Targeted modification of malate dehydrogenase

1. A tomato plant comprising one or more cells in which an endogenous mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (mMDH) gene is homozygously mutated by transforming the one or more cells with a vector encoding a pair of zinc finger nucleases, each zinc finger nuclease comprising a zinc finger protein having five or six zinc finger domains ordered finger 1 to finger 5 (F1 to F5) or finger 1 to finger 6 (F1 or F6), each zinc finger domain comprising a recognition helix region, wherein the zinc finger proteins comprise the following recognition helix regions:

(i) F1: RSDDLSE (SEQ ID NO:11);

F2; TNSNRKR (SEQ ID NO:12);

F3: RSDHLST (SEQ ID NO:13);

F4; TNSNRIT (SEQ ID NO:14);

F5: RREDLIT (SEQ ID NO:15); and

F6: TSSNLSR (SEQ ID NO:16), wherein the zinc finger protein binds to a target site as shown in SEQ ID NO:3; or

(ii) F1: QSSDLSR (SEQ ID NO:17);

F2: TSGNLTR (SEQ ID NO:18);

F3: RSDYLSK (SEQ ID NO:19);

F4: TSSVRTT (SEQ ID NO:20);

F5: TSGNLTR (SEQ ID NO:18); and

F6: QRSHLSD (SEQ ID NO:22), wherein the zinc finger protein binds to a target site as shown in SEQ ID NO:4; or

(iii) F1: RSDTLSV (SEQ ID NO:23);

F2: DNSTRIK (SEQ ID NO:24);

F3; RSDHLSE (SEQ ID NO:25);

F4: TSGSLTR (SEQ ID NO:26);

F5: RSDALSR (SEQ ID NO:27); and

F6: TSGNLTR (SEQ ID NO:18), wherein the zinc finger protein binds to a target site as shown in SEQ ID NO:5; or

(iv) F1: RSDNLAR (SEQ ID NO:29);

F2: QRGNRNT (SEQ ID NO:30);

F3: DSSDRKK (SEQ ID NO:31);

F4: DRSNLSR (SEQ ID NO:32); and

F5: LRHHLTR (SEQ ID NO:33), wherein the zinc finger protein binds to a target site as shown in SEQ ID NO:6; or

(v) F1: DRSNLSR (SEQ ID NO:32);

F2: LRQNLIM (SEQ ID NO:35);

F3: RSDALSE (SEQ ID NO:36);

F4: RSSTRKT (SEQ ID NO:37);

F5: DRSALSR (SEQ ID NO:38); and

F6: RSDALAR (SEQ ID NO:39), wherein the zinc finger protein binds to a target site as shown in SEQ ID NO:7; or

(vi) F1: QSGNLAR (SEQ ID NO:40);

F2: NRYDLHK (SEQ ID NO:41);

F3: DRSNLSR (SEQ ID NO:32);

F4: LRFARDA (SEQ ID NO:43);

F5: RSDNLAR (SEQ ID NO:29); and

F6: RSDHLTQ (SEQ ID NO:45), wherein the zinc finger protein binds to a targgt site as shown in SEQ ID NO:8; or

(vii) F1: DRSDLSR (SEQ ID NO:46);

F2: QAGNLKK (SEQ ID NO:47);

F3: QSGSLTR (SEQ ID NO:48);

F4: RSDNLRE (SEQ ID NO:49); and

F5: DSSDRKK (SEQ ID NO:31), wherein the zinc finger protein binds to a target site as shown in SEQ ID NO:9; or

(viii) F1: DRSNLSR (SEQ ID NO:32);

F2: LKQHLTR (SEQ ID NO:52);

F3: QSSDLSR (SEQ ID NO:17);

F4: QSGNLAR (SEQ ID NO:40);

F5: RSDHLSQ (SEQ ID NO:55); and

F6: QNAHRIT (SEQ ID NO:56), wherein the zinc finger protein binds to a target site as shown in SEQ ID NO:3

such that activity of an expressed mMDH protein is reduced and wherein crop yield from the tomato plant is increased.

2. The tomato plant of claim 1 , wherein the modification comprises introducing a mutation in one or more NADH binding domains of the mMDH gene.

3. The tomato plant of claim 2 , wherein the mutation alters one or more of amino acid residues 104-136 and/or 171-220 of SEQ ID NO:1.

4. A plant part from the plant of claim 1 , comprising the one or more modified plant cells.

5. The plant part of claim 4 , wherein the plant part is a leaf, stem, root, flower, seed, or fruit.

6. The plant of claim 1 , wherein the zinc finger nuclease comprises a non-canonical zinc finger domain.

7. A method for producing the tomato plant according to claim 1 , the method comprising introducing one or more zinc finger nucleases into a plant cell such that the mMDH gene is modified in the plant cell.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the method comprises expressing two zinc finger nuclease pair in the plant cell, wherein the zinc finger nucleases dimerize and cleave mMDH such that mMDH protein activity is reduced.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising introducing a donor sequence into the cell, wherein the donor sequence is integrated into the cleaved niMDH gene.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the modification comprises a mutation in one or more NADH binding domains.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the reduced mMDH protein activity results in increased photosynthesis, modifications to the citric acid cycle within the plant cell, higher levels of malate in the plant cell, reduced oxaloacetate (OAA) levels in the cell and/or increased fruit yield.

12. A method of increasing crop yield, comprising planting the plant of claim 1 , or a seed or plant part of the plant.