Promoters based on ecdysone receptor
Zeneca (now Syngenta) and Pioneer Hi-Bred have patents and patent applications directed to:
- isolated DNA sequences of ecdysone receptors derived from diverse moth species. Methods for inducing the expression of proteins in plants by using an ecdysone receptor, and
- the use of other inducible receptor such as the retinoid X receptor and the ultraspiracle receptor.
The patents granted to Syngenta protect the isolated DNA and amino acid sequences of the ecdysone receptor from the moth species Heliothis virescens.
Specific Patent Information
Patent Number |
Title, Independent Claims and Summary of Claims |
Assignee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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US 6379945
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Title – Gene switch
The United States patent claims an isolated or synthetic DNA sequence encoding the mentioned ecdysone receptor and any of the following domains of the ecdysone receptor:
Each domain has a specifically identified amino acid sequence. No particular relationship is required between domains; e.g., the DNA sequences encoding the individual domains can be provided in any order. |
Syngenta |
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AU 711391 B2
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Title – A gene switch comprising an ecdysone receptor
The Australian patent claims both the DNA and the amino acid sequence of Heliothis ecdysone receptor and the comprising domains of the receptor. In this patent the species of Heliothis is not limited to H. virescens. In addition, DNA sequences that hybridize to the claimed sequences and any allelic variant or derivatives of the polypeptide sequence of the complete receptor and its domains are part of the protected invention. The specification states that hybridization can occur at low, medium or high stringency binding conditions. Arguably, at low stringency binding conditions, many prior art nucleic acids will hybridize to, and therefore anticipate, this type of claim. Similarly, a “derivative” could have a change at each nucleotide position of the sequence and would be anticipated by many known sequences. |
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EP 828829 A1
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Title – A gene switch comprising an ecdysone receptor
The claims of the European patent application, in addition, recite DNA sequences encoding a Spodoptera ecdysone receptor from the moth genus Spodoptera. |
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Remarks |
Related applications also filed in Canada (CA 2219121), Bulgaria (BG 102124 A), Brazil (BR 9608897 A), Czech Republic (CZ9703722 A3), Hungary (HU 9802225 AB), Japan (JP 11506319 T2), Norway (NO 975419 A), New Zealand (NZ 308162 A), Poland (PL 323587 A1) and Turkey (TR 9701436 T1). The application in China (CN 1191568 AA) has lapsed. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EP 1112360 A1
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Title – Ecdysone receptors and methods for their use
The claims of the European patent application recite the isolated DNA sequences and the polypeptide sequences of an ecdysone receptorand an ultraspiracle derived from insects of the family Pyralidae, which is a moth family. Ecdysone response elements found in the promoters of the target genes are activated by heterodimers formed by an ultraspiracle and the ecdysone receptor. The claims as filed also recite methods of inducing gene expression in a plant where the gene of interest is linked to a transcriptional regulatory region that responds to the ecdysone receptor-ligand complex and is activated by the complex. Expression vectors comprising a promoter operably linked to an ecdysone receptor encoding sequence and an ultraspiracle are also part of the disclosed invention. |
Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. |
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Remarks |
Application also filed in Australia (AU 59159/99 A1) |
Note: Patent information on this page was last updated on 7 April 2006.