Soybean ROD1 gene sequences and uses thereof

1. A soybean plant, or a cell, part, seed or progeny thereof, comprising two ROD1 genes, characterized in that at least one ROD1 gene is a knock-out rod1 gene, wherein said knock-out rod1 gene is a knock-out allele of the ROD1 gene encoding a protein having at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID No. 3 or SEQ ID No. 6.

2. The plant, or a cell, part, seed or progeny thereof, of claim 1 , comprising two knock-out rod1 genes.

3. The plant of claim 1 which is homozygous for the knock-out ROD1 gene.

4. A transgenic soybean plant, or a cell, part, seed or progeny thereof, comprising two ROD1 genes, comprising a chimeric gene, said chimeric gene comprising the following operably linked DNA fragments:

a) a plant-expressible promoter;

b) a DNA region, which when transcribed yields an RNA molecule inhibitory to at least one ROD1 gene; and optionally

c) a transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in plant cells

wherein said RNA molecule is inhibitory to a ROD1 gene encoding a protein having at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID No. 3 or SEQ ID No. 6.

5. Seeds from the plant of claim 1 , said seeds comprising two ROD1 genes, wherein said seeds comprise the knock-out ROD1 alleles as defined in claim 1 , or the plant of claim 4 , comprising the chimeric gene as defined in claim 4 .

6. A method for increasing the levels of C18:1 and/or decreasing the levels of saturated fatty acids in soybean seed oil, comprising the steps of:

a) introducing or providing a chimeric gene to a soybean plant cell, to create transgenic cells, said chimeric gene comprising the following operably linked DNA fragments:

a plant-expressible promoter;

a DNA region, which when transcribed yields an RNA molecule inhibitory to at least one ROD1 gene; and optionally

a transcription termination and polyadenylation region functional in plant cells; and

b) regenerating transgenic plants from said transgenic cells

wherein said RNA molecule is inhibitory to a ROD1 gene encoding a protein having at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID No. 3 or SEQ ID No. 6.

7. A method for increasing the levels of C18:1 and/or decreasing the levels of saturated fatty acids in soybean seed oil, comprising the steps of:

a) treating seeds or plant material with a mutagenic chemical substance or with ionizing radiation;

b) identifying plants with a mutated ROD1 gene, wherein the ROD1 gene, prior to being mutated, encodes a polypeptide having at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID No. 3, or to SEQ ID No. 6; and

c) selecting a plant with an increased level of C18:1 in the seeds compared to a plant in which the ROD1 gene is not mutated.

8. A method for obtaining a soybean plant with increased levels of C18:1 and/or decreased levels of saturated fatty acids in the seeds comprising the step of introducing a knock-out allele of a ROD1 gene as defined in claim 1 in said soybean plant, and selecting said soybean plant with increased levels of C18:1 in the seeds for the presence of said knock-out allele of a ROD1 gene by analyzing genomic DNA from said plant for the presence of at least one molecular marker, wherein said at least one molecular marker is linked to said knock-out allele of a ROD1 gene.

9. A method for transferring at least one knock-out ROD1 allele as defined in claim 1 from one soybean plant to another soybean plant comprising the steps of:

(a) identifying a first soybean plant comprising at least one knock-out ROD1 allele as defined in claim 1 ,

(b) crossing the first soybean plant with a second soybean plant not comprising the at least one knock-out ROD1 allele and collecting F1 seeds from the cross,

(c) optionally, identifying F1 soybean plants comprising the at least one knock-out ROD1 allele,

(d) backcrossing F1 soybean plants comprising the at least one knock-out ROD1 allele with the second soybean plant not comprising the at least one knock-out ROD1 allele for at least one generation (x) and collecting BCx seeds from the crosses,

(e) identifying in every generation BCx soybean plants comprising the at least one knock-out ROD1 allele by analyzing genomic DNA of said BCx plants for the presence of at least one molecular marker, wherein the at least one molecular marker is linked to said knock-out ROD1 allele.