Method for modifying plant architecture and enhancing plant biomass and/or sucrose yield
The present invention relates to methodology and constructs for modifying plant architecture and enhancing plant biomass and/or sucrose yield.
1. A transgenic sugarcane plant, wherein the sugarcane plant contains a nucleic acid construct that down-regulates expression of an endogenous sugarcane Ss2-ODD1 DNA sequence encoding the protein of SEQ ID NO:2, wherein said construct comprises at least 19 nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1 and wherein the expression of said sugarcane Ss2-ODD1 DNA sequence is reduced compared to a wild-type control sugarcane plant.
2. The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein expression of said endogenous Ss2-ODD1 DNA sequence is reduced by antisense suppression, sense co-suppression, RNA interference, or enzymatic RNA.
3. A method for producing sucrose, comprising (a) providing a transgenic sugarcane plant having a nucleic acid construct that comprises at least 19 nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1 and that suppresses expression of the Ss2-ODD1 protein of SEQ ID NO:2 in said plant; and (b) obtaining sucrose from said plant.
4. A method for producing biomass, comprising (a) providing a transgenic sugarcane plant having a nucleic acid construct that comprises at least 19 nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1 and that suppresses expression of the Ss2-ODD1 protein of SEQ ID NO:2 in said plant; and (b) obtaining biomass from said plant.
5. A method for enhancing sucrose yield in a sugarcane plant, comprising suppressing expression of the Ss2-ODD1 protein of SEQ ID NO:2 in said sugarcane plant with a nucleic acid comprising at least 19 nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1.
6. A method for enhancing biomass in a sugarcane plant, comprising suppressing expression of the Ss2-ODD1 protein of SEQ ID NO:2 in said plant with a nucleic acid construct comprising at least 19 nucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1.
7. A nucleic acid construct comprising at least about 200 nucleotides of the Ss2-ODD1 sequence of SEQ ID NO:1 that down-regulates expression of an endogenous sugarcane Ss2-ODD1 DNA sequence encoding the protein of SEQ ID NO: 2.
8. A transgenic plant or cell comprising the nucleic acid construct of claim 7 .