Methods and means to modify a plant genome at a nucleotide sequence commonly used in plant genome engineering

1. A method for introducing a foreign DNA molecule at a predefined site in a genome of a plant cell comprising the steps of

a. inducing a double stranded DNA break at said predefined site;

b. introducing said foreign DNA molecule in said plant cell; and

c. selecting a plant cell wherein said foreign DNA is introduced at said predefined site;

characterized in that said predefined site is comprised within SEQ ID NO. 2 and that said double stranded DNA break is induced by introduction of a single chain meganuclease or a pair of meganucleases which recognizes or recognize in concert said predefined site and induces or induce said double stranded break.

2. A method for introducing a foreign DNA molecule at a predefined site in a genome of a plant cell comprising the steps of

a. inducing a double stranded DNA break at said predefined site;

b. introducing said foreign DNA molecule in said plant cell; and

c. selecting a plant cell wherein said foreign DNA is introduced at said predefined site;

characterized in that said predefined site comprises the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No. 1 and that said double stranded DNA break is induced by introduction of a single chain meganuclease or a pair of meganucleases which recognizes or recognize in concert said predefined site and induces or induce said double stranded break.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2 , wherein said meganuclease or said pair of meganucleases is/are derived from I-CreI and wherein the following amino acids are present in meganuclease unit 1:

a. S at position 32;

b. R at position 33;

c. Q at position 80;

d. R at position 40;

e. K at position 66;

f. Y at position 68;

g. S at position 70;

h. Q at position 44;

i. K at position 24;

j. S at position 28;

k. E at position 30;

and wherein the following amino acids are present in meganuclease unit 2:

L. R at position 70;

m. Q at position 44;

n. Q at position 26;

o. K at position 28;

p. N at position 30;

q. S at position 32;

r. C at position 33;

s. Q at position 38;

t. Q at position 80;

u. M at position 40;

v. C at position 79;

w. K at position 66;

x. R at position 77;

y. Y at position 68.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2 , wherein said pair of meganucleases obligatory forms heterodimers or wherein said meganuclease is a single chain meganuclease comprising two domains derived from I-CreI covalently connected by a linker.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2 , wherein said pair of meganucleases comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 4 and SEQ ID No. 5, respectively, or wherein said pair of meganucleases is encoded by a nucleic acid comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No. 3 from nucleotide position 2004 to nucleotide position 2525 or to 2522, or the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No. 3 from nucleotide position 4885 to nucleotide position 5405 or to 5403, or wherein said single chain meganuclease comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 7 or said single chain meganuclease comprises an amino acid sequence comprising the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 7 from position 1 to 167 and from position 206 to 362, or wherein said single chain meganuclease is encoded by a nucleotide sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No. 6 from position 1267 to position 1602 or to 1605 and from position 1796 or from 1795 to position 2544 or to 2541, or said single chain meganuclease is encoded by a nucleotide sequence comprising the nucleotide sequence of SED ID No. 6 from position 1267 to 1605 and from 1796 to 1956 and from 2071 to 2541.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2 , wherein said foreign DNA is comprised within a repair DNA, said repair DNA comprising at least one flanking nucleotide sequence homologous to the upstream or downstream sequence of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID No. 1.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2 , wherein said meganuclease or said pair of meganucleases is expressed from a chimeric gene or a pair of chimeric genes, each comprising a plant expressible promoter operably linked to a coding region encoding said meganuclease or one of said pair of meganucleases, and further operationally linked to a DNA region involved in transcription termination and polyadenylation functional in a plant cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 or 2 , wherein said foreign DNA comprises a selectable marker gene and/or a plant expressible gene of interest, said plant expressible gene of interest optionally being selected from the group of a herbicide tolerance gene, an insect resistance gene, a disease resistance gene, an abiotic stress resistance gene, an enzyme involved in oil biosynthesis, carbohydrate biosynthesis, an enzyme involved in fiber strength or fiber length, an enzyme involved in biosynthesis of secondary metabolites.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 1 or 2 , wherein said plant cell is further regenerated into a plant.