Compositions and methods for the modification of physiological responses in plants

1. A method for producing a transgenic plant comprising:

(a) transforming at least one cell in the plant with a gene expression system comprising:

i. an activation cassette comprising, under control of a suitable promoter and in operative association therewith, (a) a GAL 4 DNA-binding domain (DBD) that recognizes a selected response element comprising five copies of GAL4 response element; (b) an ecdysone receptor ligand binding domain (EcRLBD); and (c) a VP16 activation domain (AD) which is activated in the presence of an inducing composition; and

ii. a target cassette comprising (d) an inducible promoter comprising, in operative association, the response element to which the DBD of (a) binds and a minimal promoter responsive to the AD of (c), the inducible promoter controlling expression of (e) a nucleic acid sequence that encodes a selected protein that modifies sensitivity to ethylene in the plant, said protein selected from the group consisting of ethylene biosynthesis genes ACS and ACO, ACC deaminase, ethylene receptor genes, ETR1, ETR2, ERS1, ERS2 and EIN4, ethylene signaling pathway genes, RTE1, CTR1, EIN2, EIN3 and EIN3-like (EIL1-5), ethylene response factors, ERF1, EDF1, EDF2, EDF3 and EDF4, and EIN3 binding F-box proteins, EBF1 and EBF2, and mutants thereof;

wherein interaction among the components of the activation cassette and the target cassette, when in a plant cell, with an inducing composition, modulates expression of the selected protein and selectively modulates ethylene sensitivity in the plant cell;

(b) generating a plant from the transformed plant cell; and

(c) selecting a plant comprising the transformed plant cell, which plant demonstrates selective modulation of ethylene insensitivity when the plant is contacted with the inducing composition, the modulation in protein expression controlled by the timing, the concentration, and the duration of the application of the inducing composition.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the activation cassette and the targeting cassette are present on the same plasmid.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the activation cassette and the targeting cassette are present on separate plasmids.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the promoter of the activation cassette is selected from the group consisting of a constitutive promoter, a plant cell-specific promoter, a plant tissue-specific promoter, a plant organ-specific promoter, an inducible promoter, a developmentally-specific promoter, and a cell differentiation-specific promoter.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the promoter is a constitutive promoter.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the ecdysone receptor LBD comprises all or a portion of an invertebrate ecdysone receptor or mutant thereof.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the ecdysone LBD contains a mutation of Thr to Val at amino acid position 335 in the full-length Cf EcR.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the inducible promoter comprises, in operative association, a minimal promoter sequence and one or more copies of a response element corresponding to the DNA binding domain in the activation cassette.

9. A method for modulating ethylene sensitivity in a plant comprising:

applying an effective amount of an inducing composition to the cells of a transgenic plant, the plant comprising cells that stably express a gene expression system comprising:

i. an activation cassette comprising, under control of a suitable promoter and in operative association therewith, (a) a GAL 4 DNA-binding domain (DBD) that recognizes a selected response element comprising five copies of GAL4 response element; (b) an ecdysone receptor ligand binding domain (EcRLBD); and (c) a VP16 activation domain (AD) which is activated in the presence of an inducing composition; and

ii. a target cassette comprising (d) an inducible promoter comprising, in operative association the response element to which the DBD of a binds and a minimal promoter responsive to the AD of (c), the inducible promoter controlling expression of (e) a nucleic acid sequence that encodes a selected protein that modifies sensitivity to ethylene in the plant, said protein selected from the group consisting of ethylene biosynthesis genes ACS and ACO, ACC deaminase, ethylene receptor genes, ETR1, ETR2, ERS1, ERS2 and EIN4, ethylene signaling pathway genes, RTE1, CTR1, EIN2, EIN3 and EIN3-like (EIL1-5), ethylene response factors, ERF1, EDF1, EDF2, EDF3 and EDF4, and EIN3 binding F-box proteins, EBF1 and EBF2, and mutants thereof;

wherein interaction among the components of the activation cassette and the target cassette, when in a plant cell, with the inducing composition, modulates expression of the selected protein and selectively modulates ethylene sensitivity in the plant cell,

wherein in the presence of the inducing composition, the sensitivity of the plant cells to ethylene is decreased and in the absence of the inducing composition, the sensitivity of the plant cells to ethylene is increased; and

wherein modulation of ethylene sensitivity is controlled by the timing, the concentration and the duration of the application of the inducing composition.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the inducing composition is a diacylhydrazine compound.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the ethylene sensitivity that is controlled is selected from the group consisting of senescence, fruit ripening, stress response, germination, pathogen resistance, leaf abscission, flower abscission, bud abscission, boll abscission, fruit abscission, flowering, and responses to drought, heat, population density and salinity.

12. A method for producing a transgenic plant comprising:

(a) transforming at least one cell in the plant with a gene expression system comprising:

i. an activation cassette comprising, under control of a constitutive G10-90 promoter and in operative association therewith, (a) a GAL 4 DBD that recognizes a response element comprising five copies of GAL4 response element; (b) an ecdysone receptor LBD; and (c) a VP16 AD which is activated in the presence of an inducing composition; and

ii. a target cassette comprising (d) an inducible promoter comprising, in operative association, the five copies of the GAL 4 response element and the minimal 35S promoter responsive to activation of the VP16 AD, the inducible promoter controlling expression of (e) a nucleic acid sequence of the etr 1-1 gene that encodes a mutant ETR1 protein;

wherein interaction among the components of the activation cassette and the targeting cassette, when in a plant cell, with an inducing composition, modulates expression of the mutant ETR1 protein and selectively decreases ethylene sensitivity in the plant cell;

(b) generating a plant from the transformed plant cell; and

(c) selecting a plant comprising the transformed plant cell, which plant demonstrates selective modulation of ethylene sensitivity when the plant is contacted with the inducing composition, wherein a decrease in the mutant ETR1 protein expression is controlled by the timing, the concentration, and the duration of the application of the inducing composition.

13. A method for modulating ethylene sensitivity in a plant comprising:

applying an effective amount of an inducing composition to the cells of a transgenic plant, the plant comprising cells that stably express a gene expression system comprising:

i. an activation cassette comprising, under control of a constitutive G10-90 promoter and in operative association therewith, (a) a GAL 4 DBD that recognizes a response element comprising five copies of GAL4 response element; (b) an ecdysone receptor LBD; and (c) a VP16 AD which is activated in the presence of an inducing composition; and

ii. a target cassette comprising (d) an inducible promoter comprising, in operative association, the five copies of the GAL 4 response element and the minimal 35S promoter responsive to activation of the VP16 AD, the inducible promoter controlling expression of (e) a nucleic acid sequence of the etr 1-1 gene that encodes a mutant ETR1 protein;

wherein interaction among the components of the activation cassette and the targeting cassette, when in a plant cell, with an inducing composition, modulates expression of the mutant ETR1 protein and selectively decreases ethylene sensitivity in the plant cell;

wherein in the presence of the inducing composition, the sensitivity of the plant cells to ethylene is decreased and in the absence of the inducing composition, the sensitivity of the plant cells to ethylene is increased; and

wherein modulation of ethylene sensitivity is controlled by the timing, the concentration and the duration of the application of the inducing composition.

14. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the inducing composition is a diacylhydrazine compound.

15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the inducing composition is a diacylhydrazine compound.