Plants with increased activity of a starch phosphorylating enzyme
View Patent ↗The present invention relates to plant cells and plants, which are genetically modified, whereby the genetic modification leads to an increase in the activity of a starch-phosphorylating OK1 protein in comparison to the corresponding wild type plant cells or wild type plants that have not been genetically modified. In addition, the present invention concerns means and methods for the manufacture of such plant cells and plants. These types of plant cells and plants synthesize a modified starch. Therefore, the present invention also concerns the starches synthesized from the plant cells and plants according to the invention, methods for manufacturing these starches, and the manufacture of starch derivatives of these modified starches, as well as flours containing starches according to the invention. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to nucleic acids, coding starch-phosphorylating OK1 proteins, vectors, host cells, plant cells, and plants containing such nucleic acid molecules. In addition, the present invention relates to OK1 proteins that have starch-phosphorylating activity.
1. A genetically modified plant cell comprising at least one foreign nucleic acid molecule that encodes an OK1 protein, wherein the at least one foreign nucleic acid molecule comprises:
a) a nucleic acid molecule coding a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2;
b) a nucleic acid molecule coding a protein having an amino acid sequence with at least 95% identity to SEQ ID NO: 2;
c) a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or the complementary sequence thereof; or
d) a nucleic acid molecule having at least 95% identity to the nucleic acid molecule of a) or c).
2. The genetically modified plant cell according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one nucleic acid molecule comprises a nucleic acid coding a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.
3. The genetically modified plant cell according to claim 1 , wherein the genetically modified plant cell comprises a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or the complementary sequence thereof.
4. The genetically modified plant cell according to claim 1 , wherein said plant cell synthesises a modified starch in comparison to the corresponding wild type plant cells that have not been genetically modified.
5. The genetically modified plant cell according to claim 4 , wherein the modified starch has an increased starch phosphate content and/or a modified phosphate distribution.
6. The genetically modified plant cell according to claim 5 , wherein the modified starch has a modified C-3 phosphate to C-6 phosphate ratio.
7. The genetically modified plant cell according to claim 1 , wherein said plant cell synthesises a modified starch in comparison to the corresponding wild type plant cells that have not been genetically modified.
8. The genetically modified plant cell according to claim 7 , wherein the modified starch has an increased starch phosphate content and/or a modified phosphate distribution.
9. The genetically modified plant cell according to claim 8 , wherein the modified starch has a modified C-3 phosphate to C-6 phosphate ratio.
10. A plant comprising one or more genetically modified plant cells according to claim 1 .
11. A plant according to claim 10 , wherein said plant is a starch-storing plant.
12. A plant according to claim 11 , wherein said starch-storing plant is a maize plant or wheat plant.
13. A plant comprising one or more genetically modified plant cells according to claim 1 .
14. A plant according to claim 13 , wherein said plant is a starch-storing plant.
15. A plant according to claim 14 , wherein said starch-storing plant is a maize plant or wheat plant.
16. Propagation material comprising the genetically modified plant cell according to claim 1 .
17. Propagation material comprising the genetically modified plant cell according to claim 1 .
18. A harvestable plant part of a plant comprising the genetically modified plant cell according to claim 1 .
19. A harvestable plant part of a plant comprising the genetically modified plant cell according to claim 1 .
20. A nucleic acid molecule coding a protein with the enzymatic activity of an OK1 protein, comprising:
a) a nucleic acid molecule coding a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2; or
b) a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or the complementary sequence thereof.
21. The nucleic acid molecule according to claim 20 , wherein said nucleic acid molecule is a nucleic acid molecule coding a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.
22. A recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleic acid molecule according to claim 20 .
23. A vector comprising a nucleic acid molecule according to claim 20 .
24. The vector according to claim 23 , wherein the nucleic acid molecule is linked with at least one regulatory sequence, which initiates transcription in prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells.
25. A host cell, which is genetically modified with a nucleic acid molecule according to claim 20 .
26. A composition comprising a nucleic acid molecule according to claim 20 .
27. A method comprising using the composition of claim 26 to identify a plant cell having an increased activity of at least one OK1 protein in comparison to wild type plant cells that have not been genetically modified.
28. A vector comprising a recombinant nucleic acid molecule according to claim 22 .
29. A host cell, which is genetically modified with a recombinant nucleic acid molecule according to claim 22 .
30. A host cell, which is genetically modified with a vector according to claim 23 .
31. A host cell, which is genetically modified with a vector according to claim 28 .
32. A composition comprising a recombinant nucleic acid molecule according to claim 22 .
33. The nucleic acid molecule according to claim 20 , wherein said nucleic acid molecule comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or the complementary sequence thereof.
34. A method of manufacturing a genetically modified plant, comprising:
a) introducing at least one foreign nucleic acid molecule that encodes an OK1 protein, wherein the at least one foreign nucleic acid molecule comprises:
i) a nucleic acid molecule coding a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2;
ii) a nucleic acid molecule coding a protein having an amino acid sequence with at least 95% identity to SEQ ID NO: 2;
iii) a nucleic acid molecule comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or the complementary sequence thereof; or
iv) a nucleic acid molecule having at least 95% identity to the nucleic acid molecule of i) or
b) regenerating a plant from one or more plant cells from step a); and
c) optionally producing one or more additional plants from a plant according to step b).
35. The method according to claim 34 , wherein said nucleic acid molecule is a nucleic acid molecule coding a protein having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2.
36. The method according to claim 34 , wherein said nucleic acid molecule comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, or the complementary sequence thereof.
37. The method according to claim 34 , wherein said genetically modified plant cell synthesises a modified starch in comparison to the corresponding wild type plant cells that have not been genetically modified.
38. The method according to claim 37 , wherein the modified starch has an increased starch phosphate content and/or a modified phosphate distribution.
39. The method according to claim 38 , wherein the modified starch has a modified C-3 phosphate to C-6 phosphate ratio.
40. The method according to claim 34 , wherein said genetically modified plant cell synthesises a modified starch in comparison to the corresponding wild type plant cells that have not been genetically modified.
41. The method according to claim 40 , wherein the modified starch has an increased starch phosphate content and/or a modified phosphate distribution.
42. The method according to claim 41 , wherein the modified starch has a modified C-3 phosphate to C-6 phosphate ratio.
43. The genetically modified plant cell of claim 1 , wherein the OK1 protein further comprises SEQ ID NO: 5.
44. The nucleic acid molecule of claim 20 , wherein the OK1 protein further comprises SEQ ID NO: 5.
45. The method of claim 34 , wherein the OK1 protein further comprises SEQ ID NO: 5.
46. The method of claim 27 , further comprising hybridizing the nucleic acid molecule in said composition with a nucleic acid from a plant cell.