MXPA00009764A - Control of floral induction in plants and uses therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The Id gene which controls flower evocation in maize plants is described. The maize nucleic acid is similar to that of genes encoding zinc-finger regulatory proteins in animals. Methods of isolation or preparation of other regulatory protein genes in plants and their uses are disclosed.

Description

CONTROL OF FLORAL INDUCTION IN PLANTS AND USES FOR THE SAME RELATED REQUESTS This application is a continuation of the US patent application. No. Series 09 / 056,226, filed April 7, 1998, which claims priority of the continuation in part of the US patent application. No. Series "09 / 000,640, filed on December 30, 1997, which claims priority of PCT / US98 / 03161, filed on February 18, 1998, which claims priority of the continuation in part of the EE patent application. No. 08 / 804,104, filed on February 20, 1997, which claims priority of PCT / US96 / 03466, filed on March 15, 1996, which, in turn, claims priority of the patent application US No. Serial No. 08 / 406,186, filed March 16, 1995, currently abandoned The teachings of the Requests X referred to herein are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Higher plants have a life cycle consisting of a period of vegetative growth, followed by reproductive development, and reproduction in angiosperms is a process of development that begins with floral induction (evocation). m apical eristemo ie start, the group of cells in division that gives rise to most parts of the plant "above the roots, stop making leaves and begins to make flowers. Bernier, G. (1988), The control of floral evocation and morphogenesis, Ann. Rev. Plant. Physiol. Plant Molec. Biol. 39: 175-219. Almost nothing is known, however, about the molecular and genetic controls that induce a plant to flower. There is a great need for more information about regulatory elements in plants. "A greater knowledge of these elements would significantly improve our understanding of the underlying mechanism by which genes induce reproductive development in plants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention identifies and provides isolated DNA, which consists of a gene Id of a maize plant / or a "portion thereof, which demonstrates gene function Id. The invention also provides RNA encoded by the DNA of the alleles Id or id * and portions thereof and DNA and / or ~ TR "" antisense (complementary) or portions thereof. "The nucleic acids referred to as homologues or -equivalent Id, that the) show more 50% homology (sequence similarity) or that hybridize under moderately stringent conditions to a portion consisting of 20 or more contiguous nucleotide bases of the Id or Ib gene) show 70% or more of homology or hybridize to 'Moderately strict conditions to the Id gene, and 2) demonstrate Id-like function (initiation of the reproduction phase) are also included in this invention. Also included are "nucleic acid probes and primers for detecting and / or amplifying regulatory genes in other plants." Thus, the DNA of this invention consists of a Jd gene, or a portion thereof, whose Id gene consists of all or part of SEQ ID NO: 1 or homologous ADNT The present invention also includes polypeptides that are Jd proteins or portions of an Id protein of plant origin, including the polypeptides described herein, Id proteins of all plant species or homologs that demonstrate a similar regulatory function (induction of reproduction) are included in this invention, and in the term protein Id, as used herein. The amino acid sequences demonstrating 80% or more of homology to the amino acid sequences described herein. they are considered homologous polypeptides. "" In another aspect, this invention relates to antibodies that bind to the polypeptides described herein. Rpos can be used to locate sites of "regulatory activity" in plants. Fusion proteins consisting of the Td protein and an additional peptide, such as a protein tag, can also be used to detect Td / protein protein interaction sites in plants.

In another aspect, this invention provides methods for the production of plants with selected times of transition from the vegetative to the flowering stage. The applicants have created a new allele of the gene id, id *, which, in the presence of an active Ac transposable element, causes the plants to stop the vegetative growth and flourish before other id mutants. As shown here, plants id * / id * with an active Ac element exhibit less vegetative nodules and bloom before plants ? D * / id * without Ac element or the plants that encode the id allele. The present invention relates to a new mutant of the id gene that encodes a product that alters the induction: flowers a plant and provides a nucleotide sequence of part of the 4.2 kb Id Sacl fragment derived from Chromosome 1 of corn. Also included is a DNA that is "hybridized under highly stringent conditions with the Sacl fragment or a portion thereof and an RNA transcribed from, or corresponding to, any of said aforementioned DNA.

? Preferably, the DNA is that shown in Figure 4 (SEQ ID NO: 3). In another aspect, this invention provides methods for producing new id alleles and methods for the detection of other Id alleles or other regulatory genes in plants. The homologs of the Id gene can be identified throughout the plant kingdom, including multicellular and unicellular algae. In yet another aspect of this invention, there are provided plants, seeds, plant tissue cultures and plant parts containing DNA consisting of an allele J "of a portion of an altered or exogenously introduced Jd allele that alters" - > the floral induction time in the subsequent growth of "the plant, seeds, plant tissue culture and / or part of the plant. The present invention also relates to transgenic plants in which the moment of the "floral evocation is altered." Transgenic plants are obtained in which the period of time from germination to flowering is shorter than in the corresponding natural plant or Wild type (native) Alternatively, plants are obtained in which flowering is delayed or absent As used herein, transgenic plants include plants containing DNA or RNA which does not occur naturally in the plant. wild-type plant (native) or known variants, or additional or inverted copies of the natural DNA and which is introduced as described herein, and any of the above-described alterations that give rise to plants that have altered floral evocation times. Transgenic plants include, in one embodiment, transgenic plants that are angiosperms, both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous. transgenic ipclude those in which DNA and its progeny have been introduced, produced from seeds, vegetative propagation, cell culture, tissues or protoplasts, or the like. _ - The transgenic plants of the present invention contain DNA that encodes all or a part of an essential protein for flower evocation and, when present in plant cells, gives rise to an altered floral evocation, either to the arrest of vegetative growth and initiation ^ iloration earlier than in untransformed plants of the same variety, or late flowering or absence of "floral induction." DNA can be exogenous DNA in a sense or antisense orientation that codes for a protein necessary for floral or DNA induction. "Algebra that has been altered in such a way as to code for an altered" protein "of a protein necessary for flower induction The directed or focused mutagenesis of an endogenous DNA from a plant responsible for the initiation of flowering may also give rise to altered floral induction.The exogenous DNA encoding an altered protein necessary for floral evocation and the endogenous DNA necessary for the evocation "floral that has been mutated by directed mutagenesis differ from the corresponding -DNA He wild type (natural) in which these sequences contain a substitution, deletion or "addition of at least one nucleotide and encode for proteins that differ from the corresponding wild-type protein in at least one amino acid residue. (As used herein, the term" nucleotide "is used interchangeably with "Nucleic acid") The insertion of genetic elements, such as Ds sequences, with or without active Ac sequences, are of particular use.Exogenous DNA is introduced into plant cells of the target plant by well-known methods, such as transformation Agrobacterium mediated, microprojectile bombardment, - microinjection or electroporation (see below) .These cells carrying the introduced exogenous DNA or the endogenous Jd DNA mutated by direct mutagenesis can be used to regenerate transgenic plants that have floral induction _ altered, resulting to be , therefore, sources of additional plants, either by seed production or by means of asexual reproducers. seed istints (ie, cuttings, tissue culture and the like). The present invention also relates to plant production methods with altered times of floral induction, exogenous DNA or RNA whose presence in a plant results in altered floral induction and vectors or "constrcts" including DNA or RNA useful for production of recombinant plants with altered floral development Also, seeds of plants that contain exogenous DNA or RNA encoding a protein that is necessary for flower induction, such as Jd DNA in sense orientation, or exogenous DNA, are the subject of the present invention. which has been altered in such a way that it codes for an altered form of a protein necessary for floral development, such as altered Jd * DNA The work described here makes available a Jd gene, the genomic sequence, or portion thereof that has been determined by the Requesters and that has an important role in the induction of the flowering of "the plants. The gene is derived from a monocot, specifically maize, one of the most valuable herbs from a commercial point of view. The polypeptide encoded by this gene is a regulatory protein that produces a change in vegetative growth to the development of reproductive organs in corn. . In addition, in corn, as in many other plants, the effects of this protein mark the beginning of the senescence of these "plants." Maize requires more rainwater than wheat and most maize transplants need Long growing season The work described here also makes it possible to grow maize and other plants dependent on latitude, which require long growing seasons before flowering takes place, in geographical regions with short growing seasons. Plants can be induced to flower and give seeds before the first frosts Similarly, the induction of flowering can be prolonged for short season plants that grow in areas with long periods of warm weather. of the vegetative mass and extra carbohydrates, these plants can produce more flowers and / or larger flowers and, consequently, more "" seeds. it can even prevent plants from flourishing, thus providing a nutritious silage biomass. In another aspect, this invention provides a means to eliminate the need for depletion in the production of maize and sorghum hybrids. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1 is a map of Chromosome 1, showing the location of the genes indeterminate and Bz2 (pigmentation of the almond in bronze) and the insertion site of the transposon for Ds2. Figures 2A-2B are the genomic sequence (SEQUENCE ID No.: 1) which contains DNA of the Jd gene. - Figure 3 is the deduced amino acid sequence of Figures 2A-2B (SEQ ID NO: 2). The insertion of the transposon Ds2 is produced in nucleotide 914. Figure 4 is a restriction map of the conserved motif of the Sacl fragment of 4.2 kb ^ including a portion of the Jd gene. The location of the transposon insertion Ds2 and the genomic sequence SEQUENCE ID N °: 3) between the restriction sites Nsíl and Sacl. Figure 5 shows the polypeptide sequence (SEQUENCE ID F: 4) encoded-by SEQUENCE ID Io: 3. Figure 6 is a comparison of the MLA of the maize Jd gene for digital-zinc proteins known from eukaryotic animal species. These eukaryotes include Drosophila (SEQ ID NO: 5), maize (SEQ ID NO: 6), Xenopus (SEQ ID NO: 7), human (SEQ ID NO: 8) and mouse (SEQ ID NO: 9).

Figure 7 shows the frame changes produced by the Ds2 excision of the MLA of the Jd gene, giving rise to four "null mutants, idl -Xl, idl -X2, idl -XD17 and idl -XD27. and amino acids encoded, respectively, for these mutants are designated as follows: SEQ ID NO: 11 and SEQ ID NO: 12 (idl -Xl), SE TD No.:13 and SEQ ID NO: 14 (Id. X2), SEQ ID NO: 11 and SEQ ID NO: 12 (idl -XD1Z) and SEQ ID NO: 15 and SEQ ID NO: 16 (idl -XD27) Figure 7 also shows the allele Jd idl -XG9 (SEQ ID NO: 17, nucleic acid) and (SEQ ID NO: 18, amino acid), which arose when the transposon Ds2 was excised and left 3 base pairs (hereinafter, "pb"), resulting in the addition of a single serine residue Figure 7 further shows the insertion of transposon Ds2, "idl -ml" (SEQ ID NO: 10) Figures 8A-8B are schematic representations of antisense constructs Jd where a promo merges Were weak with the Jd cDNA for the production of transgenic monocot (Figure 8A) or dicotyledons (Figure 8B) to delay flowering in an early flowering line. - "Figure 9A-9B is a schematic representation of a Jd sense construct in which a constitutive promoter is fused with the -DNAc Jd for the production of transgenic monocot (Figure 9A) or dicotyledons (Figure 9B) to induce flowering early in a late flowering line. Figure 10A-10B is a schematic representation of antisense constructs Jd in which a drought-induced promoter is fused with the Jd cDNA for the production of transgenic monocot (Figure 10A) or dicotyledons (Figure 10B) to delay flowering in response to The drought. Figure 11A-11D is a schematic representation of Jd antisense constructs in which a GAL4 (GB) binding site is fused to the Jd cDNA in a monocot (HA) or a dicot (11B) and a GAL4 gene is fused with a Either strong (CaMV 35s) or weak promoter in a monocot (11C) or a dicot (11D), for the production of Lransgenic plants in which flowering is absent or delayed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION During reproductive growth, the plant enters a 5 floral development program that culminates in fertilization, followed by seed production. The senescence may or may not go next. A corn plant (or its close relative, sorghum) is usually programmed to generate a particular number of vegetative structures or (for example, leaves), followed by reproductive structures (flowers) _and to eventually suffer senescence of the plant.

The corn plants (Zea mays) that are homozygous for the indeterminate mutation (id) of the Jd gene, however, are defective in the execution of this program and exhibit several 5 phenotypes of development: 1) The transition from vegetative to reproductive is altered , in such a way that the vegetative / phase is prolonged, "" giving rise to plants with a longer (or undetermined) lifespan, that is, they bloom long after normal plants or they do not at all. "" 2) The vegetative phase is prolonged towards the reproductive phase of the development and causes an abnormal floral development, that is, the female flower (spike) exhibits vegetative characteristics and is normally sterile and the male flower (male spike) can undergo a complete reversion of the development, in such a way that new vegetative buds emerge from the tissues that have the characteristics of the floral tissue, in the latter case, the terminally differentiated cells that constitute the floral tissues are redifferentiated in vegetative tissue and assume the proliferative growth again. Singleton, WR ,. " Heredi ty, 37: 61-64 (1946); Galinat, W.C. and Naylor, A.T.T.T. (1951), Am. J. Botm. 38: 38-47. These phenotypes suggest that the function of the normal Jd gene is to suppress vegetative growth and signal the start of reproductive growth at a specific time during the life cycle of the plant. The loss of the Jd function results in a failure in this transition and causes a prolonged vegetative development. The normal Jd function, therefore, is "important in the vegetative to reproductive transition in corn, ie, floral induction or evocation." Genetic and molecular data suggest that the Jd gene encodes a regulatory protein that has a role The understanding of the mechanism of this regulation provides a basis for producing specialized plants designed to flower and produce seeds independently of native internal controls or environmental effects. it is possible that the same mechanism used by a Jd gene homologue controls the production of "spores in" non-seed-forming plants, such as algae.The term "Jd" means the normal (wild-type) gene of corn, while that "id" refers to an altered (mutant) form of the Jd gene. The isolated DNA of plant origin encoding polypeptides that trigger the initiation of the reproductive phase of the plant can be genomic or cDNA. The DNA_ included in the present invention is monocotyledons, which are herbs; the Jd gene of corn is specifically described. The applicants have created a new allele of the id mutation that arises from the alteration of the normal Jd gene function * by inserting the transposable element of 1.3 kb Dissociation (Ds) into the gene. A clone containing a portion of the mutated id gene, id *, was then isolated by the transposon labeling technique using Ds as labeling. Hake et al., EMBO J., ~ 8: 15-22 (1989); Federoff et al. (1984) PNAS 81: 38 * 25-3829. The "preliminary sequence analysis of a portion of the gene (id * and Jd) indicates that Jd contains regions that are homologous to a class of transcription factor found in all eukaryotic organisms.A transposable genetic element _Instransposon- is a piece of DNA that moves from one site to another in the genome of an organism, is excised from one site, and inserted in another site, either on the same chromosome or in a different one.The movement of a transposable element can generate mutations or chromosomal redistributions and, therefore, affect the expression of other genes. -J- _ ~ - The transposons Ac and Ds constitute a family of related transposable elements present in corn. " Fedoroff, N. (1989), Maize Transposable Elements; In Mobile DNA, M. Howe and D. Berg, eds., Washington: ASM press. Ac is able to promote its own transposition or Ds to another site, either on the same chromosome or on a different one.Ds can not move unless Ac is present in the same cell Ac is a self-transposable element and Ds is a non-autonomous element of the same family.The insertion of ~ Ds into a locus of a gene gives rise to a_ mutation at that locus.For example, the locus' C of the almonds of the maize factory a necessary factor for the synthesis of a purple pigment The insertion "the element Ds in the locus inactivates the gene, making the almond colorless. This mutation is, however, unstable. In the presence of the active Ac element, Ds is transposed away from the locus in some cells "and the mutation reverts, giving rise to cell sectors" pigmented and, therefore, to "an almond with purple spots. - The Applicants have used a derivative of the transposable element Ds, Ds2,. to produce a new mutahte of the Jd gene. This was achieved by excising Ds2 (in the presence of active Ac) from a nearby gene on chromosome 1 and its subsequent insertion into the Jd gene to produce id *. Through several generations of exogamous crossings and backcrosses, id * was introduced into genetic backgrounds with or without active Ac elements. The data from these experiments show that plants id * / id * with active Ac elements have a less severe phenotype than those without Jic or Jd plants, that is, they exhibit less vegetative nodules and flourish earlier. This result is expected if the element Ac mediates the somatic excision of the element Ds2 of the allele id * during growth. The excision will restore the Jd function and will result in a partial restoration of normal development. Moreover, the observation that these plants do not show defined sectorization patterns (ie, acute demarcation of normal tissue juxtaposed to mutant tissue) suggests that Jd acts in a non-autonomous manner on the part of the cells. This result implies that the Jd gene product is by itself a 'diffusible factor or that regulates the production of a diffusible factor. The previous experiments, where the effect of Ac on the flowering of plants id * was tested, show that the flowering time of the corn plant can be regulated quantitatively by the quantity of the available gene product i d. The wild type (Jd) plants of these families bloomed 9 to 11 weeks after planting. The plants homozygous for idy, without the presence of Ac, had not bloomed after 25 weeks, at which time the experiment ended due to frost. Plants that were homozygous for id * and that also had Ac flor cieron sometime between 15 and 22 weeks. Ds excisions occur in these plants due to the presence of Ac. These excisions restore Jd function and result in enough Jd gene product to make "plants bloom before plants that have Ac, but not enough Jd gene product to make them bloom as early as wild-type plants . "The large range of flowering times presumably reflects the intrinsic variability of the times and the" frequencies of the Ds excision from one plant to another.Fedoroff (1989), cited above.Another experiment examined the effect of Ac on plants "id * more closely. The Ac element shows a "negative dosage" effect, ie, that an Ac oopia produces many more Ds excisions than two or more "copies of Ac. Fedoroff (1989), cited above. Ac on plants id * was determined by planting seeds that were homozygous for id * and that carried no Ac, an Ac or two or more Ac elements per genome.If the quantity_ of product Id available regulates flowering, then it was expected that " id * plants that contain two or more elements Ac will bloom later than the plants id * with an Ac element, but "before the plants id * without any Ac element. This experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions, in which the wild-type controls bloomed after producing 12 to 13 leaves, none of the id * plants lacking Ac elements flourished even after producing 24 leaves. id * that contained two or more Ac elements, 12.5% flourished after producing 21 to 23 leaves, while 87.5% of the plants did not flower even after producing 24 leaves, on the contrary, 90% of plants carrying an Ac element flourished after "producing X6 to 24 leaves. The results show that id * plants that contained an Ac element (those with the highest number of Ds excisions and, therefore, the largest amount of product _ Jd) bloom before plants that have more than one Ac element. (although not as soon as the wild type plants). The results also suggest that by varying the amount of gene product "functional Id" for example by varying the frequency of Ds excision through different doses of Ac, a quantitative variation of the flowering time can be induced.

The analysis of "Southern blot" using the element Ds2 as a probe showed that a Sacl fragment laughs 4.2 kb is cosegregated with the allele id * in more than 120 exogamous crosses "of progeny studied.This fragment is absent" in plants that do not they carry ^ 1 allele id *. The cosegregation of this fragment with the "allele id * is evidence that the gene is marked with the" transposon Ds2. This fragment was isolated by separation of genomic DNA cut with Sacl on an agarose gel and excision of a region of the gel containing the fragment and subcloning into a plasmid vector to make a sub-library of genomic DNA in this region. The specific clone carrying the element was identified by probing the sublibrary with the Ds2 probe. From 60,000 clones analyzed, one was found to contain the 4.2 kb Sacl fragment. Restriction analysis showed that this recombinant clone carries a DsX fragment flanked "" by the maize DNA: 165 bp of DNA in the element Ds2 and 2.9 kb of DNA on the other side of the element (Figure 4). The "Southern blots" of the DNA of several plants using any of the flanking regions as probes showed that the plants that are homozygous for the allele id * contain a single Sacl band of 4.2 kb, while those that contain only DNA normal have a single Sacl fragment of 2.9 kb. Thus, the 4.2 kb fragment is the result of the insertion of the Ds2 element of 1.3 kb into the Sacl fragment of 2.9 kb. Heterozygous plants contain both bands. Further analysis of id * and other id mutants has shown, that these mutants are variations of the normal Jd gene, which are produced, in general, by the insertion or deletion of a genetic element at different sites within "^ of the sequence of the Jd gene, or deletion of all or part of the gene id 3n itself The DNA of mutant plants carrying the first allele id to be identified, id-R, showed no hybridization with any of the flanking probes, indicating that this The original allele is the result of a deletion of the Jd gene.Another allele id, id-Compeigne ^ appears to have a 3 kb insertion in this fragment.These results provide convincing evidence that the Requesters have marked the id gene with Ds2. DNA sequence analysis - which immediately flanks the Ds2 element of the Jd gene revealed an open reading frame (MLA) into which the transposon has been inserted (Figure 4). When an RNA stain was probed with a DNA flanking fragment containing this MLA, there was an approximately 2.0-2.2 kb band evident in polyA + RNA of the apical meristem and, to a lesser extent, in the mature leaf. An additional band of 1.6 kb was found in the immature leaf. Very little hybridization was detected in the RNA of seedlings and no RNA was detected in roots, indicating that the MLA codes for a transcript and that the transcript is differentially expressed in specific plant tissues. type id, which contains a sequence very similar to this probe.Therefore, the 1.6 kb and approximately 2.0-2.2 kb bands hybridize to all id-type genes, including Jd. has been discovered, which is specific to id, shows a band only in tissues of immature leaves and is only the size of 1.6 kb The analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence encoded by the MLA provided further evidence that this MLA is part of the Jd gene and that it has an important role in the development of plants.A comparison of this MLA with all the proteins in the current databases shows that I read a significant homology with the digital-type proteins nc "identified in many different eukaryotes, including humans, mice, frogs (Xenopus) and Drosophila (Figure 6). Zinc-digital proteins are known as a class of various eukaryotic transcription factors that utilize zinc binding domains that contain zinc and are important regulators of development. McKnight, S.L. and K.R. Yamamoto, eds. (1992), Transcriptional Regulation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, vol. 1 p. 580. The zinc-digital proteins exert a regulatory function mediating e-transcription of other genes. ~ " The results described here show that the Jd gene is important at a crucial point in the development of the plant (ie, the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth) and that it works by controlling the expression of other plant genes necessary for floral development. . It is clearly "a" change "and nothing else in the corn produces its effect (induction of flowering) without affecting the health and vigor of" the plant. In contrast, the Jd mutation alters or inhibits the induction of flowering only; otherwise, the mutants are healthy and grow well. _ - - _ Further evidence was provided that the cloned DNA fragment is part of the Jd gene generating five new id alleles by imprecise excision of the Ds2 element of the original id * allele. Unlike id *, these new alleles no longer respond to Ac; they are null mutants that do not seem to bloom at all. The sequence analysis shows that four of the five alleles (idl-Xl, idl-X2, idl-XD17 and idl-XD27) have an altered sequence that results in a change of frame in the open reading frame Jd caused by the Ds2 excision (Figure 7) and, therefore, do not code for the same polypeptide as the Jd gene. The remaining allele CLH1-XG9) results in the addition of a single serine residue in the protein id. Figure 7 illustrates the DNA and "amino acid sequence of a portion of the normal MLA Jd and its alteration as a consequence of the insertion and excision of -Ds. The id-Ds mutation in id * that occurs by insertion" of the transposon Ds shows the duplication of the target site of 8 bp (underlined) that is typical of the insertion of Ds. The null mutants, idl -Xl and idl -X2, are stable derived alleles of id resulting from the excision of Ds2. The idl -Xl allele has 7 bp of duplication site that are maintained and an altered nucleotide (T to A). The idl -X2 allele has 5 bp of the duplication site that are maintained, with the same transition T to A as idl -Xl. The resulting amino acid residues show the change of framework in the MLA. The idl allele -XD17, very similar to the allele i dl -Xl, has 7 bp of the duplication site that are maintained and an altered nucleotide (T a A). The idl -XD27 allele has 4 bp from the duplication site which is maintained at 10 bp (4 bp from the He duplication site and 6 bp from the region following the duplication site) .The idl -XG9 allele has 3 bp of the duplication site that remain, which resulted in the addition of a single serine residue in the id protein. The idl -XG9 allele shows that alterations close to the zinc finger region, even if it is only one amino acid, give This effect is demonstrated by the greater number of leaves found in the idl-XG9 plant in relation to the wild-type plant and a prolonged delay before the floral evocation. carrier of the 4.2 kb Sacl fragment and the complete sequence of the flanking genomic DNA of the element Ds2 (SEQ ID NO: 1) was determined (Figures 2A-2B) using the information provided here and the known methods of analysis for which they have knowledge In this field, a sequence of 3669 nucleotides constitutes the DNA of the Jd gen. "L" to sequence "deduced from amino acids (SEQ ID NO: 2) encoded by this DNA is shown in Figure 3. The nucleotide sequence of the -Jd gene has several characteristics.The coding of the amino acid sequence begins with -el start codon at nucleotide 12 and end with stop codon at nucleotide 2959 (Figures 2A and 2B) Two zinc-digital motifs are present, one consisting of nucleotides 392-454 and the other "consisting of nucleotides 814-876. There are three consistent introns, respectively, at nucleotides 241-330, nucleotides 628-746 and nucleotides 921-2346. The polyadenylation site begins at nucleotide 3175. The MLA located between the restriction sites IVslI and Sacl described above (SEQ ID NO: 3) is represented by the nucleotides at positions 746-1160 in Figure 3. ET " the original Sacl / Sacl genomic fragment extends from nucleotide 746 to 3693. _ The invention relates to methods using isolated nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) and / or recombinants that are characterized by (1) their ability to hybridize to (a) a IL nucleic acid encoding an Id protein or polypeptide, such as a nucleic acid having the sequence of SEQ ID NO: (b) a portion of the preceding (eg, a portion consisting of the minimum nucleotides "required for coHify a functional Id protein), or by (2) its capacity 2o to encode a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of Id (eg, SEQ ID No. JNT-2"), or to" encode functional equivalents thereof; for example, a polypeptide that, when incorporated into a "plant cell, affects floral evocation in the same way as Id (ie, 5 that acts directly to signal floral induction), or by- (3) both characteristics. functional equivalent of Id ^^ therefore, has a similar amino acid sequence and similar characteristics, or behaves in substantially the same manner, as an Id protein. A nucleic acid that hybridizes to a nucleic acid encoding an Id polypeptide, such as SEQ ID NO: 1, can be double or single strand Hybridization to DNA such as DNA having the sequence SEQ ID NO: 1 includes hybridization to the strand shown or to its "complementary strand. In an embodiment, the percentage of similarity in the amino acid sequence between a polypeptide Id such as SEQ ID NO: 2 and functional equivalents thereof is at least about 80% (> 80%) . In a preferred embodiment, the percentage of similarity in the amino acid sequence between a polypeptide Id and its functional equivalents is at least about 80% (80%). More preferably, the percentage of similarity in the amino acid sequence between a polypeptide Id and its functional equivalents is at least about 90% and, even more preferably, at least about 95%. The isolated and / or recombinant nucleic acids that meet these criteria consist of nucleic acids having identical sequences to the sequences of the natural Id genes and portions thereof, or variants of the natural genes. Such variants include mutants that differ by the addition, deletion or substitution of one or more nucleotides, altered or modified nucleic acids in which one or more nucleotides are modified (e.g., DNA or RNA analogs) and mutants consisting of one - or more modified nucleotides. Such nucleic acids, including DNA "or RNA, can be detected and isolated by hybridization under highly stringent conditions or moderately strict conditions, for example, which are chosen to not allow the hybridization of nucleic acids having non-complementary sequences. "Strict conditions" for hybridizations is a term of the art that refers to conditions such as temperature and buffer concentration that allow the hybridization of a particular nucleic acid to another nucleic acid, the first nucleic acid can be completely Complementary to the second or the first and second may share some degree of complementarity, which is less than complete.For "example, certain highly stringent conditions may be employed that distinguish nucleic acids completely complementary to those that are less complementary. The "highly stringent conditions" and "moderately-strict conditions" for nucleic acid hybridizations are explained on pages 2.10.1-2.10.16 (see in particular 2.10.8-11) and pages 6.3.1-6 of Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (Ausubel, F.M. et al., Eds., Vol. 1, which contain, supplements up to Supplement 29, 1995), whose teachings are here incorporated by way of reference. The exact conditions that determine the strictness of the hybridization depend "not only on the ionic strength, the temperature and the concentration of destabilizing agents such as formamide, but also of factors such as the length of the sequence, of nucleic acid, the composition of bases, the percentage of mismatches between the hybridizing sequences and the frequency of appearance of subgroups of that sequence in other non-identical sequences. In this way, high or moderately strict conditions can be determined empirically. Highly stringent hybridization procedures can (1) employ a low ionic strength "and a high temperature for washing, such as 0.015 M NaCl / 0.0015 M sodium citrate, pH 7.0 (0, lxSSC) with dodecylsulfate of sodium (SDS) 0.1% at 50 ° C; (2) employ formamide 50% (vol / vol) with 5x Denhardt's solution (0.1% w / v of highly purified bovine serum albumin / 0.1% w / vol Ficoll / 0.1% p) / vol of polyvinyl pyrrolidone), 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer at pH 6.5 and 5xSSC at 42 ° C; or (3) employ hybridization with 50% formamide, 5xSSC, 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 6.8), 0.1% sodium pyrophosphate, 5x Denhardt's solution, sonicated salmon sperm DNA (50 μg / ml), 0.1% SDS and 10% dextran sulfate at 42 ° C, with washes at 42 ° C in 0.2xSSC and "0.1% SDS." Hybridization conditions vary from a level of rigor in which it does not occur hybridization to a level at which hybridization is observed for the first time, - conditions can be determined that will allow hybridization to a given sequence with the most similar sequences in the sample.Examples of conditions are described in Krause, MH and SA Aaronson (1991). ) Methods in Enzymology, 200: 546-556 ^ In addition, see especially page 2.10.11_ in Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (cited above), which describes how to determine wash conditions "for" conditions - moderately or loosely stringent. Washing is the "stage in which conditions are normally established in order to determine a minimum level of complementarity of the hybrids.In general, from the lowest temperature to which only c produces homologous hybridization, a 1% mismatch between the hibrillating nucleic acids results in "a reduction of 1 ° C in the melting temperature Tm for any concentration -elected from SSC. In general, doubling the SSC concentration gives an increase in Tm of ~ 17 ° C. Using these guidelines, the "wash temperature can be determined empirically for moderate or low stringency, depending on the level of mismatch sought." Isolated and / or recombinant nucleic acids that are characterized by their ability to hybridize to (a) an acid nucleic acid coding for a polypeptide Id, "such as the nucleic acid depicted in as SEQ ID NO: 1, fb the" complement "of EC ID No.: 1, (c)" or-a "" portion of " a) or (b) (e.g., under high or moderately stringent conditions) may also encode a protein or polypeptide having at least. a characteristic function of a Id polypeptide, such as floral evocation activity, or the binding of antibodies that also bind non-recombinant Id. The catalytic or binding function of a protein or polypeptide encoded by the hybridizing nucleic acid can be detected by standard enzymatic assays for activity or binding Enzymatic assays, complementation tests or other suitable methods can also be used in methods for identification and / or isolation of nucleic acids encoding a polypeptide such as a polypeptide of the amino acid sequence SEQ ID M: -2, or a "functional equivalent of this polypeptide." The antigenic properties of the proteins or polypeptides encoded by "hybridizing" nucleic acids can be determined by immunological methods employing antibodies that bind to a q-polypeptide, such as immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation and radioimmunoassay. The RCP methodology, ~ "Including RAEG (Rapid Amplification of DNA-Genomic Ends), can also be used to study and detect the presence of nucleic acids that encode Id-like proteins and polypeptides and to help clone such acids nucleic a_ from genomic DNA. CPR methods for these purposes can be found in Innis, M.A. and col. (1990) PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, CA, incorporated herein by reference. The nucleic acids described herein are "used in the methods of the present invention for the production of proteins or polypeptides which are incorporated into cells, plants and which directly affect the floral evocation of plants., DNA containing all or part of the coding sequence for an Id polypeptide, or DNA hybridizing to DNA having the sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, is incorporated into a vector for expression of the encoded polypeptide in suitable host cells . A vector, therefore, includes a plasmid or viral DNA molecule into which another DNA molecule can be inserted without altering the ability of the molecule to self-replicate. The nucleic acids referred to herein as "isolated" are nucleic acids separated from the nucleic acids of genomic DNA or cellular RNA "from its source" "origin" for example, as it exists in cells or in a mixture of nucleic acids, such as a library) and may have undergone further processing "Isolated nucleic acids" include nucleic acids obtained by methods described herein, similar methods or other suitable methods, including essentially pure nucleic acids7 acids nucleic acids produced by chemical synthesis, by combinations of biological and chemical methods and recombinant nucleic acids that are isolated. The "nucleic acids" referred to herein as "recombinants" are nucleic acids that have been produced by recombinant DNA methodology, including those nucleic acids that are generated by methods that are based on an artificial recombination method, such as Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and / or cloning into a vector using restriction enzymes "Recombinant" nucleic acids are also those that result from recombination events that occur through the natural mechanisms of cells, but that they are selected after introduction into the nucleic acid cells designed to allow or make probable a desired recombination event The portions of the isolated nucleic acids encoding polypeptides having a certain function can be identified and isolated, for example, by the method of Jasin, M. et al., "US Pat. No. 4,952,501. Another embodiment of the invention corresponds to "" antisense nucleic acids or oligonucleotides which are complementary, in whole or in part, to a target molecule consisting of a sense strand and can hybridize to the target molecule. The target can be DNA or its "counterpart of RNA (ie, where the T-residues of DNA 'are ~ U residues in the counterpart of RNA.) When introduced into a cell, antisense nucleic acids or oligonucleotides can inhibit expression of the gene encoded by the sense strand or the mRNA transcribed from the sense strand Antisense nucleic acids can be produced by standard techniques See, for example, Shewmaker et al., US Patent No. 5,107 .065.

In a particular embodiment, an antisense nucleic acid or oligonucleotide is totally or partially complementary and can hybridize to a target nucleic acid (DNA or RNA), where the target nucleic acid can hybridize to a nucleic acid having the complement sequence of the strand in SEQ ID NO: 1. For example, "an antisense nucleic acid or oligonucleotide may be complementary to a" target nucleic acid having the sequence shown as the strand of the open reading frame, complementary to nucleotides 380- 442, or complementary to nucleotides 796-858 of SEQ ID NO: 1, or a portion of these arids, sufficient nucleic to allow hybridization. A portion, for example a sequence of 16 nucleotides, could be sufficient to inhibit the expression of the protein. In another embodiment, the antisense nucleic acid is totally or partially complementary and can hybridize to a target nucleic acid / acid that encodes an Id polypeptide. The invention also relates to methods using the proteins or polypeptides encoded by nucleic acids of the present invention. a The proteins and polypeptides of the present invention can be isolated and / or recombinant. The proteins or polypeptides which are referred to herein as "isolated" are proteins or polypeptides purified to a state beyond what exists in the cells.The proteins or polypeptides - "isolated" include proteins or polypeptides obtained by methods described herein. , similar methods or other suitable methods and include essentially pure proteins or polypeptides, proteins or polypeptides produced by chemical synthesis or by a combination of biological and chemical methods and recombinant proteins or polypeptides that are isolated The proteins or polypeptides that are made here reference as "substantially purified" have been isolated and purified, such as by one or more steps, which normally include column chromatography, differential precipitation or the like, to a state "0 which is at least about 10% pure. or polypeptides which are referred to herein as "recombinants" are p Roteins or polypeptides produced by the expression of recombinant nucleic acids. The reproductive capacity of a plant affects L5 directly to its ability to produce seeds. Therefore, the ability to control flowering time is an important factor in the life cycle of plants. The genetic studies of the corn id mutation described here indicate that the Jd gene codes for a protein that is or is necessary for the transition to flowering. Through the use of transposon labeling, the Applicants have isolated and characterized the Jd gene and, in particular, a portion of the finger-regulatory regulatory regions of this gene. In addition, the "molecular analysis and comparison with regulatory proteins of eukaryotic animals shows that the polypeptide encoded by this region is part, if not the major component, of the regulatory Jd protein that controls the initiation of flowering and, most likely, also controls the transition to reproduction from the vegetative growth stage of gymnosperms and lower plants, including algae.The DNA provided by this invention can be used to isolate homologous nucleic acids or analogs from other plant species that encode regulatory genes for , bloom similar to the Jd gene. In the context of this invention, the term "homology" means a global sequence identity of at least 50%, preferably 70% or more, for the zinc-finger portions of the Jd allele. The identification and isolation of Jd 'type genes (Jd homologs) of other plant species are brought to performed according to standard methods and procedures known to those of ordinary skill in the art. See, for example, Sambrook et al., (1989), Molecular Cloning - A Labora tory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory "Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY." Eg this application is found in Example 5, below, using these and similar techniques, those that have ordinary knowledge in the art can easily isolate not only the Jd gene in different cells and maize tissues, but also homologs of the Jd allele of other plant species.For example, Jd genes can be identified in plants by preparing a genomic library or cDNA of a plant species; probing the genomic or de-cDNA library with all, or with a portion or homolog of SEQ ID NO: 1; identifying the hybridized sequences, and isolating the hybridized DNA to obtain the Jd gene of that plant. Once identified, these genes can be mapped "by restriction, sequenced and cloned.In particular, zinc-finger regions or fragments thereof are especially effective as probes due to their" homology conserved with other finger-zinc regions. Other zinc-finger proteins that regulate phenomena other than the initiation of flowering may be present in corn and other plants. Regulatory genes can control the germination of seeds, the height and shape of plants, the number of leaves and the maturation of fruits, to name a few possibilities. The isolation and characterization of these genes, to "sx like- the genes- responsible for the initiation of the" reproductive "phase in" plants "would be of great significance and value in the production of flowers, food and crops in general. Zinc in plants can be identified by preparing a genomic or cDNA library of a plant species, probing the genomic or ADC library with all, or a "portion or a homolog of the Jd gene, described herein, such as" SEQ ID. No. 1, under conditions suitable for the hybridization of complementary DNA identifier of the hybridized ADJN, and isolation of the hybridized DNA to obtain the finger-zinc gene in that plant.The zinc-finger genes can be mapped by restriction, sequenced and cloned. This invention also provides nucleic acids and polypeptides with structures that have been altered by different means, including, but not limited to, alterations, using transposons, mutagen site-specific and random genesis and substitution, deletion or addition of nucleotides by engineering. A method of transposons to produce an allele of the Jd gene with an altered function in a plant may consist of: inserting the transposon Ds or another non-autonomous transposable element into the Jd gene and then cutting the transposon Ds with an Ac transposon or other element autonomous transposable to produce an altered Jd allele in the plant. ~ Otj-o example of a method of producing an allele of the "Jd gene with an altered function in a plant consists of altering the molecular structure of the Jd gene in vitro using" molecular genetic techniques (eg, site-specific mutagenesis). and then inserting the altered Jd gene into a plant to produce an altered Jd allele in the "plant." ~ These techniques can lead to Jd counterparts that demonstrate dramatically different functions of the corresponding natural protein. For example, site-directed mutagenesis can be used to produce Jd alleles that encode specific substitutions for amino acid residues and it can then be determined which amino acids are necessary to produce a functional gene, the product of which induces a reproductive response in plants . Similarly, Jd alleles can be engineered to produce proteins that have new functions, such as induction of flowering before that of the natural plant. There are many varieties of corn that have developed a wide range of flowering times, depending on the environmental conditions in which they grow ^ Specifically, the duration of the day (as dictated by latitude "determines when a plant will bloom.) The Jd gene is a determinant The time of flowering in all these variants of the corn and the flowering time can be correlated with specific variations in the Jd gene product. In fact, the Jd gene can be the major determinant of flower evocation. ~~ The Jd gene or a homologue it can be "altered and introduced into a corn plant to alter the flowering time of a particular type of corn, so that it can grow at a different latitude than one in which the parental race developed., a Jd gene engineered into a miz line "that has been" bred for other characteristics (eg, high yield and disease resistance) can be incorporated to produce a corn line that can grow at many different latitudes. The reduction of the Id protein level using "antisense or cosuppression constructs (see below) may delay the flowering time, while the increase of Jd by overexpression or through earlier production (Id gene coupled to a different promoter) of the Protein can induce "plants to bloom earlier. In addition, putting the Jd gene sense or antisense under the control of different inducible promoters can allow controlling the flowering time-when it is subjected to specific environmental conditions or applied chemicals. Cosuppression refers to the overexpression of an endogenous or introduced gene (transgene), where extra copies of the gene result in the coordinated silencing of the endogenous gene, as well as the transgene, thus reducing "or eliminating the expression of the characteristic. . See, for example, Jorgensen et al., US Pat. Ns 5,034,323 and N6 5,283,184. The transgene is introduced in a sense orientation and does not require a sequence of total length or absolute homology with the endogenous sequence that it is intended to repress. The expression of the endogenous gene can also be suppressed through the integration of an oligonucleotide having an identical or homologous sequence to that of the DNA strand complementary to the strand that transcribes the endogenous gene. The antisense oligonucleotides consist of a specific sequence. or nucleotide residues that provide an RNA that binds stably to the RNA transcribed from the endogenous gene, thus preventing translation. See Shewmaker et al., US Pat. No. 5,107,065. Other oligonucleotides of this invention called "ribozymes" can be used to inhibit or "prevent flowering." Unlike antisense and other oligonucleotides that bind to an RNA, a DNA or a protein, ribozymes are catalytic RNA molecules that they can bind and "specifically excise a target RNA, such as the transcription product of an endogenous Jd gene. The ribozymes "designed" to excmdir at specific sites can ipactivate said "RNA molecule." Therefore, the reduction of an "IcT product can be achieved by introducing DNA encoding a pbozyme designed to specifically excise gene transcripts. Jd endogenous in an "endonucleolytic manner." Of the known classes of ribozymes, the group intron, I and the hammerhead ribozymes are useful candidates for converting for the targeted excision of a Jd transcript, since they have short recognition sequences ( 4-12 bases), however, other types of ribozymes can be developed for site-specific excision of Jd mRNA. See C ^ ch, TR (1988) J ". Amer. Med. Assoc. 260: 3030-3034. The above strategies for "delaying or completely abolishing flowering depend on the use of technologies, antisense and the like.An alternative strategy can be thought of based on the use of" dominant-negative "mutant proteins, certain types of" mutations "can be introduced. in regulatory proteins that make them non-functional, but allow mutant proteins to compete with wild-type proteins for their targets. Such competition for a non-functional protein means that the over-expression of the mutant protein can be "used to suppress the activity of the wild-type protein." The dominant-negative mutations of the "finger-transcription-zinc" factors have been constructed in the fruit and in human cells by deletion of the activation / silencer domain, while retaining the finger-DNA domain of DNA binding. The "overexpressed" mutant protein then competes out of the wild-type protein for non-productive binding to the DNA targets. O'Neill, E.M. and col. (1995), Proc. Na t X Acad. Sci. USA 92: 6557 6561. In plants, dominant-negative strategies have been successfully used with other types of regulatory proteins. See Doylan, M. et al. (1994), Plant Cell 6: 449-460; Rieping, M. et al. (1994) Plant Cell 6: 1087-1098, and Hemerly, * "A. et al (1995) EMBO J. 14: 3925-3936.A dominant-negative mutant of the" Jd protein "can be constructed using a truncated version of the Jd gene that contains only the coding sequences "of" the zinc-finger domains (the presumed DNA binding domains) and lacks the activation domain. If this truncated gene is introduced into maize plants under the control of a strong promoter, the result will be maize plants that are severely delayed in flowering or are unable to flower. Therefore, the truncated dominant-negative Jd gene can substitute the antisense Jd gene in all the constructs used to delay the flowering described herein. The dominant-negative Jd gene approach has an advantage over the antisense construct when "delayed" flowering in crops other than corn is engineered.The antisense strategy depends on the initial cloning of part or all of the Jd gene of each species. harvest, then expressing these genes in an inverted orientation.Antisense suppression depends on the expression of complementary nucleotide sequences, which will vary from one crop species to another.On the contrary, the dominant-negative strategy depends only on functional conservation Overall, this requirement is much less stringent than preservation of the nucleotide sequence.Several known examples of regulatory genes that encode transcription factors perform similar functions when they are expressed in widely divergent species of plants. , for example, Lloyd, AM et al (1992) Science 258: 1773-1775; Irlsh, V.F. y-Y.T. Yamamoto (1995) Plant. Cell 7: 1635-1644. This type of "functional conservation" implies that the dominant-negative version of the maize Jd gene can function similarly in other crop species as well, and it can certainly be expected to work in other cereal species and, perhaps, in all monocotyledonous plants. For dicotyledonous application, it may be advantageous to first isolate a more closely related homologue Jd from a dicotyledone species (eg, tobacco or Arabidopsis) and construct a dominant-negative derivative as described above _ (eliminating all sequences distinct from the finger-DNA DNA binding domains.) This dichotyledonous version of the Jd dominate e-negative can then be used for all dicotyledonous plants.Thus, the application of dominant-negative technology to a wide range of crops can be achieved without the need to clone the Jd genes of each harvest, any suitable technique can be used. It is intended to introduce "the nucleic acids and constructs of this invention to produce transgenic plants with an altered floral induction time. For herbs such as corn, microprojectile bombardment can be used (see, for example, Sanford, J.C. et al., US Patent No. 5.T0.792 (1992)). In this embodiment, a nucleotide construct or a vector containing the construct is deposited on small particles, which are then introduced into the plant tissue (cells) through high velocity ballistic penetration. The vector can be any vector that expresses the exogenous DNA in plant cells into which the vector is introduced. The transformed cells are then cultured under appropriate conditions for plant regeneration, giving rise to the production of transgenic plants. The transgenic plants carrying the construct are screened for the desired phenotype using a variety of methods, including, but not limited to, an appropriate phenotypic marker, such as antibiotic resistance or herbicide resistance, or visual time observation. floral induction in comparison with natural plants Other known methods include Agrobacterium-mediated transformation (see, for example, Smith RH et al., US Patent No. 5,164,310 (1992)), electroporation ( see, for example, Calvin, N., US Patent No. 5,098,843 0 (1992)), introduction using laser beams (see, for example, Kasuya, T. et al., Patent EK.UJJ. "1 ^ 5,013,660 (1991)) or the introduction using agents such as polyethylene glycol (see, for example, Golds, T. et al. (1993), Biotechnalogy, 11: 95-97} and similar. In general, "plant cells can be transformed with a variety of vectors, such as viral and" episomal vectors, Ti plasmid vectors and the like, according to well-known methods. The method of introducing the nucleic acid into the "plant cell is not critical to this invention." 0 The transcription initiation region can provide a constitutive expression or a regulated expression.There are many promoters that are functional in plants. Illustrative promoters include the octopine synthase promoter, the nopaline C smtase promoter, the cauliflower mosaic virus promoter (35S), the fig mosaic virus (FMV) promoter, the heat shock promoters, the small subunit (ssu) of ribulose-1, 6-bisphosphate "(RUBP) carboxylase, tissue-specific promoters and the like. The regulatory region may respond to a physical stimulus, such as light, as with the ssu of the RUBP carboxylase, differentiation signals or metabolites. The time and level of expresion ^ He direction meaning or antisense_ can have a definitive effect on the phenotype produced. Therefore, the chosen promoters, coupled with the orientation of the exogenous DNA, will determine the effect of the introduced genes. The transgenic plants of this invention can contain an exogenous nucleic acid that alters the dX induction time floral, so that "the floral induction is prior to that of a plant of the same" variety without said exogenous nucleic acid when it grows in identical conditions . Alternately, transgenic plants that contain an exogenous nucleic acid that alters the time of floral induction so that floral induction is delayed or inhibited compared to floral induction in "a plant of the same variety without said exogenous nucleic acids when In addition, this invention includes a method of producing a transgenic plant that has an altered time of flowering induction, consisting of introducing into plant cells an exogenous nucleic acid whose presence in a plant gives rise to a time altered induction of flower development and maintaining plant cells containing the exogenous nucleic acid under appropriate conditions for the growth of plant cells, whereby a plant is produced which has a time-induced induction of altered reproduction. The organisms to which this method can be applied include: angios permas (monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous), gymnosperms, spore-bearing or vegetatively propagated plants and algae. The transgenic plants containing the Jd recombinant constructs can be regenerated from transformed cells, tissues or parts of plants, by methods known to those skilled in the art. The part of the plant is intended to include any portion of a plant capable of producing a regenerated plant. Thus, this invention includes a cell or cells, tissue (especially meristamatic and / or embryonic tissue), protoplasts, epicotyles, hypocotyls, cotyledons, cotyledonary nodules, pollen, ovules, stems, roots, leaves and the like. Plants can also be regenerated from explants. The methods will vary according to the plant species. Seeds can be obtained from the regenerated plant or from a cross between the regenerated plant and a suitable plant of the same species Alternatively, the plant can be propagated vegetatively by growing parts of the plant under suitable conditions for the regeneration of said parts of the plant. plan Isolated and purified Jd or id polypeptides or proteins and epitope fragments thereof can be used to prepare antibodies for the localization of Jd regulatory sites and to analyze the development pathways in. plants. For example, antibodies that bind specifically to a Jd protein can be used to determine if the protein is expressed in specific cells or tissues of the plant and when. This information can be used to "determine how Jd acts to induce flowering and to alter the flowering induction pathways." The antibodies of the invention can be polyclonal, monoclonal or antibody fragments and the term "antibody" is intended to include polyclonal antibodies. , monoclonal antibodies and antibody fragments The "antibodies of this invention can be produced against Jd proteins or polypeptides or isolated or recombinant ids. The immunising antigen / preparation and the production of antibodies can be carried out using any suitable technique. A variety of methods have been described (see, for example, Harlow, E. and D. Lane (1988) Antibodies: A Labora tory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY; Ausubel et al. (1994) Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 2, Chapter 11 (Suppl 27), John Wiley & Sons: New York, NY). The antibodies of this invention can be labeled, or a second antibody can be labeled that binds to the first antibody by some physical or chemical means.The labeling can be an enzyme, which is studied by adding a substrate which, upon reaction , releasing a product that absorbs ultraviolet or visible light or can be a radioactive substance, a chromophore or a fluorochrome, E. Harlow and D. Lane (1988), quoted above.Loz isolated polypeptides of this invention can also be used to detect and analyze the interactions "protein / protein. Fusion proteins can be prepared for this purpose by fusing Jd DNA encoding a functional Jd polypeptide with heterologous DNA encoding a different polypeptide (one unrelated to, or homologous to, Jd polypeptide), such as a protein label. The resulting fusion protein can be prepared in a prokaryotic cell (e.g., E. coli), isolated, labeled and used essentially as antibodies to detect the binding sites of Jd alleles and Jd / protein interactions. See Ron and Dressler (1992), Biotech 13: 866-69; Smith and Johnson (1988), -Gene 67: 31-40. Maize lines adapted to temperate latitudes flourish prematurely when planted in the tropics, due to the shorter durations of the day. Premature flowering results in severely reduced yields. Salamim, F. (1985) Breeding Strategies for Maize Production Improvement in the Tropics, Brandolini, A. and Salamini, F. eds., Food and Agriculture Organization of U.N. , Istituto "Agronómico Per L'Oltremare, Firenze, Italy One skilled in the art will recognize that the cloned Jd gene can be used to solve this problem.Cot gene plants can be generated in which the Jd gene is inserted in the orientation in the antisense orientation under the control of a weak promoter (Figure 8A). The weak promoter used must be constitutively active during development, at least in the bootstrap meristem.Since Jd appears to be non-autonomous of cells, the exact specification of the "site of action" of the promoter is not necessary. An example of a weak promoter for this application is the nopaline synthase (nos) promoter of T-DNA, which is weakly constitutive in corn. Callis et al. (1987) Genes Dev. 1: 1183-11200. Another is the "cyclin promoter of corn." Cyclins are cell-division proteins found in plants, animals, and yeasts, and transcripts of plant cyclins are expressed in meristems and tissues with proliferating cells at low levels, but do not They express in no other place. Renaudin et al. (1994) PNAS 91: 7375-7379. The cyclin promoters are easily isolated using the full-length cDNA clones of the Applicants for cyclin Ib or cyclin III as probes, to take the upstream genomic sequences flanking a genomic library of maize using standard isolation and cloning techniques. See Sambrook et al., Cited above; Freeling and Walbot, cited above. Those skilled in the art will recognize "the other weak promoters which are intended to be included in the invention and which have the characteristics necessary to carry out this embodiment of the invention." An example of a construct useful for the above application is illustrated in Figure 8A. The cDNA for the Id gene is ligated downstream of the promoter, in the antisense orientation, the intron ADH1 is necessary for the stability of the RNA and the 3 'end of the gene is added to ensure efficient polyadenylation, Collie et al (1987). ), cited above, DNA is "introduced into maize plants by standard methods, such as those described above, using the jbar gene for resistance to the herbicide Basta as a transformation marker. Gordon-Kamm et al. (1990), Plant ~ Cell 2: 603-618; Freeling and Walbot (1993), cited above. Any construct or vector expressing "the exogenous DNA in plant cells into which it is introduced, such as the vector pMON530, carrier of the 35S promoter can be used." Another useful construct vector of the present invention is the exogenous DNA encoding the Jd protein inserted in the "antisense orientation in vector pMON530 downstream of a weak promoter to delay flowering in an early flowering variety Similar constructs can be used for other cereals, for example rice, barley and other monocotyledonous crops. For antisense applications, it may be necessary to first isolate the homologous cDNA from the species to be modified.It will be recognized that the corn Jd clone can be used as a probe for this purpose, by studying the Jd homologs of the cDNA libraries of the "other" cereal species The homologue id for the species that is going to be engineered can be inserted as a replacement for the species. in Jd of the corn in the constructs of Figure 8A ^ The same technique can be extended to dicotyledonous plants as well. The delay in the time of flowering for some of these crops can give rise to similar advantages to those cited for corn, that is, a longer period of vegetative growth, which lead to higher yields of fruits and seeds. Gottschalk and Wolff (1983) Induced Mutations in Plant Breeding, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. In addition, "some dicotyledonous plants are valuable mainly for vegetative growth products (eg, spinach, tobacco, etc.) and, in these plants, prolonged vegetative growth will result in higher and more efficient product yields. Antisense constructs can be designed using Jd homologs isolated from these species, as shown in Figure 8B, and transgenic plants generated by T-DNA transformation, preferably using transformation techniques with Agrobacterium, but also by other standard techniques Lycett, GW and D. Grierson (1990), Genetic Engeneering of Crop Plants, Butterworths, London, Setlow, JK (1994), Genetic Engineering Principles and Methods, Vol. 16, Plenum Press, New Yor.

Corn varieties adapted to "tropical" latitudes bloom extremely late when-they grow in temperate latitudes (Salamini, cited above), reaching heights of 15-20 feet, with 30 leaves "to flowering (in" comparison with 20 leaves in the variety This is not only inconvenient for handling, and harvesting, but also makes the plants vulnerable to late season frost damage.A strategy to induce an earlier flowering in these plants is to express the gene - Jd cloned early in the vegetative development of these varieties by inserting the gene in the sense orientation under a constitutive promoter (Figure 9A) .A strong or weak promoter can be used, such as the CaMV 35S promoter (strong) or the nos promoter. (weak), both of which function in corn Callis et al (1987), cited above The constructs and methods of transformation for this purpose are similar to those used in the antisense activity described above, -except for, the orientation of the Jd gene. It will be recognized that this technique can be adapted for other cereal species and for monocotyledons, in general, using the same constructs or co-constructs that are similar in principle. In fact, Jd homologs may not be necessary for early expression, - that a corn Jd gene product could function properly in other monocots, including cereals, to promote early flowering.

In another embodiment of this invention, early flowering of dicotyledonous plants can be obtained by transforming target plants or cells from "plants with the maize Jd gene product or a homologue Id. Since maize genes have been shown to function efficiently in dicots, it may not be necessary to isolate the homologous gene from the species to be transformed. For example, maize R and C genes function in the dicotyledon Arabidopsis when they are expressed under the control of the "CaMV 35S, Lloyd et al., (1992), Science 258: 1773-1775.The construct delineated in Figure 9B It can be used for the expression of a Jd or homologue in a dicotyledon and can be inserted with a T-DNA transformation or other standard technique, such as those already described.Drought stress can produce a serious reduction in yields. Due to the injury of the plant, the flowering time may be affected Many plants bloom prematurely when they are under stress In maize, stress due to drought may lead to the development of male spikes long before spikes females, resulting in lower yields or no yield, some of these problems can be alleviated if the plant's global flowering time is delayed during a He-drought period. the plant grows vegetatively for a longer period of time than normal, so that it can recover from the damage of the drought before flowering. The Jd gene can be "used for this purpose, if it is introduced into the plants in the antisense" orientation ", as described above, but" "combined with a drought-inducible promoter instead of a promoter." Any drought-inducible promoter can be used, for example, a promoter can be used "for the RAB-17 gene, which is induced by drought, as well as by other causes of stress, presumably as a result of its regulation by the hormone of the plant ABA. Vilardell et al. (1990) Plant Mol. Biol. 14: 423-432. u __ "second type of" promoter that can be used is the promoter of! corn heat shock - hsp70, which is induced in response to high temperatures of 37 ° to 42 ° C. Callis et al. (1988) Plant Physiol. .88: 965-969. go. A vector or construct useful for producing plants responsive to environmental effects is produced by inserting the exogenous DNA encoding the Jd protein in the antisense direction in the pMON530 vector downstream of a drought-induced promoter to delay flowering in response to the drought. In Figure 10A several constructs are illustrated for this purpose. Again, this technique can be extended to tnonocotyledons in general, including other cereals, with the same constructs as in Figure 10A or a construct. similar, but using the Jd gene counterpart for the particular cereal that is being transformed if necessary.

The extension of this technique to dicotyledonous crops can be carried out using appropriate drought-inducible promoters that work in dicotyledonous plants.The promoter of Arabidopsis Atmyb2 can be used as a general promoter induced by drought and stress and responds to ABA Urao et al (1993), Plant Cell 5: 1529-1539.The soybean heat shock promoter can also be used Schoffl et al (19.8-9), Mol. Gen. Genet 217: 246- 253. "Constructs including said promoters are illustrated in Figure 10B. As this application depends on the expression ntisentido, it may be necessary to use the homolog of the Jd gene of the crop species that is being engineered, rather than the Jd gene of maize. flowering is completely absent, that is, abolished. "Corn plants that do not bloom will continue to grow" vegetatively, producing a large biomass that can be harvested for silage purposes, however, "if a Xd gene is completely abolished for of producing silage, the transgenic plants will never flower and can not produce "hybrid seeds." One method of this invention to generate hybrid seeds of transgenic corn is to produce transgenic plants, with the Jd gene in the antisense orientation, but under the control of a regulatory sequence called GAL4 binding site. As a consequence, the Jd antisense gene is not expressed unless the GAL4 protein is present. GAL4 is a yeast transcription factor, which has been shown to work in plants such as tobacco (Ma, J. et al (1988) Na ture 34: 631-633), as well as in maize (McCarty ^ D. et al (1991) Cell 66: 895-905 Activates the transcription of genes containing the GAL4 binding site in the promoter In this embodiment, a transgenic endogamic containing the silent antisense Jd gene and a GAL4 binding site is crossed with another transgenic inbred expressing the GAL4 gene constitutively, either under a weak promoter (to delay flowering for the growth of corn at lower latitudes), or under the control of a strong promoter '(to abolish flowering for production of However, the hybrid expresses the Id antisense and the bloom is "delayed or" absent, depending on the promoter used to drive the GAL gene.A similar modification can be made for other plan , mono or dicotyledonous, using the appropriate counterpart Jd. The constructs employing the GAL4 binding site are illustrated in Figures HA, 11B, 11C and 11D. Thus, in the "maize, an inbred is crossed consisting of the construct illustrated in Figure HA with an inbred consisting of the construct of Figure 11C. The sX bloom delays in the resulting hybrid when the GAL4 gene is- "under the control of" CaMV 35S (P35s). When the GAL4 gene is under the control of the nos (Pnos) or cyclin (Pcyclin) promoters, however, flowering is delayed only in the hybrid. In dicotyledons, similar results are obtained by crossing the plant consisting of the construct shown in Figure 11C with the plant consisting of the construct shown in Figure 11D. The applications described above illustrate the use of Jd antisense constructs. Experts in the art will recognize that any suitable construct can be substituted, for example the dominant-negative version of the gene Jd, by the antisense constructs to practice the methods of this invention. - - - - - Although the Jd gene was isolated from maize, "it is likely that Jd homologs exist in other grain crops and, more likely, in all other plants." The Requesters have initial evidence that there is a close relative of Jd, determined by homology. of sequences, in dicotyledonous plants as well.If these homologs in other species are also important for the control of flowering time, then the manipulation of the flowering time of many agriculturally important crops would be possible.Using the compositions and methods described herein, a The skilled person can use known methods to alter the initiation of the reproductive phase of other grains "such as sorghum, rye, wheat, etc., as well as in other commercially important plants.

For example, modifications of the flowering time may be used to affect the ripening time of the fruits, the time of flower production, the size and quality of the seed, the latitude at which the varieties may grow. , etc. The flowering time can be modulated so that flowering starts at different times in different parts of the same plant. This invention also provides a means to eliminate the need for depletion in the production of "maize and sorghum hybrids." Although it appears that Jd does not act autonomously from the cell, it may be that the Jd signal is located in certain areas of the plant. and therefore Jd must be transcribed or the Jd mRNA activated in several areas of the plant to induce the development of the flowers in each of these "areas. Corn and sorghum produce both male floral organs (male spikes) in the upper part (apex) of the plant. The organs of the female flowers are produced in the lower portions, in the armpits. Through the use of specific promoters of tissues or other selective coupled to the Id gene, it is possible to inhibit or prevent the production of pollen at the apex of the plant, while "selectively inducing the reproductive development of the female reproductive organs elsewhere. or, after a normal floral induction, the "development of the male reproductive organs can be inhibited or the pollen-producing tissues or cells can be induced to revert to the vegetative phase by coupling the production, antisense of Jd with the formation of specific cells for the production of pollen (such as carpet cells). Another application of this technology is to increase the vegetative "phase" (and, therefore, increase the number of leaves produced) of the crops that are picked "as leaves (for example, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, corn) and so on. increase the yield of these crops by delaying flowering. In yet another application, when flowering produces an undesirable aesthetic appearance, the vegetative phase of a plant, for example, grass, may be prolonged. In this way, any plant can be employed according to this invention, including angiosperms, gymnosperms, monocots and dicots The plants of interest include cereals, such as wheat, barley, corn, sorghum, triticale, etc., other commercially valuable crops. , such as sunflower, soybeans, safflower, sugarcane, etc., fruits, such as apricots, oranges, - apples, avocados, etc., vegetables, such as carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, etc .; such as poplar, pine, oak, etc., and ornamental flowers, such as clematis, roses, chrysanthemums, tulips, etc. The following examples describe specific aspects of the invention to illustrate the invention and provide a description of the methods used to isolate and identify the Jd gene. The examples are not to be considered as limiting the invention in any way - "All citations in this application concerning materials" and methods are incorporated herein. as a reference. - EXAMPLE 1 MARKING OF TRANSPOSONS Plants were grown under normal field conditions at the Uplands Farm Agricultural Field Station, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, during the summers of 1989 to 1994. Standard genetic techniques were used for corn at all crossings and analytical procedures . Freeling, M. and Walbot, XX, (1993) The Maize Handbook, Springer ^ Verlag, New York; Gottschalk, W and Wolff, G. (1983) Induced Mufations in Plant Breeding, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg. / i The Jd gene maps "near the pigmentation gene of the almond, Bz2, on chromosome 1. A mutable allele of the Bz2 gene, bz2 -m, is the result of an insertion of a transposon Ds2 at this locus Dooner et al. (1996) Mol. Gen. Genetics 200: 240-246. (Ds2 is a defective derivative of the Ac / Ds family of transposable elements and can be transposed only in the presence of an Ac element that provides transposase). Taking advantage of the proximity of Jd. a bz2-m and the fact that the Ac / Ds elements are preferably transposed to linked sites, "the Requesters selected id mutants of germ reverters in the population bz2 -m, that is, selecting completely purple almonds that emerged from the germinal excision of the element Ds2 (ie, jbz2-.ni to Bz2), a population Fl with the element Ds2 inserted somewhere was generated.

From an F2 population of these reverters, an id mutant of 600 families examined was isolated and named id *. The crosses of id * with known alleles of id (eg, id-'R) confirmed that it is allelic to the mutation id on chromosome i. EXAMPLE 2 DNA ANALYSIS: "- All molecular procedures were performed essentially as described in Sambrook, J. et al (1989) Molecular Cloning - A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Methods for the analysis of corn DNA and RNA were carried out * "according to Freeling, M. and Walbot, V. (1993), cited above. For the "Southern blot" analysis, 2-4 mg of maize DNA extracted from sheets with Sacl were restricted and subjected to electroioresis on a 1% agarose gel before transferring nitrocellulose membranes. For Ds2 probing, a 108 bp internal fragment of the Ds2 transposon of a plasmid carrying this portion of Ds2 was isolated and cut with "BamHI and EcoRI restriction enzymes." This fragment was purified from a gel of Low-melting agarose and nucleotides-containing radioisotopes (32P-HATP and 32P-dGTP) were incorporated into the fragment by "random priming" labeling using a Boehringer-Mannheim kit. The labeled fragment was used to probe "Southern blots" using standard formamide hybridization solutions containing 10% dextran zulfate. "" "To isolate the 4.2 kb Sacl fragment that hybridized with Ds2, 100 μg of single-plant DNA was digested with Sacl and subjected to electrophoresis on a 1% low melting point agarose gel. A region of the gel between 4 and 5 kb, marked by lateral markers, was cut from the gel and the DNA contained in the fragment was purified.The DNA was ligated (T4-DNA Ligase, New England Biolabs) into the plasmid vector pLITMUS29 ( New England Biolabs) that had been cut with Sacl and treated with phosphatase (Shrimp Alkaline Phosphatase, US Biochemical) to remove 5 'phosphate groups and prevent self-binding The recombinant plasmids were transformed into E. coli DH108 cells by electroporation and plated onto L-agar plates containing 100 μg / ml ampicillin, approximately 60,000"ampicillin-resistant colonies grew on the plates and replicas were transferred to nitrocellulose membranes. The colonies were used on the filters and their DNA was fixed to the "membrane." To determine which colonies carried a recombinant plasmid that hybridized with the Ds2 element, the filters were probed with a labeled Ds2 fragment probe. (1D89) EMBO J., 8: 15-2T2 Be saw that a colony of 60,000"studied had a plasmid that had a Ds2 element. The restriction analysis of this recombinant plasmid revealed approximately 2.9 kb of genomic DNA on one side of the element "Ds2 of 1.3 kb and 165 bp on the other laHo- Sequence analysis of a portion of the flanking DNA was performed using primers that hybridized to the sequence in the plasmid vector and in the element Ds2 itself. The end-of-chain sequencing method was used to "sequence the double-stranded plasmid DNA EXAMPLE 3 ~" RNA ANALYSIS: "-" A "Western blot" analysis of the polyA RNA of various maize tissues was carried out using the He region of 165 bp genomic DNA on the right side of the Ds2 element as a probe. The RNA was extracted the tissue of the apical meristem, tissue of young and old leaves and of the root type, and 1 μg of each mRNA pol A + + each sample was subjected to electrophoresis in a 1.1% agarose gel containing formaldehyde and then transferred to Nylon Genescreen membranes The 165 bp fragment was labeled "as described above and used to probe the stain. EXAMPLE 4 DETERMINATION OF THE GENE SEQUENCE Td OF THE ISOLATED GENOMIC CLONE The genomic clone was sequenced by the dideoxy method according to: e described in Sambrook et al., Cited above. "The strategy used was termed" primer walk ". Oligonucleotides that hybridized to the plasmid vector to obtain the initial sequence data for the fragment ends These sequence data were then used to synthesize new primers in the sequenced region, which allowed a greater sequencing in the genomic clone in a reiterative procedure until the entire fragment was sequenced, approximately 200 to 350 bp of each primer sequence was read In order to obtain more of the id gene (specifically, the base pairs portion 1 to 746), a lambda genomic library containing a digest was studied. partial DNA B73 digested with Sau3A with a probe derived a portion of the "2.9 kb gepomic clone. Approximately one million phages were plated the library, transferred to nitroceilose filters and probed with a DNA fragment derived the right end of the 2.9 kb Sacl genomic clone that was labeled as previously described. A phage-hybridizing to the probe was digested and subcloned into the plasmid vector pLITMUS 29. A 3.7 kb BamHI fragment, which included the already isolated 2.9 kb genomic region, was reanalyzed by sequencing. An additional 746 bp region containing the 51 end of the id gene was isolated. EXAMPLE 5 IDENTIFICATION AND ISOLATION OF REGLLADOREB GENES OF OTHER "" SPECIES OF PLANTS "" "" " To identify and isolate the regulatory genes in other "plant species that are homologous to the Jd gene, / the DNA sequence encoding the MLA Jd or another fragment of the Jd gene, such as one of the finger-zinc regions, is used as a probe to study cDNA libraries of plants "made of mRNA derived tissues expressing regulatory genes" (Sambrook et al (1989), cited above, Freeling and Walbot (1933), cited above). of mRNA derived seedlings and "immature" tissue of influences are especially likely to contain these genes Applicants have successfully used similar libraries of maize to obtain cDNA clones maize cell division cycle genes, such as cdc2 (Colasanti et al (1991) PNAS, 88: 3377-3381) and "cyclins" (Renaudin et al (1994) PNAS, 91: 7375-7379) using "short DNA sounds for these genes. clones that hybridize with the radioactive probes are identified and isolated and a sequence analysis is carried out by standard methods such as those described in Sambrook et al. , cited above. __ _ SEQUENCE LIST (1) GENERAL INFORMATION: (i) APPLICANT / INVENTOR: (A) NAME: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (B) STREET: One Bungtdwn Road (C) CITY: Cold Spring Harbor "z" "" (D) STATE / PROVINCE: NY (E) COUNTRY: USA (F) POSTAL / ZIP CODE: 11724 (i) INVENTORS: Colasanti, Joseph J. Sundaresan, Venkatesan (ii) TITLE OF THE INVENTION: CONTROL OF FLORAL INDUCTION IN PLANTS AND USES FOR THE SAME (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 15 (ÍV ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: (A) RECIPIENT: Hamilton, Bróbk, Smith &Reynolds, PC (B) STREET: Two Militia Drive (C) CITY-: Lexington "-" "(D) STATE: MA (E) ) COUNTRY: USA (F) ZIP: 02421 - _ (v) COMPUTER FORM OF THE COMPUTER:. _ (A) TYPE OF MEDIUM: Floating disk (B) COMPUTER: IBM PC compatible (C) OPERATING SYSTEM: PC -DOS / MS-DOS (D) PROGRAM: PatentIn Reeléase # 1.0, Version # 1.30 (vi) DATA OF THE CURRENT APPLICATION: "" - ^ - (A) NUMBER OF APPLICATION: US 09 / 056,226 (B) APPLICATION DATE: 07-APRIL-1998 ~ "(C) CLASSIFICATION: (vii) ) DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS APPLICATION: (A) NUMBER OF APPLICATION: US 09 / 000,640 (B) DATE OF APPLICATION: 30-DEC-1997"" "(vile) DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS APPLICATION:" "~ __ (A) NUMBER OF APPLICATION: PCT / US98 / 03161 (B) DATE OF APPLICATION: 18-FEB-1998"" - (vií) DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS APPLICATION: ~ "~ (A) NUMBER OF APPLICATION: US 08 / 804.104 (B) DATE OF APPLICATION: 20-FEB-19-97 (vile) DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS APPLICATION: "-" "~ (A) NUMBER OF APPLICATION: PCT / US96 / 03466"(B) DATE OF APPLICATION: 15-MAR-1996 (vii) DATA OF THE PREVIOUS APPLICATION: -" "(A) NUMBER OF APPLICATION: US 08/40 ^ 6.186 (B) APPLICATION DATE: MARCH 16, 1998 (viii) INFORMATION ABOUT THE ATTORNEY / AGENT: (A) NAME: Granahan, Patricia - - (B) REGISTRATION NUMBER: 32.227 (C) REFERENCE NUMBER / EXPEDITION: CSHL94 -04A4 (ix) TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFORMATION: (A) TELEPHONE: (781) 861-6240 (B) TELEFAX: (781) 862-9540 - _- (2) INFORMATION FOR THE. SEQ ID NO: 1: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 3693 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) DNA (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 1T GACGACAGAC GATGCAGATG ATGATGCTCT CTGATCTCTC GTCTGACGAC CACGAGGCCA 6O CTGGATCCAG CTCCTATGGC GGGGACATGG CCAGCTACGC CCTCAGCCCT CTCTTCCTCG 120 CACCGGCGGC CTCGGCGACC GCGCCGCTGC CGCCACCTCC GCAGCCGCCG GCCGAGGAGC 180 TCACCAACAA GCAGGCCGCG GGCGGCGGCA AGAGGAAGAG AAGCCAGCCG GGGAACCCAG 240 GTACGTAGTA GTTAATTGGC TGACCAATCA CGCCGACCGA TGCACCTAAT TAATGAATCA 300 ATGTGCTACA AATAAATTAA AACCAAAAGA CCCCGGCGCG GAGGTGATCG CGCTGTCGCC 350 GCGCACGCTG GTGGCGACGA ACCGGTTCGT GTGCGAGATC TGCAACAASG GGTTCCAGCG 420 GGACCAGAAC CTGCAGCTGC ACCGCCGGGG CCACAACCTC CCCTGGAAGC TCCGCCAGCG 480 CAGCAGCCTC GTCGTCCCGT CGTCGTCGGC GGCGGCAGGC TCCGGCGGC? GGCAGCAGCA 540 GCAGCAGGGC GAGGCCGCGC CGACGCCGCC GCGTAAGCGC GTCTACGTCT GCCCCGAGCC 600 CACGTGCGTG CACCACGACC CGGCGAGGTA CGTATGCACG GTCCTGCTCC TGCATATATG 660 CGAGGGAATG CTAGCGACAT AGCATAACAT CTCATCGATC CATCCATCCA TCCATCCATC 720 CATCCATCCA TCCATCCATC CATCAGAGCT CTGGGGGACT TGACTGGGAT CAAGAAGCAC 780 TTCTCGCGGA AGCACGGGGA GAAGCGGTGG TGCTGCGAGC GCTGCGGGAA GCGCTACGCC 840 GTGCAGTCGG ACTGGAAGGC GCACGTCAAG GGGTGTGGCA CGCGCGAGTA CCGCTGCGAC 900 TGCGGCATCC TCTTCTCCAG GTACATCTCA TCTCATGATC ACCGTGCACA TATGCATGGA 960 CGACGTGTGC TTTGCTGTAA TTGTAAACGC TGATCATTTT TACTAACAAC CATGCTGGAT 1020 ATAATAGCCT AATCTCTCAC CGGACGGATC GAGAGAAAAC CTAGCTAGAC GGGATCGATC 1080 GGTCCAGC ? G G-TTGCCGCCG ACGACTGTTC CATCGATCGA GCCTGTTAAT TTAGTCATAA 114-0 AAAGGATCGA GCATATGCAT GTATATGAAC TATCTTCCTT CACTGACCAA CATCATATCA 1200 GGCATGGACI TAGCTAGTTA ATCAGTACAT ATACTCCTAT ATATACATAG GTTTTCAAGA 1260 ACAGTGGGTG ATTCTGAAGC AACCTAAATA TATATAGATA CCAAAAAANA TATGAAGTCA 1320 TCAGCACGAT CTGCGAGCGG GTACGGTTCT TGAACTCTTC TGATGGTTGC AGTAATACCG 1380 GCCAACAAAA ATATATTATA TATTTATCGT CCGCTAGTTG ATTTTTAAAC TAAATGCGCA 1440 CTGATAAAAA AAGAAGGGTT GGAGTACTAT ATATACAAGA GCATGTGGCC TTCAGTTACA 1500 ATTTTAGGG T TTCCATGCAT CCTGTCATAA AACTATTTGC ATGATCACAT CCCTATATAT 1560 CGGGATACTA CTGTTGTGAA AAAACCATGA GTCCCTGGTC AAACCAGTAT ATGTACATGC 1620 AATATGTTTA TTGCATGCAT ATTTGGGAAT GAACATCCTC TGCCTGCACC AACTTTATGG 1680 CAGTACGTCC ATGTGGCCAT CATGACACAT TCCCTTCAAA AATGGAACAT ATATAGCTAC 1740 AGCATATG? A GCAATTGAAG AGTACTTTAA TTGTGAAATA GTACTACTGC AAGTATATAT 1800 ATATGTAGTA GCACAACAGT CGAATAATGC AGTGCATTAG ATATAGTAGT GAAGTTAAGA 1860 GTTAGTTTCC AAATCTTTTA CTAGAGAGAG CATAAAAAAT CTATAAAAAA TTCTAATTCA 1920"ACTTCTAATG TATCTTATGT TAAGAAAGGG GTATATATAA AAAGAGTAAA TTCTGTCATT 1980 AGATACATCG TTAGCAGTAG TACCACTGAA TTTAATTACG TCCTATACAC ACGCGCACAC 2040 ACATGCATGC ATGCATCTGC ATGCTTCTTT TCAGTAGTGA TCACAAAGGA AACTGACAAA 2100 AGAACCTAGC TAATCATAGG ACGCAGCTTT TCGTCAGCAA AGTTAAACGA AACTTTACAT 2160 GCATGGATTG CATTGAGTAC TCACGCATGT GCACGTCAAC ACGCGCACAC ATATAGTATA 2220 TTAACATAGT ACTTTATATA CCAACTAATT AATAAAGTCA TTGACTCCTC TGTCCTCTGG 2280 TCATTTGTTT AGCTAATTAA CCCGTTTCGT TTGATGCATG CATGGTCTCT CTGGCGTGGT 2340 CGTGCAGGAA GG ACAGCCTG CTCACGCACA GGGCCTTCTG CGATGCCCTA GCAGAGGAGA 2400 GCGCGAGGCT TCTTGCAGCA GCAGCAAACA ACGGCAGCAC TATCACCACG ACCAGCAGCA 246"0 GCAACAACAA TGATCTTCTC AACGCCAGCA ATAATATCAC GCCATTATTC CTCCCGTTCG 2520 CCAGCTCTCC TCCTCCTGTC GTCGTAGCGG CGGCACAAAA CCCTAATAAC ACCCTCTTCT 2580 TCCTGCACCA AGAGCTGTCC CCCTTCCTGC AACCGAGGGT GACGATGCAA CAACAACCCT 2640 CGCCCTATCT TGACCTCCAT ATGCACGTCG ACGCCAGCAT CGTCACCACC ACCGGTGGTC 2700 TCGCGGACGG CACGCCGGTC AGCTTTGGCC TCGCTCTGGA CGGCTCGGTG GCCACCGTCG 2760 GCCACCGGCG CCTCACTAGG GACTTCCTCG GTGTCGATGG TGGCGGTCGT CAGGTCGAGG 2820 AGCTGCAGCT TCCACTGTGC GCCACAGCAG CCGCAGCAGG TGCCAGCCGC ACCGCCAG 288i-CT GCGCCACCCA CCTGACAAGG CAGTGCCTCG GCGGCCGGCT GCCGCCGGTC AACGAGACCT 2940 GGAGCCACAA CTTCTAGGCC CGCTATATAC TTCAAGCTGC ATTGAGACTT TGAGAGACGA 3000 ATGAACGGAA CACCCAAACT GCATGCACTC TAGCTTGAAG AGCAAACCAA AACTGGAGTA 3060 GCAAGTATGG TGCACTACTG TTGTTAATTT ACCTTAATTT ATTGATCTCT GGTTAGTTCT 3120 GTTTTCA TT AGGGCAATGC GGGCTAGCTA ATTAATTCGA TGTGCACAAC "TTTTGATGAA 3180 TGGACCAT? A AGTTTATCTT GTTGCTTTTT TTTTGTTTGA TTATGTTTCG CTGCACACCC 3240 ATGTGTTCTC ATAATGGTAT GTCGAAAGAA ATAGATGATA TACTAATATA ACCATATCAG 3300 TCTAAACAAC ATGAATAAAG ATTCAATCAA GAGGAGTGGC ACATGCATGG TTACTGATGG 3360 TGGTACGGAG TCATCGATAA GTGGTAGTGG AGGAAAAGCT TGGTGCAAAC GGCGATGAAT 3420 ACAACGACAC GTATAGCACC GTTTAACTTG GATGAAAGAC GACTCGTCGT GGAAGTTGAG 3480 AGCAGTCATG CAAAGAACAC TTTCCAAAAA CCTTATTAAA TATGTCCTCT ATCTGTGCAA 3540 GGTTAGAAAG ATGAGAATTA TGGAGATCTA CTCTCCTGAA TCCTGATTGG TGATGCACGT 3600 AAATGCTCAG GATGAAGAGG CTATGACGTC AGTGCAACAT TGAGAAGTGA AAAATACTAA 366T3 TTTATATCTT AAGATTTTTC AAAGTAGGAG CTC 3693 (2) INFORMATION FOR EA SEQ ID NO: 2: "~ (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE:" - (A) LENGTH: 436 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid - (C) TYPE OF HEBRA : simple ~ (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (n) TYPE OF MOLECULE: peptide (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO: 2: "Met Gln Met Met Met Leu Ser Asp Leu Ser Ser Asp Asp His Glu Ala 1 5 10 15 Thr Gly Being Ser Tyr Gly Gly Asp Met Wing Being Tyr Wing Leu Ser 20 25 30 Pro Leu Phe Leu Wing Pro Wing Wing Being Wing Thr Wing Pro Pro Leu Pro Pro 40 40 45 Pro Pro Gln Pro Pro Wing Glu Glu Leu Thr Asn Lys Gln Wing Wing Gly 55 60 Gly Gly Lys Arg Lys Arg Ser Gln Pro Gly Asn Pro Asp Pro Gly Wing 65 70 75 80 Glu / al He Ala Leu Ser Pro Arg Thr Leu Val Ala Thr Asn Arg Phe 85 90 - 93 Val Cys Glu He Cys Asn Lys Gly Arg Gln Arg Asp GLn Asn Leu Gln 100 105 110 Leu His Arg Arg Gly His Asn Leu Pro Trp Lys Leu Arg Gln Arg Ser 115 120 125 Ser Leu Val Val Pro Being Ser Ala Ala Ala Gly Ser Gly Gly Thr 130 135 140 - Gln Gln Gln Gln Gln Gly Glu Ala Wing Pro Thr Pro Pro Arg Lys Arg 145 150 155 __ 160 Val Tyr Val Cys Pro Glu Pro Thr Cys Val His His Asp Pro Wing Arg 165 _ 170 175 Ala Leu Gly Asp Leu Thr Gly He Lys Lys His Arg Ser Arg Lys His 180 185 190 Gly Glu Lys Arg Trp Cys Cys Glu Arg Cys Gly Lys Arg Tyr Ala Val 195 200 205 Gln Ser Asp Trp Lys Ala His Val Lys Gly Cys Gly Thr Arg Glu Tyr 210 215 220 Arg Cys Asp Cys Gly He Leu Phe Ser Arg Lys Asp Ser Leu Leu Thr 225 230 235 _ 240 His Arg Ala Phe Cys Asp Ala Leu Ala Glu Glu Ser Ala Arg Leu Leu 245 250 _- 55 Ala Ala Ala Ala Asn Asn Gly Be Thr He Thr Thr Thr Be Ser 260 265 - "270 Asn sn Asn Asp Leu Leu Asn Wing Ser Asn Asn He Thr Pro Leu Phe 275 280 285 Leu Pro Phe Wing Being Ser Pro Pro Pro Val Val Val Wing Wing Ala Gln 90 295 300 Asn Pro Asn Asn Thr Leu Phe Phe Leu His Gln Glu Leu Ser Pro Phe 305 3 10 315 - ~~ - 320 Leu Gln Pro Arg Val Thr Met Gln_Gln Gln Pro Ser Pro Tyr leu Asp 325 330 335 Leu His Met His Val Asp Ala Ser He Val Thr Thr _Thr Gly Gly Leu 340 345 350 Wing Asp Gly Thr Pro Val Ser Phe Phe Leu Ala Leu Asp Gly Ser Val 355 360"365 Wing rhr Val Gly His Arg Arg Leu Thr Arg Asp Phe Leu Gly Val Asp 370 375 380 Phe Phe Phe Thr Gln Val Glu Glu Leu Gln Leu Pro Leu Cys Ala Thr 385 390 395 400 Wing Wing Wing Wing Gly Wing Being Arg "Thr Wing Being Cys Allah" Thr Asp Leu 405 410 _. .. -415 Thr Arg Gln Cys Leu Gly Gly Arg Leu Pro Pro Val Asn Glu Thr Trp 420 425 430 Ser His Asn Phe 435 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID: 3: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: " "_" (A) LENGTH: 415- base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid "" "" "(C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE "SEQUENCE: SEQ ID NO: 3: _ GAGCTCTGGG GGACTTGACT GGGATCAAGA AGCACTTCTC GCGGAAGCAC GGGGAGAAGC 60 GGTGGTGCTG CGAGCGCTGC GGGAAGCGCT ACGCCGTGCA GTCGGACTGG AAGGCGCACG 120 TCAAGGGGTG TGGCACGCGC GAGTACCGCT GCGACTGCGG CATCCTCTTC TCCAGGTACA 180 TCTCATCTCA TGATCACCGT GCACATATGC ATGGACGACG TGTGCTTTGC TGTAATTGTA 240 AACGCTGATC ATTTTTTACTA ACAACCATGC TGGATATAAT AGCCTAATCT CTCACCGGAC 300 GGATCGAGAG AAAACCTAGC TAGACGGGAT CGATCGGTCC AGCAGGTTGC CGCCGACGAC 360 TGTTCCATCG ATCGAGCCTG TTAATTTAGT CATAAAAAGG ATCGAGCATA TGCAT 415 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 4: "(i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 415 amino acids - (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear what (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: peptide (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEQ ID M: 4: Gly Wing Gly Cys Thr Cys Thr Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly Wing Cys Thr Thr 1 5 10 15 Gly Wing Cys Thr Gly Gly Gly Wing Thr Cys Wing Wing Gly Wing Wing Gly 20 25 30 Cys Wing Cys Thr Thr Cys Thr Cys Gly Cys Gly Gly Wing Wing Gly Cys 35 40 45 Wing Lys Gly Gly Gly Gly Wing Gly Wing Wing Gly Cys Gly Gly Thr Gly 50 55 60 20 Gly Thr Gly Cys Thr Gly Cys Gly Wing Gly Cly Gly "Cys Thr Gly Cys 65 70 75 80 Gly Gly Gly Wing Wing Gly Cys Gly Cys Thr Wing Cys Gly Cys Cys Gly 85 90 3.T Thl jly Cys Wing Gly Thr Cys Gly Gly Wing Cys Thr Gly Gly Wing To 100 105 110 Gly Gly Cly Gly Cys Wing Cys Gly Thr Cys Wing Wing Gly Gly Gly Gly 115 120 125 Thr Gly Thr Gly Gly Cys Wing Cys Gly Cys Gly Cys Gly Wing Gly Thr 130 135 140 30 Wing Cys Cys Gly Cys Thr Gly Cys Gly Wing Cys Thr Gly Cys Wing Gly 145 150 155, - Cys Ala Thr Cys Cys Thr Cys Thr Thr Cys Thr Cys Cys Wing Gly Gly 165"170 175 Thr Wing Cys Wing Thr Cys Thr Cys Wing Thr Cys Thr Cys Wing Thr Gly 180 - _ 185 _ 190 _ Ala rhr Cys Ala Cys Cys Gly Thr Gly Cys Ala Cys Ala Thr Ala Thr 195 2Q0 205 Gly Cys Ala Thr Gly Gly Ala Cys Gly Ala Cys Gly Thr Gly Thr Gly 210 215 - __ 220 Cys Thr Thr Thr Thr Gly Thr Gly Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr Thr 245 250"" Cys Cys Ala Thr "Gly" Cys Thr Gly 260 265"* 270" '_ Gly Ala Thr Ala Thr Ala Ala Thr Ala Gly Cys Cys Thr Ala Ala Thr 275 280 285 Cys Thr Cys Thr Cys Ala Cys Cys Gly Gly Ala Cys Gly Gly Ala Thr 290 295 300 Cys Gly Ala Gly Ala Gly Ala Ala Ala Ala Cys Cys Thr Ala Gly Cys 305 310 315 __ - - - - 320 Thr Ala Gly Ala Cys Gly Gly Gly Ala Thr Cys Gly Ala Thr Cys Gly 325 330 _ J335 Gly Thr Cys Cys Ala Gly Cys Ala Gly Gly Thr Thr Thr Gly Cys Cys Gly 340 345 350"Cys Cys Gly Wing Cys Gly Wing Cys Thr Gly Thr Thr Cys Cys Wing Thr 355 360 365 Cys Gly Wing Thr Cys Gly Wing Gly Cys Cys Thr Gly Thr Thr Wing Wing 370 375 380"" Thr Thr Thr Ala Gly Thr Cys Ala Thr Ala Ala Ala Ala Ala Gly Gly 385 390 395"" "400 Wing Thr Cys Gly Wing Gly Cys Wing Thr Wing Thr Gly Cys Wing Thr 405 410 415 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 5: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: Z (A) LENGTH: 17 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF? EBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: peptide (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEQ ID s: 5: His Phe Ser Asn Pro Ala Leu Asn Arg Arg Trp Val Cys His Ala Cys 1 5 10 - 15 Gly _ (2) INFORMATION FOR EA SEQ ID NO: 6: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: "Z-" ~ _ "(A) LENGTH: 18 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple ( D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: peptide (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEQ ID NO: 6: His Leu Lys Leu His Lys Gly Glu Lys Pro Phe Pro Cys Ser Gln Cys 1 5 10 15 Gly Lys (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 7: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: - "__ ___ (A) LENGTH: 27 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) ) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: peptide (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEQ ID KT: 7: Ala Tyr Ser Arg Leu Glu Asn Leu Lys Thr His Leu Arg Ser His Thr 1 5 10 15 Gly Glu Lys Pro Tyr Val Cys Glu His Glu Gly 20 25 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC TD N °: 8: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: "~ (A) LENGTH: 19 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid" "_" (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: peptide (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEQ ID NO: 8: Lys His Lys Lys He His Lys Gly Gln Gln Tyr Tyr Thr Cys Arg Asp 1 5 10 15 Cys Glu Lys [2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 9: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE "SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 24 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple ( D) TOPOLOGY-: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (x) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEQ ID NO: 9: GGCATCCTCT TCTCCAGGAA GGAC "24 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 10: (? SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: "~ (A) LENGTH: 26 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (n) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC ID ° IC GGCATCCTCT TCTCCAGGTC TCCAGG 26 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 11: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: _ (A) LENGTH-: 25 base pairs - (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) ) TOPOLOGY: linear (il) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: ID NO: 11: GGCATCCTCT TCTCCAGACT CCAGG 25 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 12: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: "" - (A) LENGTH: 23 base pairs "(B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple ( D) TOPOLOGY: linear (nj TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEQ ID NO: 12: GGCATCCTCT TCTCCACTCC AGG 23 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 13: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 25 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (n) TYPE OF MOLECULE: ADKT (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEQ ID NO: 13: GGCATCCTCT TCTCCAGACT GCAGG 25 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 14: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: _ (A) LENGTH: 14 base pairs (R) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (n) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEQ ID NO: 14: GGCATCCTCT TCTC 14 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO: 15: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: ~ (A) LENGTH: 21 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY : linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF SEQUENCE: SEC ID-TXT0": 15 GGCATCCTCT TCTCCTCCAG G 21

Claims (29)

1. Isolated DNA consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complement.

2. Isolated DNA that: a) hybridizes under high stringency conditions with the DNA of Claim 1, b) has a sequence similarity of 70% with the DNA of Claim 1, or c) codes for a polypeptide consisting of SEC ID N °: 2 od) has all these characteristics. "-"

3. Isolated DNA according to Claim 1, selected from the group consisting of nucleic acids 392 to 4541 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complement and nucleic acids 81L / T to 876 of SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complement.

4. Isolated RNA or a portion thereof encoded by the DNA of claim 1.

5. Isolated Jd polypeptide or a portion thereof, consisting of 20 or more consecutive amino acids of SEQ ID NO. No.: 2.

6. Isolated DNA complementary to a Jd gene or a portion thereof, consisting of 25 or more consecutive nucleotides of "SEQ ID NO: 1.-

7. DNA isolated from a plant, which:" a) is hybridized under conditions of moderate stringency to nucleotides 392 to 454 of SEQ ID NO: loa "nucleotides 814 to 876 of SEQ ID NO: 1, or b) shows at least 50% sequence similarity with nucleotides 392 to 454 of SEQ ID NO: 1"or" nucleotides 814 to 8 ^ 6 of SEQ ID NO: 1.

8. An isolated Jd gene encoding a polypeptide consisting of SEQ ID NO. : 2.

9. A polypeptide or portion thereof encoded by a DNA according to Claim 7.

10. A plant or part of the plant that contains: a) a Jd gene or type id isolated, recombined or "altered, or" DNA consisting of a -gen id *, c) DNA consisting of an antisense construct Jd, d) DNA encoding a dominant-negative mutant Jd protein.

11. A seed of a plant of Claim 9.

12. A tissue culture of the plant or part of plant "of Claim 9.

13. A plant or part of plant according to Claim 9, where the plant is corn or sorghum or the plant part is derived from corn or sorghum.

14. The seed according to Claim 11 / wherein the seed is a corn or sorghum seed.

15. A tissue culture according to claim 12, wherein the tissue is a corn or sorghum tissue.

16. A transgenic plant, part of a transgenic plant cell transgenic plant that contains isolated, recombinant or altered DNA that alters the time of induction of flowering directly affecting the signal of floral induction.

17 The plant or plant part according to the Claim ,. 16, where the plant is corn or sorghum or the plant part or plant cell derived from corn or sorghum.

18. A transgenic plant containing an isolated, recombinant or altered nucleic acid that alters the time of flower induction directly - such that the floral induction signal appears before that of a plant of the same variety without said nucleic acid isolated, recombinant or altered when it grows in identical conditions.

19. A transgenic plant containing an isolated, recombinant or altered nucleic acid that alters the time of floral induction directly, so that floral induction is delayed or inhibited compared to floral induction in a plant of the same variety without said nucleic acid isolated, recombinant or altered when it grows -in identical conditions

20. A method of production of a transgenic plant having an altered time of induction - of flowering, consisting in introducing a nucleic acid into the cells of the plant isolated, recombinant or altered whose presence in a plant results in a direct alteration of the induction signal for the development of the flowers "and" maintain "the plant cells that contain the exogenous nucleic acid under conditions appropriate for the growth of the cells_ of the plant, whereby a plant is produced that has a time of induction of reproduction ado.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the transgenic plant is selected from the group consisting of: angiosperms, gymnosperms, monocotyledons and dicots.

22. The method of Claim 20, wherein the isolated, recombinant or altered nucleic acid is all or a part of the Jd gene or a homologue thereof.

23. The method of Claim 20, wherein the isolated, recombinant or altered nucleic acid is all or a part of the id * gene or a homologue thereof.

24. A method of identifying a Jd gene in a plant, consisting of the steps of: a) preparing a genomic DNA library or a cDNA library of a plant; b) probing said genomic DNA library or ~ cDNA library with all or a portion of SEQ ID NO: I to produce hybridized DNA; c) identify the hybridized DNA, and d) clone the hybridized DNA to obtain the Jd gene.

25. A method for identifying a gene encoding a finger-zinc protein in a plant, consisting of the steps of: a) preparing a genomic DNA library of a plant cDNA library, b) probing said library of genomic DNA or cDNA library with DNA consisting of nucleotides "392" through "454 of SEQ ID: 1, or DNA consisting of nucleotides 814 through 876" of SEQ ID NO: 1 to produce hybridized DNA; c) identifying the hybridized DNA, and d) sequencing the DNA-hybridized to obtain a gene encoding a finger-zinc protein. -

26. A method of producing an allele of an isolated Jd gene with an altered function in a plant , consisting of: a) altering the molecular structure He_ a Jd gene isolated in vitro - using molecular genetic techniques, thus producing an altered Id gene and b) inserting the altered Jd gene into a plant to produce an altered Jd allele in the plant. "

27. An antibody or fragment of a The antibody that binds to a polypeptide consisting of SEQ ID H "" 2", or a portion thereof.

28. A Jd fusion protein consisting of all or part of SEQ ID NO: 2 or an equivalent and a poTypeptide that is not SEQ ID F: 2. "29. A ribozyme which excises and inactivates the RNA transcript of a Jd gene or its functional equivalent.