Stay green Cucurbitaceae plant
The present invention relates to a Cucurbitaceae plant which provides fruits having an improved shelf life. Further, the present invention relates to seeds, plant tissue, fruits or plants parts of a Cucurbitaceae plant. Further aspect of the present invention relates to a method for providing a Cucurbitaceae plant which provides fruits with an improved shelf life. According to yet another aspect the present invention relates to nucleic acids and amino acids related to the present improved shelf life trait.
1 . A Cucurbitaceae plant comprising a mutated stay green gene in homozygous form, wherein said stay green gene encodes for a protein having at least 87% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 6, and wherein the mutated stay green gene comprises at least one mutation in the stay green gene resulting in an amino acid substitution of Serine(S) to Phenylalanine (F) or Leucine (L) at amino acid position 52 or position 54 (S52F, S52L, S54F or S54L), and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at amino acid position 72 or 74 (R72K or R74K) in the protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 6, respectively, and wherein said plant produces fruit with an increased shelf life compared to a wild type control plant.
2 . The Cucurbitaceae plant according to claim 1 , wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita maxima, Cucurbita argyrosperma, Lagenaria siceraria, Citrullus lanatus , and Cucumis melo.
3 . The Cucurbitaceae plant according to claim 1 , wherein said plant is:
Cucurbita pepo wherein said mutated stay green gene encodes for a protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 that comprises an amino acid substitution of Serine to Phenylalanine (S52F) at position 52, and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at position 72 (R72K),
Cucumis melo wherein said mutated stay green gene encodes for a protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 6 that comprises an amino acid substitution of Serine to Leucine (S54L) at position 54, and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at position 74 (R74K),
Cucurbita moschata wherein said mutated stay green gene encodes for a protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 12 that comprises an amino acid substitution of Serine to Phenylalanine (S52F) at position 52, and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at position 72 (R72K),
Cucurbita maxima wherein said mutated stay green gene encodes for a protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 10 that comprises an amino acid substitution of Serine to Phenylalanine (S52F) at position 52, and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at position 72 (R72K),
Cucurbita argyrosperma wherein said mutated stay green gene encodes for a protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 8 that comprises an amino acid substitution of Serine to Phenylalanine (S52F) at position 52, and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at position 72 (R72K),
Lagenaria siceraria wherein said mutated stay green gene encodes for a protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 14 that comprises an amino acid substitution of Serine to Leucine (S52L) at position 52, and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at position 72 (R72K), or
Citrullus lanatus wherein said mutated stay green gene encodes for a protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 16 that comprises an amino acid substitution of Serine to Leucine (S52L) at position 52, and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at position 72 (R72K).
4 . The Cucurbitaceae plant according to claim 1 , wherein said plant is a C. pepo or C. melo and the mutated stay green gene encodes a protein comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 or SEQ ID NO: 18, respectively.
5 . The Cucurbitaceae plant according to claim 1 , wherein said stay green gene is present in homozygous form.
6 . The Cucurbitaceae plant according to claim 1 , wherein said mutated stay green gene is obtainable from the deposit made in the National Collection of Industrial, Food and Marine Bacteria (NCIMB) under deposit number NCIMB 43480 or NCIMB 43513.
7 . A seed, plant tissue, fruit, or plant part of the Cucurbitaceae plant according to claim 1 , wherein the seed, plant tissue, fruit, or plant part comprises a mutated stay green gene, wherein said stay green gene encodes for a protein having at least 87% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 6, and wherein the mutated stay green gene comprises at least one mutation in the stay green gene resulting in an amino acid substitution of Serine(S) to Phenylalanine (F) or Leucine (L) at amino acid position 52 or position 54 (S52F, S52L, S54F or S54L), and/or an amino acid substitution of Arginine (R) to Lysine (K) at amino acid position 72 or position 74 (R72K or R74K) in the protein sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 6, respectively.
8 . The Cucurbitaceae plant according to claim 1 , wherein said plant is Cucurbita pepo or Cucumis melo.