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Nitrate-Responsive Synthetic Promoter Produces Nitrate-Regulated Gene Expression in Plants

Technology Application

This promoter could be used in commercially relevant food crops to discover critical genes important to the productivity and survival of the plant.This synthetic NRP could also be utilized to drive transgene expression in GM crops in a nitrate inducible manner. Driving the expression of genes determining the efficiency of nitrogen utilization and other nitrate responsive pathways will allow for engineering increased efficiency of nitrogen utilization and improved crop productivity.Improved crop responsiveness to soil nitrate would lead to lower requirements for toxic fertilizers and reduce the impact of crop fertilization on contamination of the water and air.

Detailed Technology Description

UC San Diego investigators have developed a synthetic nitrate-inducible promoter (NRP), which is acutely responsive to nitrate levels in the soil. When fused to DNA encoding a protein or RNA and then inserted into transgenic Arabidopsis plants, this synthetic promoter will express the RNA or protein at levels in direct correlation with the amount of nitrate the plant is exposed to. This promoter has been successfully used to identify genes and elements important for nitrate responsiveness.

Supplementary Information

Patent Number: US20120210460A1
Application Number: US13392496A
Inventor: Crawford, Nigel | Wang, Rongchen | Guan, Peizhu | Chen, Mingsheng
Priority Date: 3 Sep 2009
Priority Number: US20120210460A1
Application Date: 7 May 2012
Publication Date: 16 Aug 2012
IPC Current: A01H000500 | A01H000106 | A01H000510 | C12N000121 | C12N000510 | C12N000701 | C12N001570 | C12N001582 | C12N001585
US Class: 800278 | 4352351 | 43525233 | 4353201 | 435325 | 435419 | 435455 | 435468 | 435471 | 800298
Assignee Applicant: The Regents of the University of California
Title: NITRATE-RESPONSIVE PROMOTER
Usefulness: NITRATE-RESPONSIVE PROMOTER
Summary: As expression cassette comprising nitrate responsive promoter, for introducing into cell or plant for inducing expression of the promoter, and for producing plant, plant part, seed or plant cell (claimed). The expression cassette is useful for identifying and isolating promoter and enhancer sequences that induce or repress genes regulated by nitrate, such nitrogen fertilizers i.e. for screening nitrate enhancers in transgenic plants. The nucleic acids of expression cassette are useful to confer desired traits on plants including plant species from genera Asparagus , Atropa , Avena , Brassica , Citrus , Citrullus , Capsicum , Cucumis , Cucurbita , Daucus , Fragaria , Glycine , Gossypium , Helianthus , Heterocallis , Hordeum , Hyoscyamus , Lactuca , Linum , Lolium , Lycopersicon , Malus , Manihot , Majorana , Medicago , Nicotiana , Oryza , Panieum , Pannesetum , Persea , Pisum , Pyrus , Prunus , Raphanus , Secale , Senecio , Sinapis , Solanum , Sorghum , Trigonella , Triticum , Vitis , Vigna and Zea .
Novelty: New expression cassette for inducing expression of nitrate responsive promoter in plant comprises promoter having specified nucleic acid sequence, operably linked to heterologous polynucleotide, linked to minimal promoter sequence

Industry

Agriculture

Sub Category

Plant

Application No.

8927807

Others

Intellectual Property Info

This technology is available for licensing in the U.S. A commercial sponsor for product development is sought.

Related Materials

• A Genetic Screen for Nitrate Regulatory Mutants Captures the Nitrate Transporter Gene NRT1.1. Wang R, Xing X, Wang Y, Tran A, Crawford NM. Plant Physiol. 2009 Sep;151(1):472-8.
• Published Patent Application: NITRATE-RESPONSIVE PROMOTER (International Publication Number WO 2011/028929)

Tech ID/UC Case

19949/2010-073-0

Related Cases

2010-073-0

*Abstract

Inorganic nitrogen is a vital nutrient for plants. Soil nitrate provides as much as 90 percent of the nitrogen taken up by most plants and leads to a dramatic change in gene expression, which is critical to direct the productivity and survival of the plant. Consequently, nitrate is commonly provided by way of fertilizer to improve crop yield. However, many crop plants are inefficient in their ability to utilize the nitrogen. For example, corn and wheat typically only utilize 50 percent of the nitrogen applied to the soil and paddy rice may recoup as little as 30 percent. Nitrogen not used by crops may contribute to severe environmental problems, including pollution of ground water, run-off into nearby bodies of water, and release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Plants take up and assimilate nitrate in response to its availability in the soil and the demands of the plant, but with varying efficiency among species. Understanding and improving the ability of particular plant species to respond to and utilize nitrogen could therefore lead to increased crop productivity and decreased water and air pollution.

*IP Issue Date

Jan 6, 2015

*Principal Investigator

Name: Nigel Crawford

Department:

Name: Rongchen Wang

Department:

Name: Mingsheng Chen

Department:

Name: Peizhu Guan

Department:

Country/Region

USA