Fertilization and fruit size
View Patent ↗Plants having modulated expression of a HAF or BEE polypeptide and which modulate aspects of plant fertility, such as parthenocarpy, fertilization efficiency, and/or fruit size, are described. Methods of modulating fertility characteristics in a plant by modulating the expression of a HAF or BEE polypeptide in the plant are also described.
1. A plant comprising a heterologous expression cassette, the expression cassette comprising a reproductive tissue-specific or an epidermal-specific promoter operably linked to a polynucleotide, wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that is at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein the plant has increased expression of the polypeptide compared to expression of the polypeptide in a non-transgenic control plant and wherein the plant exhibits one or more of increased fertilization efficiency, increased fruit size and/or parthenocarpy as compared to a non-transgenic control plant and wherein the increased fertilization efficiency is increased number of fertilized seeds per carpel.
2. The plant of claim 1 , wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that is at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO:2.
3. The plant of claim 2 , wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that comprises SEQ ID NO:2.
4. The plant of claim 1 , wherein the promoter is tissue an epidermal-specific promoter.
5. The plant of claim 1 , wherein the promoter is a reproductive tissue-specific promoter.
6. The plant of claim 1 , wherein the plant is a fruit-bearing crop plant.
7. A plant cell from the plant of claim 1 .
8. A seed, flower, leaf, or fruit from the plant of claim 1 , wherein the seed, flower, leaf or fruit comprise said expression cassette.
9. An expression cassette comprising a heterologous reproductive tissue-specific, or epidermal-specific promoter operably linked to a polynucleotide, wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that is at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:2, wherein introduction of the expression cassette into a plant results in the plant having one Or more of increased fertilization efficiency, increased fruit size and/or parthenocarpy, and wherein the increased fertilization efficiency is increased number of fertilized seeds per carpel, as compared to a non-transgenic control plant.
10. The expression cassette of claim 9 , wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that is at least 95% identical to SEQ ID NO:2.
11. The expression cassette of claim 9 , wherein the promoter is an epidermal-specific promoter.
12. The expression cassette of claim 9 , wherein the promoter is a reproductive tissue-specific promoter.
13. An expression vector comprising the expression cassette of claim 9 .
14. The expression cassette of claim 9 , wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide that comprises SEQ ID NO:2.