result of joining in vitro at least two of (1), (2), and (3) and said right T-DNA border.
Claim 7
Stably transformed poplar seedlings comprising cells comprising a DNA construct as a result of transformation of poplar cells with said DNA construct, which construct comprises in the 5′-3′ direction:

(1) a transcription initiation region,

(2) an open reading frame, other than T-DNA, encoding a peptide, said open reading frame downstream from said transcription initiation region and under the transcriptional regulation of said transcription initiation region, and

(3) a transcription termination region, to provide an expression cassette capable of expression in said poplar cells, wherein

  • at least one of said open reading frame, transcription initiation region, and transcription termination region is from a plant other than poplar, and wherein
  • said construct is as a result of joining in vitro at least two of (1), (2), and (3).
Claim 9
A method for transforming a poplar plant which comprises:

(a) preincubating poplar leaf explants from shoot cultures with a medium conditioned with plant cells;

(b) cocultivating said leaf explants with Agrobacterium tumefaciens comprising an armed Ti-plasmid containing vir genes and an expression construct comprising transcriptional initiation and termination regulatory regions functional in said poplar and a gene other than the wild-type gene of one or both of the initiation and termination regions and under their regulatory control, bordered by at least the right T-DNA border, whereby said expression construct becomes integrated into the genome of cells of said leaf explant;

(c) transferring said leaf explants after cocultivation to a regeneration medium comprising plant hormones and phytohormones produced by a Ti-plasmid comprising A. tumefaciens strain, whereby callus is formed and shoots develop; and

(d) transferring shoots to growing medium to produce a poplar plant.

Granted US 4795855 is a continuation-in-part of abandoned US 06/798050.

Method to transform poplar leaf explants with A. tumefaciens having a construct with a gene of interest flanked by a right T-DNA border. Regeneration of transformed poplar plants from the explants, and elements of the construct are also claimed.

Calgene Inc.
AU 597916 B2

  • Earliest priority – 14 November 1985
  • Filed – 13 November 1986
  • Granted – 14 June 1990
  • Expired – 9 September 1993
 Title – Transformation and foreign gene expression with woody species e.g. Poplar

Claim 1
A transformed poplar plant comprising transformed cells, said cells comprising a DNA construct as a result of transforming of poplar cells with said DNA construct, which construct comprises in the 5′-3′ direction

(1) a transcription-initiation region;

(2) an open reading frame other than T-DNA expressing a peptide downstream from said transcription-initiation region, and under the transciptional regulation of said transcription-initiation region; and

(3) a transcription-termination region to provide an expression cassette capable of expression in said cells, wherein

  • at least one of said open reading frame, transcription initiation region, and transcription termination region is from a plant other than poplar, and wherein
  • said expression cassette is bordered by at least the right T-DNA border, and wherein
  • said construct is a result of joining in vitro at least two of (1), (2), and (3) and said right T-DNA border.
Claim 8
Stably transformed poplar seedlings comprising cells comprising a DNA construct as a result of transformation of poplar cells with said DNA construct, which construct comprises in the 5′-3′ direction:

(1) a transcription initiation region,

(2) an open reading frame, other than T-DNA, encoding a peptide, said open reading frame downstream from said transcription initiation region and under the transcriptional regulation of said transcription initiation region, and

(3) a transcription termination region, to provide an expression cassette capable of expression in said poplar cells, wherein

  • at least one of said open reading frame, transcription initiation region, and transcription termination region is from a plant other than poplar, and wherein
  • said construct is as a result of joining in vitro at least two of (1), (2), and (3).
Claim 10
A method for transforming a poplar plant which comprises:

(a) preincubating poplar leaf explants from shoot cultures with a medium conditioned with plant cells;

(b) cocultivating said leaf explants with Agrobacterium tumefaciens comprising an armed Ti-plasmid containing vir genes and an expression construct comprising transcriptional initiation and termination regulatory regions functional in said poplar and a gene other than the wild-type gene of one or both of the initiation and termination regions and under their regulatory control, bordered by at least the right T-DNA border, whereby said expression construct becomes integrated into the genome of cells of said leaf explant;

(c) transferring said leaf explants after cocultivation to a regeneration medium comprising plant hormones and phytohormones produced by a Ti-plasmid comprising A. tumefaciens strain, whereby callus is formed and shoots develop; and

(d) transferring shoots to growing medium to produce a poplar plant.

Granted AU 597916 contains the same three independent claims as those of US 4795855 (see above).
Remarks
  1. Related application in Europe (EP 227264) is deemed to be withdrawn on 12 May 1993 as reported on INPADOC.
  2. Related patent granted in New Zealand (NZ 217915), which has lapsed on 14 January 1994 as reported by IPONZ.
  3. Other jurisdiction in which a related patent was filed includes Finland (FI 864331; application lapsed as reported by INPADOC).

Note: Patent information on this page was last updated on 22 March 2006.