US20150013033A1 - Lignification reduction in plants - Google Patents

Lignification reduction in plants Download PDF

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US20150013033A1
US20150013033A1 US14/232,018 US201214232018A US2015013033A1 US 20150013033 A1 US20150013033 A1 US 20150013033A1 US 201214232018 A US201214232018 A US 201214232018A US 2015013033 A1 US2015013033 A1 US 2015013033A1
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plant
hchl
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plants
lignin
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Dominique Loqué
Amyerick Guillaume Eudes
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University of California San Diego UCSD
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    • C12BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12NMICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
    • C12N15/00Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
    • C12N15/09Recombinant DNA-technology
    • C12N15/63Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
    • C12N15/79Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
    • C12N15/82Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
    • C12N15/8241Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology
    • C12N15/8242Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with non-agronomic quality (output) traits, e.g. for industrial processing; Value added, non-agronomic traits
    • C12N15/8243Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with non-agronomic quality (output) traits, e.g. for industrial processing; Value added, non-agronomic traits involving biosynthetic or metabolic pathways, i.e. metabolic engineering, e.g. nicotine, caffeine
    • C12N15/8255Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with non-agronomic quality (output) traits, e.g. for industrial processing; Value added, non-agronomic traits involving biosynthetic or metabolic pathways, i.e. metabolic engineering, e.g. nicotine, caffeine involving lignin biosynthesis
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12NMICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
    • C12N15/00Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
    • C12N15/09Recombinant DNA-technology
    • C12N15/63Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
    • C12N15/79Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
    • C12N15/82Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
    • C12N15/8241Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology
    • C12N15/8261Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12NMICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
    • C12N9/00Enzymes; Proenzymes; Compositions thereof; Processes for preparing, activating, inhibiting, separating or purifying enzymes
    • C12N9/88Lyases (4.)
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C12BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
    • C12YENZYMES
    • C12Y402/00Carbon-oxygen lyases (4.2)
    • C12Y402/01Hydro-lyases (4.2.1)
    • C12Y402/01101Trans-feruloyl-CoA hydratase (4.2.1.101)
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02ATECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A40/00Adaptation technologies in agriculture, forestry, livestock or agroalimentary production
    • Y02A40/10Adaptation technologies in agriculture, forestry, livestock or agroalimentary production in agriculture
    • Y02A40/146Genetically Modified [GMO] plants, e.g. transgenic plants

Definitions

  • Lignocellulosic plant biomass is utilized as a renewable feedstock in various agro-industrial activities.
  • Lignin is an aromatic and hydrophobic branched polymer incrusted within biomass that negatively affects extraction and hydrolysis of polysaccharides during industrial processes.
  • Engineering the monomer composition of lignin offers attractive potential for reducing its recalcitrance.
  • the present invention offers a new strategy developed in Arabidopsis for the overproduction of rare lignin monomers, which incorporate as end-groups in the polymer and reduce lignin chain extension.
  • Biosynthesis of these lignification stoppers' is achieved by expressing a bacterial hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) in lignifying tissues of Arabidopsis inflorescence stems.
  • HCHL cleaves the propanoid side chain of hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA lignin precursors to produce the corresponding hydroxybenzaldehydes.
  • Stems from plants that express HCHL accumulate higher amount of hydroxybenzaldehyde and hydroxybenzoate derivates compared to wild type plants.
  • Part of these C 6 C 1 phenolics are alcohol-extractable from plant tissues and are released from extract-free cell walls upon mild alkaline hydrolysis.
  • Engineered plants with intermediate HCHL activity level show no reduction of total lignin, sugar content and biomass yield compared to wild type plants.
  • cell wall characterization by 2D-NMR reveals the presence of new molecules in the aromatic region and the analysis of lignin isolated from these plants revealed an increased amount of C 6 C 1 phenolic end-groups and a reduced molecular mass distribution.
  • these engineered lines show saccharification improvement of pretreated cell wall biomass. Enhancing the incorporation of C 6 C 1 phenolic end-groups in lignin represents a promising strategy to alter lignin structure and reduce cell wall recalcitrance to enzymatic hydrolysis.
  • the present invention provides an isolated expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding a hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) and a heterologous promoter, and the promoter is operably linked to the polynucleotide sequence.
  • the HCHL is Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL, which has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1.
  • the promoter used in this expression cassette is a secondary cell wall specific promoter, such as pIRX5, which is within the polynucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.
  • the present invention provides a method for engineering a plant having reduced lignification.
  • the method includes these steps: (1) introducing the expression cassette described herein into the plant; and (2) culturing the plant under conditions under which the HCHL is expressed, thereby reducing lignification in the plant.
  • the plant is selected from the group consisting of Arabidopsis , poplar, eucalyptus, rice, corn, switchgrass, sorghum, millet, miscanthus, sugarcane, pine, alfalfa, wheat, soy, barley, turfgrass, tobacco, hemp, bamboo, rape, sunflower, willow, and Brachypodium.
  • the present invention provides a plant that is engineered by the methods described herein, and a plant cell from such a plant, a seed, flower, leaf, or fruit from such a plant, a plant cell that contains the expression cassette described herein, and biomass comprising plant tissue from the plant or part of the plant described herein.
  • the invention provides an engineered plant comprising a heterologous hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) operably linked to a promoter.
  • HCHL hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase
  • the polynucleotide encoding the heterologous HCHL is integrated into a plant genome.
  • the promoter is heterologous to the plant.
  • the promoter is an endogenous promoter. In some embodiment, the promoter is a secondary cell wall-specific promoter, such as an IRX5 promoter. In some embodiments, the HCHL is Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL.
  • the plant may be a monocot or a dicot. In some embodiments, the plant is selected from the group consisting of Arabidopsis , poplar, eucalyptus, rice, corn, switchgrass, sorghum, millet, miscanthus, sugarcane, pine, alfalfa, wheat, soy, barley, turfgrass, tobacco, hemp, bamboo, rape, sunflower, willow, and Brachypodium.
  • the invention provide methods of using an engineered plant of the invention, or parts of the plant, or plant biomass comprising material from the plant.
  • plant material is used in a saccharificatoni reaction, e.g., enzymatic saccharification, to generate soluble sugars at an increased level of efficiency as compared to wild-type plants that have not been modified to express HCHL.
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used to increase biomass yield or simplify downstream processing for wood industries (such as paper, pulping, and construction) as compared to wild-type plants.
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used to increase the quality of wood for construction purposes.
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material can be used in a combustion reaction, gasification, pyrolysis, or polysaccharide hydrolysis (enzymatic or chemical).
  • the plants, plant parts, or plant biomass material are used as forage that is more readily digested compared to wild-type plants.
  • FIG. 1 HCHL-mediated conversion of hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs into hydroxybenzaldehydes.
  • FIG. 2 Analysis of HCHL expression in IRX5:HCHL lines.
  • A Detection by RT-PCR of HCHL transcripts using mRNA isolated from secondary stems of five independent five-week-old transformants in the T1 generation. cDNA synthesized from mRNA purified from wild type (WT) stems were used as a negative control. Tub8-specific primers were used to assess cDNA quality for each sample.
  • B Detection by western blot of HCHL tagged with the AttB2 peptide (approximate size 32 kDa) using the universal antibody and 5 ⁇ g of total protein extracted from the primary stem of five independent five-week-old IRX5:HCHL transformants in the T2 generation. A protein extract from wild type stems (WT) was used as a negative control.
  • FIG. 3 Histochemical staining of stem sections from five-week-old Arabidopsis plants.
  • A Frenchule staining.
  • B Phloroglucinol-HCl staining.
  • C Toluidine blue O staining. i, interfascicular fibers; x, xylem. Bars represent 50 ⁇ m for (A) and (B), and 20 ⁇ m for (C). Note the collapsed xylem vessels (yellow arrows) observed for line IRX5:HCHL (4).
  • FIG. 4 Spectral analysis of IRX5:HCHL and wild type plants.
  • A Lignin and polysaccharide content in CWR of mature senesced stems from wild type (WT) and line IRX5:HCHL (2) using FT-Raman spectroscopy. Values represent integrated intensities over the range of 1555-1690 cm ⁇ 1 and 1010-1178 cm ⁇ 1 for lignin and polysaccharides (cellulose/hemicellulose) quantification, respectively. Values are means of three biological replicates ⁇ SE.
  • FIG. 5 2D-HSQC NMR spectra analysis of line IRX5:HCHL plants.
  • FIG. 6 Polydispersity profiles of CEL lignin purified from stems of wild type and line IRX:HCHL (2) plants. SEC chromatograms were obtained using (A) UV-A 300 absorbance and (B) UV-F ex250/em450 fluorescence.
  • FIG. 7 Saccharification of biomass from mature senesced stems of IRX5:HCHL and wild type plants. Amount of reducing sugars released from 10 mg of biomass after hot water, dilute alkaline, or dilute acid pretreatment followed by 72-h enzymatic hydrolysis were measured using the DNS assay. Values are means of four biological replicates ⁇ SE.
  • FIG. 8 Alignment of amino acid sequences of Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL (SEQ ID NO:1) and other homologous proteins.
  • FIG. 9 Organ and tissue-specific activity of the IRX5 promoter in Arabidopsis .
  • Line CS70758 which contains a pIRX5:GUS expression cassette, was used to localize the activity of the IRX5 promoter.
  • Young seedlings (A and B), rosettes leaves (C and D), siliques (E and F), cauline leaves (G and H), flowers (I and J), and inflorescence stems (K and L) were incubated in the GUS assay buffer for 1 h and 8 h at 37° C. Gus activity was essentially detected in the stem xylem vessels after a 1-h incubation (K).
  • FIG. 10 Growth and development of IRX5:HCHL and wild type (WT) plants at different stages.
  • A Three-week-old rosette
  • B Five-week-old flowering stage.
  • C Eight-week-old senescing stage.
  • FIG. 11 Synthesis of C 6 C 1 phenolics production upon HCHL activity and probable associated enzymes.
  • the phenylpropanoid pathway (center box) and monolignol pathway (left box) are represented.
  • HCHL converts hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs into their corresponding hydroxybenzaldehydes.
  • Metabolomic data showed occurrence of hydroxycinnamic acids and alcohols, suggesting involvement of aldehyde dehydrogenases (DH) and reductases (left box).
  • UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGT) are responsible for the formation of C6-C1 phenolic glucose conjugates.
  • Syringaldehyde is possibly derived from vanillin and 5OH-vanillin after successive monooxyenase (Monox) and O-methyltransferase activities (OMT). Asterisks indicate compounds found in higher amount in lignin of Arabidopsis expressing HCHL.
  • enzymes are: PAL, phenylalanine ammonia lyase; C4H, cinnamate 4-hydroxylase; 4CL, 4-coumarate-CoA ligase; CCR, hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA reductase; CAD, coniferyl alcohol dehydrogenase; HCT, p-hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA:quinate shikimate p-hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA transferase; C3H, p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase; CCoAOMT, caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase; FSH, ferulate 5-hydroxylase (coniferaldehyde 5-hydroxylase); COMT, caffeic acid/5-hydroxyferulic acid O-methyltransferase.
  • PAL phenylalanine ammonia lyase
  • C4H cinnamate 4-hydroxylase
  • 4CL 4-coumarate-CoA ligase
  • FIG. 12 Transgenic rice lines that express pAtIRX5::HCHL.
  • FIG. 13 Expression analysis of HCHL in the engineered rice lines. Results of an RT-PCR using RNA extracted from rice plants and HCHL-specific primers.
  • FIG. 14 Detection of pHBA in stems from the engineered rice lines.
  • hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the hydration of the double bond of lignin precursor p-coumaroy-CoA, caffeoyl-CoA, or feruloyl-CoA thioester, which is followed by a retro aldol cleavage reaction to produce a corresponding C 6 C 1 hydroxylbenzaldehyde and acetyl-CoA.
  • a typical HCHL within the meaning of this invention is an HCHL from bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens (EC 4.2.1.101-trans-feruloyl-CoA hydratase), which has the amino acid sequence set forth in FIG. 11 as SEQ ID NO:1 (GenBank Accession No. CAA73502), encoded by cDNA sequence set forth in GenBank Accession No. Y13067.1 or by a codon-optimized polynucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 (synthesized by GenScript, Piscatway, N.J.).
  • HCHL includes polymorphic variants, alleles, mutants, and interspecies homologs to the Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL, some examples of which are provided in FIG. 8 .
  • a nucleic acid that encodes an HCHL refers to a gene, pre-mRNA, mRNA, and the like, including nucleic acids encoding polymorphic variants, alleles, mutants, and interspecies homologs of the particular sequences described herein.
  • an HCHL nucleic acid (1) has a polynucleotide sequence that has greater than about 50% nucleotide sequence identity, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, preferably 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% or higher nucleotide sequence identity, preferably over a region of at least about 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500 or more nucleotides or over the length of the entire polynucleotide, to a polynucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:1 (e.g., SEQ ID NO:2 or the polynucleotide sequence set forth in Y13067.1); or (2) encodes a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence that has greater than about 50% amino acid sequence identity, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, preferably 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%,
  • substantially localized when used in the context of describing a plant expressing an exogenous HCHL that is substantially localized to a particular tissue, refers to the enzymatic activity and modified monolignols produced therefore in substantially higher amounts in the particular cell or tissue type of interest as compared to other cell or tissue types.
  • the presence of HCHL and modified monolignols is substantially localized to the secondary cell wall of a plant cell and in the stem of a plant.
  • polynucleotide and “nucleic acid” are used interchangeably and refer to a single or double-stranded polymer of deoxyribonucleotide or ribonucleotide bases read from the 5′ to the 3′ end.
  • a nucleic acid of the present invention will generally contain phosphodiester bonds, although in some cases, nucleic acid analogs may be used that may have alternate backbones, comprising, e.g., phosphoramidate, phosphorothioate, phosphorodithioate, or O-methylphosphoroamidite linkages (see Eckstein, Oligonucleotides and Analogues: A Practical Approach, Oxford University Press); positive backbones; non-ionic backbones, and non-ribose backbones.
  • nucleic acids or polynucleotides may also include modified nucleotides that permit correct read-through by a polymerase.
  • Polynucleotide sequence” or “nucleic acid sequence” includes both the sense and antisense strands of a nucleic acid as either individual single strands or in a duplex. As will be appreciated by those in the art, the depiction of a single strand also defines the sequence of the complementary strand; thus the sequences described herein also provide the complement of the sequence. Unless otherwise indicated, a particular nucleic acid sequence also implicitly encompasses variants thereof (e.g., degenerate codon substitutions) and complementary sequences, as well as the sequence explicitly indicated.
  • the nucleic acid may be DNA, both genomic and cDNA, RNA or a hybrid, where the nucleic acid may contain combinations of deoxyribo- and ribo-nucleotides, and combinations of bases, including uracil, adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine, inosine, xanthine hypoxanthine, isocytosine, isoguanine, etc.
  • substantially identical used in the context of two nucleic acids or polypeptides, refers to a sequence that has at least 50% sequence identity with a reference sequence. Percent identity can be any integer from 50% to 100%. Some embodiments include at least: 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99%, compared to a reference sequence using the programs described herein; preferably BLAST using standard parameters, as described below.
  • an HCHL may have an amino acid sequence that is at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% identical to SEQ ID NO:1, the amino acid sequence of Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL.
  • nucleic acid sequences or polypeptide sequences are said to be “identical” if the sequence of nucleotides or amino acid residues, respectively, in the two sequences is the same when aligned for maximum correspondence as described below.
  • the terms “identical” or percent “identity,” in the context of two or more nucleic acids or polypeptide sequences, refer to two or more sequences or subsequences that are the same or have a specified percentage of amino acid residues or nucleotides that are the same, when compared and aligned for maximum correspondence over a comparison window, as measured using one of the following sequence comparison algorithms or by manual alignment and visual inspection.
  • sequence identity When percentage of sequence identity is used in reference to proteins or peptides, it is recognized that residue positions that are not identical often differ by conservative amino acid substitutions, where amino acids residues are substituted for other amino acid residues with similar chemical properties (e.g., charge or hydrophobicity) and therefore do not change the functional properties of the molecule. Where sequences differ in conservative substitutions, the percent sequence identity may be adjusted upwards to correct for the conservative nature of the substitution. Means for making this adjustment are well known to those of skill in the art. Typically this involves scoring a conservative substitution as a partial rather than a full mismatch, thereby increasing the percentage sequence identity.
  • a conservative substitution is given a score between zero and 1.
  • the scoring of conservative substitutions is calculated according to, e.g., the algorithm of Meyers & Miller, Computer Applic. Biol. Sci. 4:11-17 (1988) e.g., as implemented in the program PC/GENE (Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif., USA).
  • sequence comparison typically one sequence acts as a reference sequence, to which test sequences are compared.
  • test and reference sequences are entered into a computer, subsequence coordinates are designated, if necessary, and sequence algorithm program parameters are designated. Default program parameters can be used, or alternative parameters can be designated.
  • sequence comparison algorithm then calculates the percent sequence identities for the test sequences relative to the reference sequence, based on the program parameters.
  • a “comparison window,” as used herein, includes reference to a segment of any one of the number of contiguous positions selected from the group consisting of from 20 to 600, usually about 50 to about 200, more usually about 100 to about 150 in which a sequence may be compared to a reference sequence of the same number of contiguous positions after the two sequences are optimally aligned.
  • Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well-known in the art. Optimal alignment of sequences for comparison can be conducted, e.g., by the local homology algorithm of Smith & Waterman, Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482 (1981), by the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman & Wunsch, J. Mol. Biol.
  • These initial neighborhood word hits acts as seeds for initiating searches to find longer HSPs containing them.
  • the word hits are then extended in both directions along each sequence for as far as the cumulative alignment score can be increased. Cumulative scores are calculated using, for nucleotide sequences, the parameters M (reward score for a pair of matching residues; always >0) and N (penalty score for mismatching residues; always ⁇ 0). For amino acid sequences, a scoring matrix is used to calculate the cumulative score. Extension of the word hits in each direction are halted when: the cumulative alignment score falls off by the quantity X from its maximum achieved value; the cumulative score goes to zero or below, due to the accumulation of one or more negative-scoring residue alignments; or the end of either sequence is reached.
  • the BLAST algorithm parameters W, T, and X determine the sensitivity and speed of the alignment.
  • the BLASTP program uses as defaults a word size (W) of 3, an expectation (E) of 10, and the BLOSUM62 scoring matrix (see Henikoff & Henikoff, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:10915 (1989)).
  • the BLAST algorithm also performs a statistical analysis of the similarity between two sequences (see, e.g., Karlin & Altschul, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 90:5873-5787 (1993)).
  • One measure of similarity provided by the BLAST algorithm is the smallest sum probability (P(N)), which provides an indication of the probability by which a match between two nucleotide or amino acid sequences would occur by chance.
  • P(N) the smallest sum probability
  • a nucleic acid is considered similar to a reference sequence if the smallest sum probability in a comparison of the test nucleic acid to the reference nucleic acid is less than about 0.01, more preferably less than about 10 5 , and most preferably less than about 10.
  • Nucleic acid or protein sequences that are substantially identical to a reference sequence include “conservatively modified variants.” With respect to particular nucleic acid sequences, conservatively modified variants refers to those nucleic acids which encode identical or essentially identical amino acid sequences, or where the nucleic acid does not encode an amino acid sequence, to essentially identical sequences. Because of the degeneracy of the genetic code, a large number of functionally identical nucleic acids encode any given protein. For instance, the codons GCA, GCC, GCG and GCU all encode the amino acid alanine. Thus, at every position where an alanine is specified by a codon, the codon can be altered to any of the corresponding codons described without altering the encoded polypeptide.
  • nucleic acid variations are “silent variations,” which are one species of conservatively modified variations. Every nucleic acid sequence herein which encodes a polypeptide also describes every possible silent variation of the nucleic acid.
  • each codon in a nucleic acid except AUG, which is ordinarily the only codon for methionine
  • each silent variation of a nucleic acid which encodes a polypeptide is implicit in each described sequence.
  • amino acid sequences one of skill will recognize that individual substitutions, in a nucleic acid, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequence which alters a single amino acid or a small percentage of amino acids in the encoded sequence is a “conservatively modified variant” where the alteration results in the substitution of an amino acid with a chemically similar amino acid. Conservative substitution tables providing functionally similar amino acids are well known in the art.
  • nucleotide sequences are substantially identical if two molecules hybridize to each other, or a third nucleic acid, under stringent conditions.
  • Stringent conditions are sequence dependent and will be different in different circumstances. Generally, stringent conditions are selected to be about 5° C. lower than the thermal melting point (Tm) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength and pH. The Tm is the temperature (under defined ionic strength and pH) at which 50% of the target sequence hybridizes to a perfectly matched probe.
  • stringent conditions will be those in which the salt concentration is about 0.02 molar at pH 7 and the temperature is at least about 60° C.
  • stringent conditions for hybridization such as RNA-DNA hybridizations in a blotting technique are those which include at least one wash in 0.2 ⁇ SSC at 55° C. for 20 minutes, or equivalent conditions.
  • promoter refers to a polynucleotide sequence capable of driving transcription of a DNA sequence in a cell.
  • promoters used in the polynucleotide constructs of the invention include cis- and trans-acting transcriptional control elements, translational control elements (5′UTR: untranslated region) and regulatory sequences that are involved in regulating or modulating the timing and/or rate of transcription of a gene.
  • a promoter can be a cis-acting transcriptional control element, including an enhancer, a promoter, a transcription terminator, an origin of replication, a chromosomal integration sequence, 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions, or an intronic or exonic sequence, which are involved in transcriptional regulation.
  • Promoters are located 5′ to the transcribed gene, and as used herein, include the sequence 5′ from the translation start codon (i.e., including the 5′ untranslated region of the mRNA, typically comprising 50-200 bp). Most often the core promoter sequences lie within 1-3 kb of the translation start site, more often within 1 kbp and often within 500 bp of the translation start site. By convention, the promoter sequence is usually provided as the sequence on the coding strand of the gene it controls.
  • a “constitutive promoter” is one that is capable of initiating transcription in nearly all cell types, whereas a “cell type-specific promoter” initiates transcription only in one or a few particular cell types or groups of cells forming a tissue.
  • the promoter is secondary cell wall specific. Secondary cell wall is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin and is deposited in some, but not all, tissues of a plant, such as woody tissue.
  • a “secondary cell wall specific” promoter refers to a promoter that initiates higher levels of transcription in cell types that have secondary cell walls, e.g., lignified tissues such as vessels and fibers, which may be found in wood and bark cells of a tree, as well as other parts of plants such as the leaf stalk.
  • a promoter is secondary cell wall specific if the transcription levels initiated by the promoter in secondary cell walls are at least 3-fold, 4-fold, 5-fold, 6-fold, 7-fold, 8-fold, 9-fold, 10-fold, 50-fold, 100-fold, 500-fold, 1000-fold higher or more as compared to the transcription levels initiated by the promoter in other tissues, resulting in the encoded protein substantially localized in plant cells that possess secondary cell wall, e.g., the stem of a plant.
  • Non-limiting examples of secondary cell wall specific promoters include the promoters directing expression of genes IRX1, IRX3, IRX5, IRX7, IRX8, IRX9, IRX10, IRX14, NST1, NST2, NST3, MYB46, MYB58, MYB63, MYB83, MYB85, MYB103, PAL1, PAL2, C3H, CcOAMT, CCR1, F5H, LAC4, LAC17, CADc, and CADd.
  • the promoter is substantially identical to the native promoter sequence directing expression of the IRX5 gene (see, e.g., the promoter and transcriptional regulatory elements for IRX5 are contained in SEQ ID NO:3).
  • the promoter and transcriptional regulatory elements for IRX5 are contained in SEQ ID NO:3.
  • Some of the above mentioned secondary cell wall promoter sequences can be found within the polynucleotide sequences provided herein as SEQ ID NOs:36-61.
  • a promoter originated from one plant species may be used to direct gene expression in another plant species.
  • a polynucleotide is “heterologous” to an organism or a second polynucleotide sequence if it originates from a foreign species, or, if from the same species, is modified from its original form.
  • a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide sequence is said to be operably linked to a heterologous promoter, it means that the polynucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide is derived from one species whereas the promoter sequence is derived from another, different species; or, if both are derived from the same species, the coding sequence is not naturally associated with the promoter (e.g., is a genetically engineered coding sequence, e.g., from a different gene in the same species, or an allele from a different ecotype or variety).
  • operably linked refers to a functional relationship between two or more polynucleotide (e.g., DNA) segments. Typically, it refers to the functional relationship of a transcriptional regulatory sequence to a transcribed sequence.
  • a promoter or enhancer sequence is operably linked to a DNA or RNA sequence if it stimulates or modulates the transcription of the DNA or RNA sequence in an appropriate host cell or other expression system.
  • promoter transcriptional regulatory sequences that are operably linked to a transcribed sequence are physically contiguous to the transcribed sequence, i.e., they are cis-acting.
  • some transcriptional regulatory sequences, such as enhancers need not be physically contiguous or located in close proximity to the coding sequences whose transcription they enhance.
  • expression cassette refers to a nucleic acid construct that, when introduced into a host cell, results in transcription and/or translation of an RNA or polypeptide, respectively. Antisense or sense constructs that are not or cannot be translated are expressly included by this definition. In the case of both expression of transgenes and suppression of endogenous genes (e.g., by antisense, RNAi, or sense suppression) one of skill will recognize that the inserted polynucleotide sequence need not be identical, but may be only substantially identical to a sequence of the gene from which it was derived. As explained herein, these substantially identical variants are specifically covered by reference to a specific nucleic acid sequence.
  • an expression cassette is a polynucleotide construct that comprises a polynucleotide sequence encoding a HCHL protein operably linked to a promoter that is heterologous to the plant cell into which the expression cassette may be introduced.
  • an expression cassette comprises a polynucleotide sequence encoding a HCHL protein that is targeted to a position in the genome of a plant such that expression of the HCHL polynucleotide sequence is driven by a promoter that is present in the plant.
  • plant refers to whole plants and includes plants of a variety of a ploidy levels, including aneuploid, polyploid, diploid and haploid.
  • plant part refers to shoot vegetative organs and/or structures (e.g., leaves, stems and tubers), branches, roots, flowers and floral organs (e.g., bracts, sepals, petals, stamens, carpels, anthers), ovules (including egg and central cells), seed (including zygote, embryo, endosperm, and seed coat), fruit (e.g., the mature ovary), seedlings, and plant tissue (e.g., vascular tissue, ground tissue, and the like), as well as individual plant cells, groups of plant cells (e.g., cultured plant cells), protoplasts, plant extracts, and seeds.
  • plant tissue e.g., vascular tissue, ground tissue, and the like
  • the class of plants that can be used in the methods of the invention is generally as broad as the class of higher and lower plants amenable to transformation techniques, including angiosperms (monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants), gymnosperms, ferns, and multicellular algae.
  • biomass refers to plant material that is processed to provide a product, e.g., a biofuel such as ethanol, or livestock feed, or a cellulose for paper and pulp industry products.
  • a product e.g., a biofuel such as ethanol, or livestock feed, or a cellulose for paper and pulp industry products.
  • plant material can include whole plants, or parts of plants, e.g., stems, leaves, branches, shoots, roots, tubers, and the like.
  • reduced lignification encompasses both reduced size of a lignin polymer, e.g., a shorter lignin polymer chain due to a smaller number of monolignols being incorporated into the polymer, a reduced degree of branching of the lignin polymer or a reduced space filling (also called a reduced pervaded volume).
  • a reduced lignin polymer can be shown by detecting a decrease in it molecular weight or a decrease in the number of monolignols by at least 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or more, when compared to the average lignin molecule in a control plant. Methods for detecting reduced lignification are described in detail in the example section of this application.
  • Plant cell walls are constituted by a polysaccharidic network of cellulose microfibrils and hemicellulose embedded in an aromatic polymer known as lignin.
  • This ramified polymer is mainly composed of three phenylpropanoid-derived phenolics (i.e., monolignols) named p-coumaryl, coniferyl, and sinapyl alcohols which represent the p-hydroxyphenyl (H), guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) lignin units (Boerjan et al., 2003).
  • Monolignols have a C 6 C 3 carbon skeleton which consists of a phenyl ring (C 6 ) and a propane (C3) side chain.
  • Lignin is crucial for the development of terrestrial plants as it confers recalcitrance to plant cell walls. It also provides mechanical strength for upright growth, confers hydrophobicity to vessels that transport water, and acts as a physical barrier against pathogens that degrade cell walls (Boudet, 2007).
  • lignin content and composition are finely regulated in response to environmental biotic and abiotic stresses (Moura et al., 2010).
  • Plant feedstocks also represent a source of fermentable sugars for the production of synthetic molecules such as pharmaceuticals and transportation fuels using engineered microorganisms (Keasling, 2010).
  • Lignin biosynthesis is well characterized and well conserved across land plants (Weng and Chapple 2010). Genetic modifications such as silencing of genes involved in particular steps of this pathway or its regulation have been employed to reduce lignin content (Simmons et al., 2010; Umezawa, 2010) but this approach often results in undesired phenotypes such as dwarfism, sterility, reduction of plant biomass, and increased susceptibly to environmental stress and pathogens (Bonawitz and Chapple, 2010).
  • pleiotropic effects are generally the consequences of a loss of secondary cell wall integrity, accumulation of toxic intermediates, constitutive activation of defense responses, or depletion of other phenylpropanoid-derived metabolites which are essential for plant development and defense (Li et al., 2008; Naoumkina et al., 2010, Gallego-Giraldo et al., 2011).
  • changing the recalcitrant structure and physico-chemical properties of lignin can be achieved by modifying its monomer composition. For example, incorporation of coniferyl ferulate into lignin improves enzymatic degradation of cell wall polysaccharides (Grabber et al., 2008).
  • Such C 6 C 1 phenolics are usually found in trace amount in some lignins and form the so-called ‘benzyl end-groups’ (Kim et al., 2000; Ralph et al., 2001; Kim et al., 2003; Morreel et al., 2004; Ralph et al., 2008; Kim and Ralph, 2010).
  • the inventors considered increasing C 6 C 1 end-group phenolics in lignin to reduce its polymerization degree and native branched structure.
  • HCHL hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase
  • HCHL is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydration of the double bond of the lignin precursor p-coumaroyl-CoA, caffeoyl-CoA, and feruloyl-CoA thioesters, followed by a retro aldol cleavage reaction that produces the corresponding C 6 C 1 hydroxybenzaldehydes and acetyl-CoA ( FIG. 1 ; Mitra et al., 1999).
  • the promoter of a secondary cell wall cellulose synthase gene (Cesa4/IRX5) was used to restrict HCHL expression in lignified tissues of the stem (xylem and interfascicular fibers) and prevent depletion of hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs in other tissues in which they are precursors of hydroxycinnamate conjugates and other derivates involved in plant defense and development (Gou et al., 2009; Luo et al., 2009; Buer et al., 2010; Milkowski and Strack, 2010).
  • the data disclosed herein show that HCHL expression driven by the IRX5 promoter results for some lines in no significant changes in lignin content, plant development and biomass yields. It has also been demonstrated that C 6 C 1 phenolics accumulate as end-groups in the lignin of HCHL transgenics, which reduces lignin size and renders cell walls less recalcitrant to enzymatic hydrolysis.
  • the present invention provides a method for engineering a plant having reduced lignification.
  • This method includes these steps: first, introducing into the plant an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding an HCHL enzyme and a promoter, with the coding sequence and the promoter being in an operably linked arrangement; and second, culturing the plant under conditions permissible for the expression of a functional HCHL to produce C 6 C 1 phenolics, which can be polymerized with other monolignols and thereby reducing lignification in the plant.
  • the present invention provides methods of engineering a plant having modified lignin polymers, which may have reduced size, molecular weight, and/or altered (especially reduced or less extensive) branching, that are substantially localized to the lignified tissue of the plant. This is achieved by first introducing into the plant an expression cassette as described above but in particular having a secondary cell wall specific promoter, and then culturing the plant under conditions in which the functional HCHL enzyme is expressed.
  • This enzyme converts various hydroxycinnamoyl-coA into their respective hydroxybenzaldehydes that can be either directly incorporated or further modified (e.g., oxidation or reduction of the aldehyde group) by native enzymes prior to their incorporation into the lignin polymer by polymerization with native monolignols.
  • the expression cassette as described herein when introduced into a plant, does not necessarily modify the lignin content. Vessel stays intact indicating that the lignin cell wall structure is still robust to prevent vessel collapse, but the lignin composition and properties are modified to a level that its recalcitrance is reduce.
  • HCHL that is introduced into the plant by an expression cassette described herein does not have to be identical to the Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL, which was used in the experiments detailed in the example section of this disclosure.
  • the HCHL that is introduced into the plant by an expression cassette is substantially identical (e.g., at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical) to the Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL.
  • a variant HCHL will have at least 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95% sequence identity in its amino acid residues as compared to SEQ ID NO:1, especially within one or more of the 8 highly conserved regions (shown in the 8 boxes in FIG. 8 ).
  • the expression cassette of this invention comprises a polynucleotide encoding an enzyme that produces modified monoligols that can cause reduced lignification.
  • an enzyme is the Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL, having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1. Additional examples of such HCHL suitable for use in the present invention include those shown in FIG. 8 .
  • variants HCHL which may be naturally occurring or recombinantly engineered, provided the variants possess (1) substantially amino acid sequence identity to an exemplary HCHL (e.g., SEQ ID NO:1) and (2) the enzymatic activity to convert at least one lignin precursor p-coumaroy-CoA, caffeoyl-CoA, or feruloyl-CoA thioester into a corresponding C 6 C 1 hydroxylbenzaldehyde, as determined by an HCHL enzymatic assay known in the art by way of various scientific publications or described herein.
  • SEQ ID NO:1 substantially amino acid sequence identity to an exemplary HCHL
  • the variants possess (1) substantially amino acid sequence identity to an exemplary HCHL (e.g., SEQ ID NO:1) and (2) the enzymatic activity to convert at least one lignin precursor p-coumaroy-CoA, caffeoyl-CoA, or feruloyl-CoA thioester
  • HCHL p-hydroxycinnamoyl CoA hydratase/lyase
  • EH Enoyl-CoA hydratase/isomarase
  • FCA Feruloyl-CoA hydratase/lyase
  • FIG. 8 the amino acid sequences for which are provided in SEQ ID NOs:4-34.
  • the polynucleotide encoding the HCHL is operably linked to a secondary cell wall-specific promoter.
  • the secondary cell wall-specific promoter is heterologous to the polynucleotide encoding the HCHL, in other words, the promoter and the HCHL coding sequence are derived from two different species.
  • a promoter is suitable for use as a secondary cell wall-specific promoter if the promoter is expressed strongly in the secondary cell wall, e.g., in vessel and fiber cells of the plant, but is expressed at a much lower level or not expressed in cells without the secondary cell wall.
  • the promoter is substantially identical (e.g., at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical) to the native promoter of a gene encoding a secondary cell wall cellulose synthase Cesa4/IRX5, polynucleotide sequence set forth in Genebank Accession No. AF458083 — 1 and SEQ ID NO:35, and the promoter pIRX5 is contained in SEQ ID NO:3.
  • the secondary cell wall-specific promoter comprises SEQ ID NO:3. In some embodiments, the secondary cell wall-specific promoter comprises a subsequence of SEQ ID NO:3 or a variant thereof. In some embodiments, the secondary cell wall-specific promoter comprises a subsequence of SEQ ID NO:3 comprising about 50 to about 1000 or more contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:3.
  • the secondary cell wall-specific promoter comprises a subsequence of SEQ ID NO:3 comprising 50 to 1000, 50 to 900, 50 to 800, 50 to 700, 50 to 600, 50 to 500, 50 to 400, 50 to 300, 50 to 200, 50 to 100; 75 to 1000, 75 to 900, 75 to 800, 75 to 700, 75 to 600, 75 to 500, 75 to 400, 75 to 300, 75 to 200; 100 to 1000, 100 to 900, 100 to 800, 100 to 700, 100 to 600, 100 to 500, 100 to 400, 100 to 300, or 100 to 200 contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:3.
  • the secondary cell wall-specific promoter is substantially identical (e.g., at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical) to SEQ ID NO:3.
  • the effectiveness of a secondary cell wall-specific promoter may be confirmed by an reporter gene (e.g., ⁇ -glucuronidase or GUS) assay known in the art or as described in the example section of this application.
  • the sequences can be used to prepare an expression cassette for expressing the gene of interest in a transgenic plant.
  • plant transformation vectors include one or more cloned plant coding sequences (genomic or cDNA) under the transcriptional control of 5′ and 3′ regulatory sequences and a selectable marker.
  • Such plant transformation vectors may also contain a promoter (e.g., a secondary cell wall-specific promoter as described herein), a transcription initiation start site, an RNA processing signal (such as intron splice sites), a transcription termination site, and/or a polyadenylation signal.
  • a promoter e.g., a secondary cell wall-specific promoter as described herein
  • a transcription initiation start site e.g., an RNA processing signal (such as intron splice sites)
  • RNA processing signal such as intron splice sites
  • transcription termination site e.g., a transcription termination site
  • polyadenylation signal e.g., a polyadenylation signal.
  • the plant expression vectors may include RNA processing signals that may be positioned within, upstream, or downstream of the coding sequence.
  • the expression vectors may include regulatory sequences taken from the 3′-untranslated region of plant genes, e.g., a 3′ terminator region to increase mRNA stability of the mRNA, such as the PI-II terminator region of potato or the octopine or nopaline synthase 3′ terminator regions.
  • Plant expression vectors routinely also include selectable marker genes to allow for the ready selection of transformants.
  • selectable marker genes include those encoding antibiotic resistance genes (e.g., resistance to hygromycin, kanamycin, bleomycin, G418, streptomycin or spectinomycin), herbicide resistance genes (e.g., phosphinothricin acetyltransferase), and genes encoding positive selection enzymes (e.g. mannose isomerase).
  • an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding the HCHL and operably linked to a promoter (especially a secondary cell wall specific promoter)
  • a promoter especially a secondary cell wall specific promoter
  • standard techniques may be used to introduce the polynucleotide into a plant in order to express the HCHL and effectuate reduced lignification. See, e.g., protocols described in Ammirato et al. (1984) Handbook of Plant Cell Culture—Crop Species. Macmillan Publ. Co. Shimamoto et al. (1989) Nature 338:274-276; Fromm et al. (1990) Bio/Technology 8:833-839; and Vasil et al. (1990) Bio/Technology 8:429-434.
  • Transformation and regeneration of plants is known in the art, and the selection of the most appropriate transformation technique will be determined by the practitioner. Suitable methods may include, but are not limited to: electroporation of plant protoplasts; liposome-mediated transformation; polyethylene glycol (PEG) mediated transformation; transformation using viruses; micro-injection of plant cells; micro-projectile bombardment of plant cells; vacuum infiltration; and Agrobacterium tumeficiens mediated transformation. Transformation means introducing a nucleotide sequence in a plant in a manner to cause stable or transient expression of the sequence. Examples of these methods in various plants include: U.S. Pat. Nos.
  • plants can be selected using a selectable marker incorporated into the transformation vector.
  • a selectable marker will confer antibiotic or herbicide resistance on the transformed plants or the ability to grow on a specific substrate, and selection of transformants can be accomplished by exposing the plants to appropriate concentrations of the antibiotic, herbicide, or substrate.
  • the polynucleotide sequence coding for an HCHL can be obtained according to any method known in the art. Such methods can involve amplification reactions such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and other hybridization-based reactions or can be directly synthesized.
  • PCR polymerase chain reaction
  • An expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding an HCHL operably linked to a promoter, especially a secondary cell wall specific promoter, as described herein, can be expressed in various kinds of plants.
  • the plant may be a monocotyledonous plant or a dicotyledonous plant.
  • the plant is a green field plant.
  • the plant is a gymnosperm or conifer.
  • the plant is a plant that is suitable for generating biomass.
  • suitable plants include, but are not limited to, Arabidopsis , poplar, eucalyptus, rice, corn, switchgrass, sorghum, millet, miscanthus, sugarcane, pine, alfalfa, wheat, soy, barley, turfgrass, tobacco, hemp, bamboo, rape, sunflower, willow, Jatropha, and Brachypodium.
  • the plant into which the expression cassette of this invention is introduced is the same species of plant as the one from which the promoter is derived. In some embodiments, the plant into which the expression cassette is introduced is a different species of plant from the plant species the promoter is derived from.
  • the plants or parts of the plants may be evaluated to determine whether expression of the exogenous HCHL can be detected, e.g., by evaluating the level of RNA or protein, by measuring enzymatic activity of the HCHL, as well as by evaluating the size, molecular weight, content, or degree of branching in the lignin molecules found in the plants. These analyses can be performed using any number of methods known in the art.
  • plants are screened by evaluating the level of RNA or protein.
  • Methods of measuring RNA expression include, for example, PCR, northern analysis, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and microarrays.
  • Methods of measuring protein levels are also known in the art and include, for example, mass spectroscopy or antibody-based techniques such as ELISA, Western blotting, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry.
  • plants are screened by assessing HCHL activity, and also by evaluating lignin size and composition.
  • the enzymatic assays for HCHL are well known in the art and are described in this application.
  • Lignin molecules can be assessed, for example, by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), spectrophotometry, microscopy, klason lignin assays, acetyl-bromide reagent or by histochemical staining (e.g., with phloroglucinol).
  • Plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material from plants having reduced lignification due to the expression of an exogenous HCHL in the secondary cell wall can be used for a variety of methods.
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material generate less recalcitrant biomass for use in a conversion reaction as compared to wild-type plants.
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used in a saccharification reaction, e.g., enzymatic saccharification, to generate soluble sugars at an increased level of efficiency as compared to wild-type plants.
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used to increase biomass yield or simplify downstream processing for wood industries (such as paper, pulping, and construction) as compared to wild-type plants.
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used to increase the quality of wood for construction purposes.
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material can be used in a combustion reaction, gasification, pyrolysis, or polysaccharide hydrolysis (enzymatic or chemical).
  • the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass is used as a forage crop and exhibit improved digestibility compared to wild-type plants.
  • plants or plant biomass material e.g., leaves and stems
  • plants or plant biomass material are optionally pre-treated with hot water, dilute alkaline, AFEX (Ammonia Fiber Explosion), ionic liquid or dilute acid, followed by enzymatic saccharification using a mixture of cell wall hydrolytic enzymes (such as hemicellulases, cellulases and beta-glucosidases) in buffer and incubation of the plants or plant biomass material with the enzymatic mixture.
  • the yield of the saccharification reaction can be readily determined by measuring the amount of reducing sugar released, using a standard method for sugar detection, e.g. the dinitrosalicylic acid method well known to those skilled in the art.
  • Plants engineered in accordance with the invention provide a higher saccharification efficiency as compared to wild-type plants, while the plants growth, development, or disease resistance is not negatively impacted.
  • Sugars generated from a saccharification reaction using plant biomass of the invention can be used for producing any product for which the sugars can serve as a carbon source.
  • products include, but are not limited to, alcohols (e.g., ethanol, methanol, butanol); organic acids (e.g., citric acid, acetic acid, itaconic acid, lactic acid, gluconic acid); ketones (e.g., acetone); amino acids (e.g., glutamic acid); gases (e.g., H 2 and CO 2 ); antibiotics (e.g., penicillin and tetracycline); vitamins (e.g., riboflavin, B12, beta-carotene), fatty acids and fatty acid derivatives (as described, e.g., in PCT/US2008/068833); isoprenyl alkanoates (as described, e.g., PCT/US2008/068756, methyl butenol (as described,
  • Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Columbia, Col-0) seeds were germinated directly on soil. Growing conditions were 14 h of light per day at 100 mmol m ⁇ 2 s ⁇ 1 , 22° C., 55% humidity. Selection of T1 and T2 homozygote transgenic plants was made on solid Murashige and Skoog vitamin medium (PhytoTechnology Laboratories) supplemented with 1% sucrose, 1.5% agar (Sigma-Aldrich) adjusted to pH 5.6-5.8, and containing 50 ⁇ g mL ⁇ 1 kanamycin.
  • Murashige and Skoog vitamin medium Plantashige and Skoog vitamin medium (PhytoTechnology Laboratories) supplemented with 1% sucrose, 1.5% agar (Sigma-Aldrich) adjusted to pH 5.6-5.8, and containing 50 ⁇ g mL ⁇ 1 kanamycin.
  • Arabidopsis line CS70758 (ecotype Columbia, Col-2) was obtained from the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC). This line has a pMLBART plasmid containing an expression cassette consisting of the genomic fragment located upstream of the CESA4 start codon fused to the GUS gene. Histochemical GUS activity was performed as previously described (Eudes et al., 2006). Various organs of soil-grown line CS70758 were incubated for 1 h or 8 h at 37° C. in the GUS assay buffer using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-D-glucuronic acid (Indofine Chemical Company, Inc.) as a substrate. After staining, stem samples (1 cm) were cross-sectioned (80 ⁇ m) using a vibratome before observation under the microscope (Leica).
  • HCHL expression in Arabidopsis the binary vector pTKan which is derived from pPZP212 was used (Hajdukiewicz et al., 2004).
  • a Gateway cloning cassette (Invitrogen) was inserted between XhoI and PstI restriction sites to produce a pTKan-GW vector.
  • the nucleotide sequence of the IRX5 promoter was amplified by PCR from Arabidopsis (ecotype Columbia, Col-0) genomic DNA using oligonucleotides 5′-CCCG GCGGCCGC ATGAAGCCATCCTCTACCTCGGAAA-3′ and 5′-CCCG GCTAGC GGCGAGGTACACTGAGCTCTCGGAA-3′ (NotI and NheI restriction sites underlined), and inserted between the ApaI and SpeI restriction sites of pTKan-GW to produce a pTKan-pIRX5-GW expression vector.
  • a codon-optimized nucleotide sequence encoding the HCHL enzyme from Pseudomonas fluorescens AN103 (accession number CAA73502) for expression in Arabidopsis was synthesized without stop codon (Genescript) and amplified by PCR using oligonucleotides 5′- GGGGACAAGTTTGTACAAAAAAGCAGGCTTC ATGTCTACTTACGAGGGAAGATG G-3′ and 5′- GGGGACCACTTTGTACAAGAAAGCTGGGTC TCTCTTGTAAGCCTGGAGTCC-3′ (attb1 and attb2 sites underlined) for cloning into the Gateway pDONR221-f1 entry vector (Lalonde et al 2010).
  • a sequence-verified HCHL entry clone was LR recombined with the pTKan-pIRX5-GW vector to generate the final IRX5:HCHL construct.
  • the construct was introduced into wild type Arabidopsis plants (ecotype Col0) via Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation (Bechtold and Pelletier, 1998).
  • the obtained cDNA preparation was quality-controlled for PCR using tub8-specific oligonucleotides (5′-GGGCTAAAGGACACTACACTG-3′/5′-CCTCCTGCACTTCCACTTCGTCTTC-3′). Oligonucleotides 5′-ATGTCTACTTACGAGGGAAGATGG-3′ and 5′-TCTCTTGTAAGCCTGGAGTCC-3′ were used for the detection of HCHL expression by PCR.
  • inflorescence stems of IRX5:HCHL T2 transformants and wild type plants were ground in liquid nitrogen, and 0.25 g of the resulting powder was homogenized with the extraction buffer [100 mM Tris-HCl pH 6.5, 2% (w/v) polyvinylpyrrolidone, 2% (v/v) ⁇ -mercaptoethanol, 1% (w/v) SDS] at 1400 rpm for 30 min. The mixture was centrifuged at 20,000 g for 5 min and the supernatant collected for protein quantification using the Bradford method (Bradford, 1976) and bovine serum albumin as a standard.
  • soluble protein 5 ⁇ g
  • Tris-HCl pH 6.5
  • 8% (w/v) SDS 8% (v/v) ⁇ -mercaptoethanol
  • 40% (v/v) glycerol 8% (v/v) ⁇ -mercaptoethanol
  • 40% (v/v) glycerol 8% (v/v) ⁇ -mercaptoethanol
  • 40% (v/v) glycerol 8% (v/v) ⁇ -mercaptoethanol
  • bromophenol blue 0.04%
  • Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE using 8-16% (w/v) polyacrylamide gradient gels (Invitrogen) and electrotransferred (100 volts, 45 min) onto PVDF membranes (Thermo Fisher Scientific).
  • inflorescence stems of IRX5:HCHL T2 transformants and wild type plants were ground in liquid nitrogen, and 0.25 g of the resulting powder was homogenized with 25 mg of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and 1.25 mL of extraction buffer (EB; 100 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.5, 20 mM DTT, and 10 mM Na 2 EDTA). Extracts were shaken at 1400 rpm for 15 min at 4° C., and centrifuged for 30 min at 20,000 g at 4° C. Supernatants were collected, adjusted to 2.5 mL with EB, and applied to PD10 columns (GE healthcare) pre-equilibrated with 25 mL of EB. Proteins were eluted with 3.5 mL of EB and quantified using the Bradford method (Bradford, 1976) and bovine serum albumin as a standard.
  • HCHL activity 5 ⁇ L of protein extract was incubated for 15 min at 30° C. with 150 ⁇ M feruloyl-CoA in 100 m M Tris-HCl pH 8.5 in a total volume of 50 ⁇ L. Total amounts of protein per reaction varied from 4 to 6.5 ⁇ g. Reactions were stopped with 50 ⁇ L of cold acidified methanol (12% glacial acetic acid/88% methanol, v/v) and stored at ⁇ 70° C. until LC-MS analysis.
  • IRX5:HCHL and wild type plants were grown until senescence and dried stems were collected without roots, leaves and siliques before weighing.
  • Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA followed by Scheffe post hoc test.
  • Stem segments cut between the first and second internodes were embedded in 4% agarose.
  • Stem semi-thin sections (100- ⁇ m thickness) were obtained using a vibratome (Leica).
  • TBO toluidine blue O
  • sections were incubated in a 0.05% (w/v) solution of TBO (Sigma-Aldrich) in water for 30 sec and rinsed with water.
  • Wiesner lignin staining sections were incubated for 3 min in phloroglucinol-HCl reagent (VWR International) and rinsed with water.
  • Extract-free cell wall residues were obtained by sequentially washing 60 mg of ball-milled stems with 1 ml of 96% ethanol at 95° C. twice for 30 min, and vortexing with 1 mL of 70% ethanol twice for 30 sec. The resulting CWR were dried in vacuo overnight at 30° C. Approximately 6 mg of CWR was mixed with 500 ⁇ L of 2 M NaOH and shaken at 1400 rpm for 24 h at 30° C.
  • the mixture was acidified with 100 ⁇ L of concentrated HCl, and subjected to three ethyl acetate partitioning steps. Ethyl acetate fractions were pooled, dried in vacuo, and suspended in 50% (v/v) methanol-water prior to LC-MS analysis.
  • the HPLC system was coupled to an Agilent 6210 time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer (MS) via a 1:7 post-column split.
  • Analyses were conducted using Electrospray ionization (ESI) in the positive ion mode. Detection of [M+H] + ions was carried out in full scan mode at 0.85 spectra sec and a cycle time of 1.176 sec spectrum ⁇ 1 using the following parameters: capillary voltage 3500 V, fragmentor 165 V, skimmer 50 V and OCT RF 170 V, drying gas flow rate 9 L min ⁇ 1 , nebulizer pressure 15 psig, drying gas temperature 325° C.
  • Extract-free samples (CWR) of ball-milled mature senesced stems were prepared using a Soxhlet apparatus by sequentially extracting the ground material with toluene:ethanol (2:1, v/v), ethanol, and water (Sluiter et al., 2008).
  • the determination of lignin content using the standard Klason procedure (Dente, 1992) and the thioacidolysis procedure (Lapierre et al., 1995; 1999) were carried out on CWR.
  • the lignin-derived monomers were identified by GC-MS as their trimethyl-silylated derivatives. All the lignin analyses were performed in duplicate.
  • CWR of ball-milled mature senesced stems 50 mg were swelled in 500 ⁇ L H 2 SO 4 (72%, w/v) at 30° C. for 60 min, and autoclaved at 120° C. for 1 h in dilute H 2 SO 4 (4%, w/v) after addition of deionized water (14 mL). Samples were cooled down at room temperature and filtered using pre-weighted GF/C glass microfiber filters (Whatman). Filtrates were collected and diluted 100 times with deionized water prior to HPAEC-PAD analysis.
  • CWR of ball-milled mature dried stems (5 mg) were hydrolyzed in 1 ml of 2 M trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) for 1 h at 120° C. TFA was removed by drying under vacuum and the residue suspended in deionized water (1 mL) prior to HPAEC-PAD analysis.
  • TFA trifluoroacetic acid
  • Monosaccharide composition was determined by HPAEC-PAD of hydrolyzed material. Chromatography was performed on a PA20 column (Dionex) at a flow rate of 0.5 mL min ⁇ 1 . Before injection of each sample (20 ⁇ L) the column was washed with 200 mM NaOH for 10 min, then equilibrated with 10 mM NaOH for 10 min. The elution program consisted of a linear gradient from 10 mM NaOH to 5 mM NaOH from 0 to 1.5 min, followed by isocratic elution with 5 mM NaOH from 1.5 to 20 min, and a linear gradient up to 800 mM NaOH from 20 to 43 min.
  • Monosaccharides were detected using a pulsed amperometric detector (gold electrode) set on waveform A according to manufacturer's instructions.
  • a calibration curve of monosaccharide standards that includes L -Fuc, L -Rha, L -Ara, D -Gal, D -Glc, D -Xyl, D -GalA and D -GlcA (Sigma-Aldrich) was run for verification of response factors.
  • Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA followed by Tukey's test.
  • FT-Raman spectroscopy was conducted on CWR of ball-milled mature senesced stems (2 mg) from three independent cultures.
  • Raman spectra were collected using a Bruker MultiRAM FT-Raman system equipped with a 1064 nm diode laser (Bruker Optics Inc.). Five spectra were acquired for each sample with spectral resolution of 4 cm ⁇ 1 using a laser power of 50 mW and 256 scans to achieve good signal-to-noise ratio.
  • White light correction of the acquired spectra was performed to correct the influence of the optics on the spectrometer. Spectra in the range of 200-3500 cm ⁇ 1 were smoothed and baseline corrected using OPUS software.
  • Lignin and polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) content were determined using integrated intensities measured over the range of 1555-1690 cm ⁇ 1 and 1010-1178 cm ⁇ 1 , respectively.
  • analyses were carried out on xylem and interfascicular fibers tissues from 50- ⁇ m thick sections of the basal region of stems of five-week-old plants.
  • IRX5:HCHL line 2
  • FT-IR spectra were collected from a 50 ⁇ m ⁇ 50 ⁇ m window targeting xylem vessels or interfascicular fibers, and normalization of the data and statistical analysis (Student's t-test) were performed as described (Mouille et al., 2003).
  • CEL lignin was purified from wild type and IRX5:HCHL (line 2) plants.
  • One gram of ball-milled mature senesced stems was mixed with 50 mM NaCl (30 ml) and incubated overnight at 4° C. After centrifugation (2,800 g, 10 min), the biomass was extracted sequentially by sonication (20 min) with 80% ethanol (three times), acetone (one time), chloroform-methanol (1:1, v/v, one time) and acetone (one time).
  • the obtained CWR were ball-milled for 3 h per 500 mg of sample (in 10 min on/10 min off cycles) using a PM100 ball mill (Retsch) vibrating at 600 rpm with zirconium dioxide vessels (50 mL) containing ZrO 2 ball bearings (10 ⁇ 10 mm). Ball-milled walls (490 mg for wild type and 480 mg for IRX5:HCHL) were transferred to centrifuge tubes (50 mL) and digested four times over three days at 30° C. with crude cellulases (Cellulysin; Calbiochem; 60 mg g ⁇ 1 of sample) in NaOAc pH 5.0 buffer (30 mL) under gentle rotation.
  • Cellulysin Calbiochem
  • CEL was washed 3 times with deionized water and lyophilized overnight. CEL recovered were 131 mg for wild type (27.3%) and 101 mg for IRX5:HCHL (20.6%).
  • 1% (w/v) CEL lignin solutions were prepared in analytical-grade 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone-DMSO (1:1, v/v) and sonicated for 3 hours at 40° C.
  • Ball-milled mature senesced stems (10 mg) were mixed with 340 ⁇ L of water, 340 ⁇ L of H 2 SO 4 (1.2%, w/v), or 340 ⁇ L of NaOH (0.25%, w/v) for hot water, dilute acid, or dilute alkaline pretreatments, respectively, incubated at 30° C. for 30 min, and autoclaved at 120° C. for 1 h. After cooling down at room temperature, samples pretreated with dilute acid and dilute alkaline were neutralized with 5 N NaOH (25 ⁇ L) and 1.25 N HCl (25 ⁇ L), respectively.
  • Saccharification was initiated by adding 635 ⁇ L of 100 m M sodium citrate buffer pH 6.2 containing 80 g ml ⁇ 1 tetracycline, 5% w/w cellulase complex NS50013 and 0.5% w/w glucosidase NS50010 (Novozymes). After 72 h of incubation at 50° C. with shacking (800 rpm), samples were centrifuged (20,000 g, 3 min) and 10 ⁇ L of the supernatant was collected for reducing sugar measurement using the DNS assay and glucose solutions as standards (Miller, 1959).
  • RNA samples from three independent biological replicates were isolated and separately analyzed. For each biological replicate, RNA from the main inflorescence stem (first two internodes) of three plants were pooled. For each comparison, one technical replication with fluorochrome reversal was performed for each biological replicate (i.e. nine hybridizations per comparison). Reverse transcription of RNA was conducted in the presence of Cy3-dUTP or Cy5-dUTP (PerkinElmer-NEN Life Science Products), and hybridization and scanning of the slides were performed as described in Lurin et al. (2004).
  • GSTs gene-specific tags
  • Microarray data from this article were deposited at GEO (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) and at CATdb (http://urgv.evry.inra.fr/CATdb/) according to Minimum Information about a Microarray Experiment standards (MIME).
  • GEO http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/
  • CATdb http://urgv.evry.inra.fr/CATdb/
  • MIME Minimum Information about a Microarray Experiment standards
  • tissue specific activity of the IRX5 promoter was verified using the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) as a reporter gene. Gus activity was essentially detected in the xylem vessels of the stem. After prolonged incubations, stem interfascicular fibers also showed strong GUS activity, and more moderate staining was observed in the vascular system of young seedlings, siliques, rosette and cauline leaves. No activity was detected in other organs or tissues except for the style and anthers ( FIG. 9 ).
  • GUS beta-glucuronidase
  • a codon-optimized sequence encoding HCHL from Pseudomonas fluorescens AN103 was designed and cloned downstream of the IRX5 promoter for preferential expression in lignified tissues of Arabidopsis stems. Presence of HCHL transcripts in the main stem of five independent transformants was verified by RT-PCR in the T1 generation ( FIG. 2A ). Plants homozygous for the IRX5:HCHL construct were identified in the T2 generation, and used to analyze HCHL protein expression and activity in stems. Western blotting analysis using the ‘universal antibody’ allowed detection of HCHL in stem extracts of the five selected transgenic lines ( FIG. 2B ; Eudes et al. 2010).
  • HCHL activity could be detected in the stem of these lines, ranging from 0.025 to 0.16 pkat vanillin ⁇ g ⁇ 1 protein using feruloyl-CoA as substrate, whereas no detectable activity was observed in protein extracts of wild type plants (Table I). Two transgenic lines showing the highest and the lowest levels of HCHL activity, and two lines exhibiting intermediate activity level were selected for detailed analysis.
  • IRX5:HCHL plants had growth and development characteristics visually similar to the wild type from early rosette stage and until senescence ( FIG. 10 ). However, mature senesced stems from lines IRX5:HCHL (4) and IRX5:HCHL (5) were little bit shorter (22% and 13% reduction) and had lower dry weight yield (30% and 16% reduction) compared to control plants, whereas those from lines IRX5:HCHL (1) and IRX5:HCHL (2) were not significantly different (Table II). Stem tissues of five-week-old IRX5:HCHL plants were inspected using light microscopy.
  • HBA content in the IRX5:HCHL lines ranged between 1.59 and 2.49 mg g ⁇ 1 FW, which represents a 113 to 179 fold increase compared to values observed in wild type samples, and indicates that 88-94% of HBA accumulated in transgenic lines is glycosylated.
  • Extract-free cell wall residues obtained from mature senesced stems of wild type and IRX5:HCHL plants were subjected to mild alkaline hydrolysis for the release of loosely-bound phenolics. This procedure released from the cell wall samples some HBAld, 3,4-HBAld, Van, 5OH-Van, SyrAld, HBA, VA, and SyrA, which were quantified using LC-MS analysis.
  • Line IRX5:HCHL (2) which showed no defective xylem structures and biomass yield similar to wild type plants, was selected for further analyses.
  • Fourier transformed Raman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy was used to determine the chemical composition of CWR obtained from senesced stems of IRX5:HCHL plants. Compared to the wild type, data showed that lignin content and amount of polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) in IRX5:HCHL plants were not significantly different ( FIG. 4A ).
  • FT-IR Fourier transformed infrared
  • Monosaccharide composition was determined after sulfuric acid hydrolysis of total cell wall polysaccharides from mature senesced stems of line IRX5:HCHL (2) and wild type plants. Although both genotypes had similar amount of total monosaccharides, IRX5:HCHL plants showed reduction in glucose ( ⁇ 12%) and increase in xylose (+22%) and arabinose (+16%) compared to wild type plants (Table VI). Moreover, hemicellulosic monosaccharides released from CWR using trifluoroacetic acid showed that total amount of sugar quantified in this hydrolysate was 23% higher in IRX5:HCHL stems which corresponds to higher xylose (+23%) and arabinose (+22%) contents compared to wild type (Table VI).
  • the polydispersity of cellulolytic lignin purified from wild type and IRX5:HCHL (2) stems was determined using size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Elution profiles acquired by monitoring UV-A absorbance (SEC UV-A 300 ) and UV-F fluorescence (SEC UV-F ex 250/ em 450) of the dissolved lignin revealed differences between wild type and IRX5:HCHL plants ( FIG. 6 ). First, total area corresponding to the largest mass peak detected between 7 min and 13.5 min was severely reduced in transgenics due to significant diminution of the largest lignin fragments which elute between 7 min and 9 min.
  • HCHL HCHL
  • adverse phenotypes such as chlorotic and senescing leaves, stunting, low pollen production, male sterility, collapsed xylem vessels, and reduction of biomass were observed in transgenic tobacco, and sugarcane (Mayer et al., 2001; Merali et al., 2007; McQualter et al., 2005).
  • the inventors selected the promoter of a secondary cell wall cellulose synthase to preferentially express HCHL in the lignifying tissues of Arabidopsis stems ( FIG. 9 ).
  • IRX5:HCHL constructs were not dwarf or sterile, and young rosette leaves did not show reduced epidermal fluorescence which is symptomatic of alteration in phenylpropanoid-derived soluble phenolic pools.
  • two IRX5:HCHL lines showed reduced biomass, and in one case some occasional collapsed xylem vessels caused by stronger HCHL activity and possibly modification of call wall integrity, some other IRX5:HCHL lines were comparable to wild-type plants.
  • the transgenic lines show increased amount of soluble C 6 C 1 aldehydes (HBAld, 3,4-DHBAld, and Van), which are produced upon HCHL activity after cleavage of hydroxybenzoyl-CoA, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoyl-CoA, and feruloyl-CoA ( FIG. 11 ).
  • HCHL has no activity against sinapoyl-CoA, suggesting that Syrald is a conversion product of Van, which is supported by the identification of the new intermediate 5OH-Van (Mitra et al., 1999; FIG. 11 ).
  • soluble C 6 C 1 phenolics predominantly accumulate as conjugates in transgenics since we showed that glucose conjugates (phenolic glucoside and glucose ester) represented around 90% of the HBA soluble pool, presumably for vacuolar storage as previously described for other C 6 C 1 phenolics (Eudes et al., 2008).
  • This C 6 C 1 acid glucoside accumulation is in agreement with what was observed in tobacco, sugar beet, datura and sugar cane plants expressing HCHL (Mayer et al., 2001; Mitra et al., 2002; McQualter et al., 2005; Rahman et al., 2009).
  • the lignin from plants expressing HCHL shows increased content of C 6 C 1 phenolics.
  • analysis of lignin monomers released after thioacidolysis identified two novel units (Vanalc and Syralc) and showed large amounts of Syrald, Van, and SyrA.
  • This suggests part of C 6 C 1 aldehydes are converted into alcohols and acids and demonstrates that they are incorporated into the lignin as ⁇ -O-4-linked C 6 C 1 monomer end-groups in lignin ( FIG. 11 ).
  • Due to the absence of phenyl propanoid tail these new monolignols when incorporated in lignin end chains, should block further polymerization of the polymer and act as condensation terminator or stopper molecules.
  • transgenic plants also show higher content of conventional H-units (+30%), which preferentially distribute as terminal end-groups in lignin and contribute to modifications of lignin size and structure (Lapierre, 2010; Ziebell et al., 2010).
  • plants overproducing C 6 C 1 monolignols and with similar lignin content as wild type plants show a lower thioacidolysis release of monolignols, indicating a reduction in the availability of free propanoid tail in lignin end-chain for polymer elongation. It also indicates higher carbon-carbon linkages and increased lignin condensation degree.
  • saccharification efficiency of biomass is determined by several characteristics of cell walls, the observed saccharification efficiency improvement after different pretreatments suggests that less ramified lignin would reduce cross-linkages and embedding of cell wall polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) and would favor their accessibility to hydrolytic enzymes. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that total sugar content is unchanged in cell walls of plants overproducing theses C 6 C 1 monomers.
  • lignification “stopper” molecules can be used to modify the lignin structure in order to reduce lignocellulosic biomass recalcitrance. Since this approach does not require any particular genetic background, it should be easily transferable to various energycrops. Restricting the biosynthesis of these lignification “stopper” molecules in supporting lignified tissues (i.e. schlerenchyma fibers) as well as avoiding strong production in conductive tissues (i.e. vessels) should limit the risk of adverse effects on plant development and biomass yield.
  • This example illustrates expression of bacterial HCHL in a monocot, rice.
  • Rice plants were transformed with the DNA constructs described in Example 1.
  • Rice lines were engineered ( FIG. 12 ) that expressed the HCHL gene, as demonstrated by RT-PCR ( FIG. 13 ).
  • evaluation of rice lines demonstrated that they accumulated pHBA (para-hydroxybenzoate) ( FIG. 14 ), which is generated from the conversion of p-coumaroyl-CoA by HCHL.
  • pHBA para-hydroxybenzoate
  • Transcript variant 1 0.00E+0 AT1G77450 ANAC032 (Arabidopsis NAC domain containing protein 32); transcription factor 0.00E ⁇ 0 AT5G63790 ANAC102 (Arabidopsis NAC domain containing protein 102); transcription factor, Transcript variant 2 0.65 1.26E ⁇ 5 AT1G01720 ATAF1 (Arabidopsis NAC domain containing protein 2); transcription factor 0.54 7.23E ⁇ 3 Glycine-rich protein AT2G05380 GRP3S (GLYCINE-RICH PROTEIN 3 SHORT ISOFORM) Transcript variant 1 0.00E+0 AT2G05380 GRP3S (GLYCINE-RICH PROTEIN 3 SHORT ISOFORM) Transcript variant 2 0.00E+0 AT2G05530 glycine-rich protein 0.96 0.00E+0 AT2G05540 glycine-rich protein 0.90 0.00E+0 Auxin metabolism AT3G44300 NIT2 (NITRILASE 2) 0.00E+0 AT3

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Abstract

The present invention provides an expression cassette containing a polynucleotide coding sequence for a hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL), which is operably linked to a heterologous promoter. Also provided are methods of engineering plants that have reduced lignification, as well as cells, plant parts, and plant tissues from such engineered plants.

Description

    CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
  • This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/507,484, filed Jul. 13, 2011, which application is herein incorporated by reference.
  • STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
  • This invention was made with government support under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The government has certain rights in this invention.
  • BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • Lignocellulosic plant biomass is utilized as a renewable feedstock in various agro-industrial activities. Lignin is an aromatic and hydrophobic branched polymer incrusted within biomass that negatively affects extraction and hydrolysis of polysaccharides during industrial processes. Engineering the monomer composition of lignin offers attractive potential for reducing its recalcitrance. The present invention offers a new strategy developed in Arabidopsis for the overproduction of rare lignin monomers, which incorporate as end-groups in the polymer and reduce lignin chain extension. Biosynthesis of these lignification stoppers' is achieved by expressing a bacterial hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) in lignifying tissues of Arabidopsis inflorescence stems. HCHL cleaves the propanoid side chain of hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA lignin precursors to produce the corresponding hydroxybenzaldehydes. Stems from plants that express HCHL accumulate higher amount of hydroxybenzaldehyde and hydroxybenzoate derivates compared to wild type plants. Part of these C6C1 phenolics are alcohol-extractable from plant tissues and are released from extract-free cell walls upon mild alkaline hydrolysis. Engineered plants with intermediate HCHL activity level show no reduction of total lignin, sugar content and biomass yield compared to wild type plants. However, cell wall characterization by 2D-NMR reveals the presence of new molecules in the aromatic region and the analysis of lignin isolated from these plants revealed an increased amount of C6C1 phenolic end-groups and a reduced molecular mass distribution. In addition, these engineered lines show saccharification improvement of pretreated cell wall biomass. Enhancing the incorporation of C6C1 phenolic end-groups in lignin represents a promising strategy to alter lignin structure and reduce cell wall recalcitrance to enzymatic hydrolysis.
  • BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • In the first aspect, the present invention provides an isolated expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding a hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) and a heterologous promoter, and the promoter is operably linked to the polynucleotide sequence. In some embodiments, the HCHL is Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL, which has the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1. In some embodiments, the promoter used in this expression cassette is a secondary cell wall specific promoter, such as pIRX5, which is within the polynucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.
  • In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for engineering a plant having reduced lignification. The method includes these steps: (1) introducing the expression cassette described herein into the plant; and (2) culturing the plant under conditions under which the HCHL is expressed, thereby reducing lignification in the plant. In some embodiments, the plant is selected from the group consisting of Arabidopsis, poplar, eucalyptus, rice, corn, switchgrass, sorghum, millet, miscanthus, sugarcane, pine, alfalfa, wheat, soy, barley, turfgrass, tobacco, hemp, bamboo, rape, sunflower, willow, and Brachypodium.
  • In a third aspect, the present invention provides a plant that is engineered by the methods described herein, and a plant cell from such a plant, a seed, flower, leaf, or fruit from such a plant, a plant cell that contains the expression cassette described herein, and biomass comprising plant tissue from the plant or part of the plant described herein. Thus, the invention provides an engineered plant comprising a heterologous hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) operably linked to a promoter. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide encoding the heterologous HCHL is integrated into a plant genome. In some embodiments, the promoter is heterologous to the plant. In some embodiments, the promoter is an endogenous promoter. In some embodiment, the promoter is a secondary cell wall-specific promoter, such as an IRX5 promoter. In some embodiments, the HCHL is Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL. The plant may be a monocot or a dicot. In some embodiments, the plant is selected from the group consisting of Arabidopsis, poplar, eucalyptus, rice, corn, switchgrass, sorghum, millet, miscanthus, sugarcane, pine, alfalfa, wheat, soy, barley, turfgrass, tobacco, hemp, bamboo, rape, sunflower, willow, and Brachypodium.
  • In further aspects, the invention provide methods of using an engineered plant of the invention, or parts of the plant, or plant biomass comprising material from the plant. In some embodiments, plant material is used in a saccharificatoni reaction, e.g., enzymatic saccharification, to generate soluble sugars at an increased level of efficiency as compared to wild-type plants that have not been modified to express HCHL. In some embodiments, the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used to increase biomass yield or simplify downstream processing for wood industries (such as paper, pulping, and construction) as compared to wild-type plants. In some embodiments, the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used to increase the quality of wood for construction purposes. In some embodiments the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material can be used in a combustion reaction, gasification, pyrolysis, or polysaccharide hydrolysis (enzymatic or chemical). In some embodiments, the plants, plant parts, or plant biomass material are used as forage that is more readily digested compared to wild-type plants.
  • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • FIG. 1. HCHL-mediated conversion of hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs into hydroxybenzaldehydes. HCHL performs the hydration and cleavage of hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs (R=H, coumaroyl-CoA; R=OH, caffeoyl-CoA; R=OCH3, feruloyl-CoA) to produce hydroxybenzaldehydes (R=H, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde; R=OH, 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde; R=OCH3, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) and acetyl-CoA via the formation of the corresponding reaction intermediates 4-hydroxyphenyl-β-hydroxypropionyl-CoAs.
  • FIG. 2. Analysis of HCHL expression in IRX5:HCHL lines. (A) Detection by RT-PCR of HCHL transcripts using mRNA isolated from secondary stems of five independent five-week-old transformants in the T1 generation. cDNA synthesized from mRNA purified from wild type (WT) stems were used as a negative control. Tub8-specific primers were used to assess cDNA quality for each sample. (B) Detection by western blot of HCHL tagged with the AttB2 peptide (approximate size 32 kDa) using the universal antibody and 5 μg of total protein extracted from the primary stem of five independent five-week-old IRX5:HCHL transformants in the T2 generation. A protein extract from wild type stems (WT) was used as a negative control.
  • FIG. 3. Histochemical staining of stem sections from five-week-old Arabidopsis plants. (A) Mäule staining. (B) Phloroglucinol-HCl staining. (C) Toluidine blue O staining. i, interfascicular fibers; x, xylem. Bars represent 50 μm for (A) and (B), and 20 μm for (C). Note the collapsed xylem vessels (yellow arrows) observed for line IRX5:HCHL (4).
  • FIG. 4. Spectral analysis of IRX5:HCHL and wild type plants. (A) Lignin and polysaccharide content in CWR of mature senesced stems from wild type (WT) and line IRX5:HCHL (2) using FT-Raman spectroscopy. Values represent integrated intensities over the range of 1555-1690 cm−1 and 1010-1178 cm−1 for lignin and polysaccharides (cellulose/hemicellulose) quantification, respectively. Values are means of three biological replicates±SE. (B) Comparison of FT-IR spectra obtained from xylem (black line) and interfascicular fibers (grey line) in basal stem sections of wild type and line IRX5:HCHL (2). A Student's t-test was performed on absorbance values of wild type versus transgenic and plotted against wave numbers. At each wavelength, the zone between −2 and +2 corresponds to non-significant differences (p-value<0.05) between the two genotypes tested. Significant positive t-values indicated a higher absorbance value in wild type than in IRX5:HCHL plants.
  • FIG. 5. 2D-HSQC NMR spectra analysis of line IRX5:HCHL plants. 2D-HSQC NMR spectra of lignin from wild type (WT) stems (A) and from IRX5:HCHL (FCA1) stems (B); Difference spectrum (IRX5:HCHL (2)—wild type) showing the presence of new components in the aromatic region (C).
  • FIG. 6. Polydispersity profiles of CEL lignin purified from stems of wild type and line IRX:HCHL (2) plants. SEC chromatograms were obtained using (A) UV-A300 absorbance and (B) UV-Fex250/em450 fluorescence.
  • FIG. 7. Saccharification of biomass from mature senesced stems of IRX5:HCHL and wild type plants. Amount of reducing sugars released from 10 mg of biomass after hot water, dilute alkaline, or dilute acid pretreatment followed by 72-h enzymatic hydrolysis were measured using the DNS assay. Values are means of four biological replicates±SE.
  • FIG. 8. Alignment of amino acid sequences of Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL (SEQ ID NO:1) and other homologous proteins.
  • FIG. 9. Organ and tissue-specific activity of the IRX5 promoter in Arabidopsis. Line CS70758, which contains a pIRX5:GUS expression cassette, was used to localize the activity of the IRX5 promoter. Young seedlings (A and B), rosettes leaves (C and D), siliques (E and F), cauline leaves (G and H), flowers (I and J), and inflorescence stems (K and L) were incubated in the GUS assay buffer for 1 h and 8 h at 37° C. Gus activity was essentially detected in the stem xylem vessels after a 1-h incubation (K). For longer incubations (8 h), GUS staining was also observed in interfascicular fibers of the stem (L), the vascular system of young seedlings (A), siliques (F) rosette (D) and cauline leaves (H), as well as in the style and anthers (J). x: xylem vessels, if: interfascicular fibers. Scale bars: 2 mm (A-B, E-F), 4 mm (C-D, G-H), 500 μm (I-J), 100 μm (K-L).
  • FIG. 10. Growth and development of IRX5:HCHL and wild type (WT) plants at different stages. (A) Three-week-old rosette (B) Five-week-old flowering stage. (C) Eight-week-old senescing stage.
  • FIG. 11. Synthesis of C6C1 phenolics production upon HCHL activity and probable associated enzymes. The phenylpropanoid pathway (center box) and monolignol pathway (left box) are represented. HCHL converts hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs into their corresponding hydroxybenzaldehydes. Metabolomic data showed occurrence of hydroxycinnamic acids and alcohols, suggesting involvement of aldehyde dehydrogenases (DH) and reductases (left box). UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGT) are responsible for the formation of C6-C1 phenolic glucose conjugates. Syringaldehyde is possibly derived from vanillin and 5OH-vanillin after successive monooxyenase (Monox) and O-methyltransferase activities (OMT). Asterisks indicate compounds found in higher amount in lignin of Arabidopsis expressing HCHL. Abbreviations for enzymes are: PAL, phenylalanine ammonia lyase; C4H, cinnamate 4-hydroxylase; 4CL, 4-coumarate-CoA ligase; CCR, hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA reductase; CAD, coniferyl alcohol dehydrogenase; HCT, p-hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA:quinate shikimate p-hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA transferase; C3H, p-coumarate 3-hydroxylase; CCoAOMT, caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase; FSH, ferulate 5-hydroxylase (coniferaldehyde 5-hydroxylase); COMT, caffeic acid/5-hydroxyferulic acid O-methyltransferase.
  • FIG. 12. Transgenic rice lines that express pAtIRX5::HCHL.
  • FIG. 13. Expression analysis of HCHL in the engineered rice lines. Results of an RT-PCR using RNA extracted from rice plants and HCHL-specific primers.
  • FIG. 14. Detection of pHBA in stems from the engineered rice lines.
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I. Definitions
  • As used herein, the term “hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase” or “HCHL” refers to an enzyme that catalyzes the hydration of the double bond of lignin precursor p-coumaroy-CoA, caffeoyl-CoA, or feruloyl-CoA thioester, which is followed by a retro aldol cleavage reaction to produce a corresponding C6C1 hydroxylbenzaldehyde and acetyl-CoA. A typical HCHL within the meaning of this invention is an HCHL from bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens (EC 4.2.1.101-trans-feruloyl-CoA hydratase), which has the amino acid sequence set forth in FIG. 11 as SEQ ID NO:1 (GenBank Accession No. CAA73502), encoded by cDNA sequence set forth in GenBank Accession No. Y13067.1 or by a codon-optimized polynucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:2 (synthesized by GenScript, Piscatway, N.J.). In this application, the term HCHL includes polymorphic variants, alleles, mutants, and interspecies homologs to the Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL, some examples of which are provided in FIG. 8. A nucleic acid that encodes an HCHL refers to a gene, pre-mRNA, mRNA, and the like, including nucleic acids encoding polymorphic variants, alleles, mutants, and interspecies homologs of the particular sequences described herein. Thus, an HCHL nucleic acid (1) has a polynucleotide sequence that has greater than about 50% nucleotide sequence identity, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, preferably 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% or higher nucleotide sequence identity, preferably over a region of at least about 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500 or more nucleotides or over the length of the entire polynucleotide, to a polynucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO:1 (e.g., SEQ ID NO:2 or the polynucleotide sequence set forth in Y13067.1); or (2) encodes a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence that has greater than about 50% amino acid sequence identity, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, preferably 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98% or 99% or greater amino acid sequence identity, preferably over a region of at least about 25, 50, 100, 200 or more amino acids or over the length of the entire polypeptide, to a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 or to any one of the amino acid sequences shown in FIG. 8 (SEQ ID NOs:4-34). The enzymatic activity of an HCHL within the meaning of this application can be verified by functional assays known in the art or described in the example section of this application, for its ability to convert any one of lignin precursors p-coumaroy-CoA, caffeoyl-CoA, and feruloyl-CoA thioester to a corresponding C6C1 hydroxylbenzaldehyde and acetyl-CoA.
  • The term “substantially localized,” when used in the context of describing a plant expressing an exogenous HCHL that is substantially localized to a particular tissue, refers to the enzymatic activity and modified monolignols produced therefore in substantially higher amounts in the particular cell or tissue type of interest as compared to other cell or tissue types. In some embodiments, the presence of HCHL and modified monolignols is substantially localized to the secondary cell wall of a plant cell and in the stem of a plant.
  • The terms “polynucleotide” and “nucleic acid” are used interchangeably and refer to a single or double-stranded polymer of deoxyribonucleotide or ribonucleotide bases read from the 5′ to the 3′ end. A nucleic acid of the present invention will generally contain phosphodiester bonds, although in some cases, nucleic acid analogs may be used that may have alternate backbones, comprising, e.g., phosphoramidate, phosphorothioate, phosphorodithioate, or O-methylphosphoroamidite linkages (see Eckstein, Oligonucleotides and Analogues: A Practical Approach, Oxford University Press); positive backbones; non-ionic backbones, and non-ribose backbones. Thus, nucleic acids or polynucleotides may also include modified nucleotides that permit correct read-through by a polymerase. “Polynucleotide sequence” or “nucleic acid sequence” includes both the sense and antisense strands of a nucleic acid as either individual single strands or in a duplex. As will be appreciated by those in the art, the depiction of a single strand also defines the sequence of the complementary strand; thus the sequences described herein also provide the complement of the sequence. Unless otherwise indicated, a particular nucleic acid sequence also implicitly encompasses variants thereof (e.g., degenerate codon substitutions) and complementary sequences, as well as the sequence explicitly indicated. The nucleic acid may be DNA, both genomic and cDNA, RNA or a hybrid, where the nucleic acid may contain combinations of deoxyribo- and ribo-nucleotides, and combinations of bases, including uracil, adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine, inosine, xanthine hypoxanthine, isocytosine, isoguanine, etc.
  • The term “substantially identical,” used in the context of two nucleic acids or polypeptides, refers to a sequence that has at least 50% sequence identity with a reference sequence. Percent identity can be any integer from 50% to 100%. Some embodiments include at least: 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99%, compared to a reference sequence using the programs described herein; preferably BLAST using standard parameters, as described below. For example, an HCHL may have an amino acid sequence that is at least 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% identical to SEQ ID NO:1, the amino acid sequence of Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL.
  • Two nucleic acid sequences or polypeptide sequences are said to be “identical” if the sequence of nucleotides or amino acid residues, respectively, in the two sequences is the same when aligned for maximum correspondence as described below. The terms “identical” or percent “identity,” in the context of two or more nucleic acids or polypeptide sequences, refer to two or more sequences or subsequences that are the same or have a specified percentage of amino acid residues or nucleotides that are the same, when compared and aligned for maximum correspondence over a comparison window, as measured using one of the following sequence comparison algorithms or by manual alignment and visual inspection. When percentage of sequence identity is used in reference to proteins or peptides, it is recognized that residue positions that are not identical often differ by conservative amino acid substitutions, where amino acids residues are substituted for other amino acid residues with similar chemical properties (e.g., charge or hydrophobicity) and therefore do not change the functional properties of the molecule. Where sequences differ in conservative substitutions, the percent sequence identity may be adjusted upwards to correct for the conservative nature of the substitution. Means for making this adjustment are well known to those of skill in the art. Typically this involves scoring a conservative substitution as a partial rather than a full mismatch, thereby increasing the percentage sequence identity. Thus, for example, where an identical amino acid is given a score of 1 and a non-conservative substitution is given a score of zero, a conservative substitution is given a score between zero and 1. The scoring of conservative substitutions is calculated according to, e.g., the algorithm of Meyers & Miller, Computer Applic. Biol. Sci. 4:11-17 (1988) e.g., as implemented in the program PC/GENE (Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif., USA).
  • For sequence comparison, typically one sequence acts as a reference sequence, to which test sequences are compared. When using a sequence comparison algorithm, test and reference sequences are entered into a computer, subsequence coordinates are designated, if necessary, and sequence algorithm program parameters are designated. Default program parameters can be used, or alternative parameters can be designated. The sequence comparison algorithm then calculates the percent sequence identities for the test sequences relative to the reference sequence, based on the program parameters.
  • A “comparison window,” as used herein, includes reference to a segment of any one of the number of contiguous positions selected from the group consisting of from 20 to 600, usually about 50 to about 200, more usually about 100 to about 150 in which a sequence may be compared to a reference sequence of the same number of contiguous positions after the two sequences are optimally aligned. Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well-known in the art. Optimal alignment of sequences for comparison can be conducted, e.g., by the local homology algorithm of Smith & Waterman, Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482 (1981), by the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman & Wunsch, J. Mol. Biol. 48:443 (1970), by the search for similarity method of Pearson & Lipman, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 85:2444 (1988), by computerized implementations of these algorithms (GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA, and TFASTA in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package, Genetics Computer Group, 575 Science Dr., Madison, Wis.), or by manual alignment and visual inspection.
  • Algorithms that are suitable for determining percent sequence identity and sequence similarity are the BLAST and BLAST 2.0 algorithms, which are described in Altschul et al. (1990) J. Mol. Biol. 215: 403-410 and Altschul et al. (1977) Nucleic Acids Res. 25: 3389-3402, respectively. Software for performing BLAST analyses is publicly available through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) web site. The algorithm involves first identifying high scoring sequence pairs (HSPs) by identifying short words of length W in the query sequence, which either match or satisfy some positive-valued threshold score T when aligned with a word of the same length in a database sequence. T is referred to as the neighborhood word score threshold (Altschul et al, supra). These initial neighborhood word hits acts as seeds for initiating searches to find longer HSPs containing them. The word hits are then extended in both directions along each sequence for as far as the cumulative alignment score can be increased. Cumulative scores are calculated using, for nucleotide sequences, the parameters M (reward score for a pair of matching residues; always >0) and N (penalty score for mismatching residues; always <0). For amino acid sequences, a scoring matrix is used to calculate the cumulative score. Extension of the word hits in each direction are halted when: the cumulative alignment score falls off by the quantity X from its maximum achieved value; the cumulative score goes to zero or below, due to the accumulation of one or more negative-scoring residue alignments; or the end of either sequence is reached. The BLAST algorithm parameters W, T, and X determine the sensitivity and speed of the alignment. The BLASTN program (for nucleotide sequences) uses as defaults a word size (W) of 28, an expectation (E) of 10, M=1, N=−2, and a comparison of both strands. For amino acid sequences, the BLASTP program uses as defaults a word size (W) of 3, an expectation (E) of 10, and the BLOSUM62 scoring matrix (see Henikoff & Henikoff, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:10915 (1989)).
  • The BLAST algorithm also performs a statistical analysis of the similarity between two sequences (see, e.g., Karlin & Altschul, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 90:5873-5787 (1993)). One measure of similarity provided by the BLAST algorithm is the smallest sum probability (P(N)), which provides an indication of the probability by which a match between two nucleotide or amino acid sequences would occur by chance. For example, a nucleic acid is considered similar to a reference sequence if the smallest sum probability in a comparison of the test nucleic acid to the reference nucleic acid is less than about 0.01, more preferably less than about 105, and most preferably less than about 10.
  • Nucleic acid or protein sequences that are substantially identical to a reference sequence include “conservatively modified variants.” With respect to particular nucleic acid sequences, conservatively modified variants refers to those nucleic acids which encode identical or essentially identical amino acid sequences, or where the nucleic acid does not encode an amino acid sequence, to essentially identical sequences. Because of the degeneracy of the genetic code, a large number of functionally identical nucleic acids encode any given protein. For instance, the codons GCA, GCC, GCG and GCU all encode the amino acid alanine. Thus, at every position where an alanine is specified by a codon, the codon can be altered to any of the corresponding codons described without altering the encoded polypeptide. Such nucleic acid variations are “silent variations,” which are one species of conservatively modified variations. Every nucleic acid sequence herein which encodes a polypeptide also describes every possible silent variation of the nucleic acid. One of skill will recognize that each codon in a nucleic acid (except AUG, which is ordinarily the only codon for methionine) can be modified to yield a functionally identical molecule. Accordingly, each silent variation of a nucleic acid which encodes a polypeptide is implicit in each described sequence.
  • As to amino acid sequences, one of skill will recognize that individual substitutions, in a nucleic acid, peptide, polypeptide, or protein sequence which alters a single amino acid or a small percentage of amino acids in the encoded sequence is a “conservatively modified variant” where the alteration results in the substitution of an amino acid with a chemically similar amino acid. Conservative substitution tables providing functionally similar amino acids are well known in the art.
  • The following six groups each contain amino acids that are conservative substitutions for one another:
  • 1) Alanine (A), Serine (S), Threonine (T);
  • 2) Aspartic acid (D), Glutamic acid (E);
  • 3) Asparagine (N), Glutamine (Q); 4) Arginine (R), Lysine (K); 5) Isoleucine (I), Leucine (L), Methionine (M), Valine (V); and 6) Phenylalanine (F), Tyrosine (Y), Tryptophan (W).
  • (see, e.g., Creighton, Proteins (1984)).
  • Another indication that nucleotide sequences are substantially identical is if two molecules hybridize to each other, or a third nucleic acid, under stringent conditions. Stringent conditions are sequence dependent and will be different in different circumstances. Generally, stringent conditions are selected to be about 5° C. lower than the thermal melting point (Tm) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength and pH. The Tm is the temperature (under defined ionic strength and pH) at which 50% of the target sequence hybridizes to a perfectly matched probe. Typically, stringent conditions will be those in which the salt concentration is about 0.02 molar at pH 7 and the temperature is at least about 60° C. For example, stringent conditions for hybridization, such as RNA-DNA hybridizations in a blotting technique are those which include at least one wash in 0.2×SSC at 55° C. for 20 minutes, or equivalent conditions.
  • The term “promoter,” refers to a polynucleotide sequence capable of driving transcription of a DNA sequence in a cell. Thus, promoters used in the polynucleotide constructs of the invention include cis- and trans-acting transcriptional control elements, translational control elements (5′UTR: untranslated region) and regulatory sequences that are involved in regulating or modulating the timing and/or rate of transcription of a gene. For example, a promoter can be a cis-acting transcriptional control element, including an enhancer, a promoter, a transcription terminator, an origin of replication, a chromosomal integration sequence, 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions, or an intronic or exonic sequence, which are involved in transcriptional regulation. These cis-acting sequences typically interact with proteins or other biomolecules to carry out (turn on/off, regulate, modulate, etc.) gene transcription. Promoters are located 5′ to the transcribed gene, and as used herein, include the sequence 5′ from the translation start codon (i.e., including the 5′ untranslated region of the mRNA, typically comprising 50-200 bp). Most often the core promoter sequences lie within 1-3 kb of the translation start site, more often within 1 kbp and often within 500 bp of the translation start site. By convention, the promoter sequence is usually provided as the sequence on the coding strand of the gene it controls.
  • A “constitutive promoter” is one that is capable of initiating transcription in nearly all cell types, whereas a “cell type-specific promoter” initiates transcription only in one or a few particular cell types or groups of cells forming a tissue. In some embodiments, the promoter is secondary cell wall specific. Secondary cell wall is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin and is deposited in some, but not all, tissues of a plant, such as woody tissue. As used herein, a “secondary cell wall specific” promoter refers to a promoter that initiates higher levels of transcription in cell types that have secondary cell walls, e.g., lignified tissues such as vessels and fibers, which may be found in wood and bark cells of a tree, as well as other parts of plants such as the leaf stalk. In some embodiments, a promoter is secondary cell wall specific if the transcription levels initiated by the promoter in secondary cell walls are at least 3-fold, 4-fold, 5-fold, 6-fold, 7-fold, 8-fold, 9-fold, 10-fold, 50-fold, 100-fold, 500-fold, 1000-fold higher or more as compared to the transcription levels initiated by the promoter in other tissues, resulting in the encoded protein substantially localized in plant cells that possess secondary cell wall, e.g., the stem of a plant. Non-limiting examples of secondary cell wall specific promoters include the promoters directing expression of genes IRX1, IRX3, IRX5, IRX7, IRX8, IRX9, IRX10, IRX14, NST1, NST2, NST3, MYB46, MYB58, MYB63, MYB83, MYB85, MYB103, PAL1, PAL2, C3H, CcOAMT, CCR1, F5H, LAC4, LAC17, CADc, and CADd. See, e.g., Turner et al 1997; Meyer et al 1998; Jones et al 2001; Franke et al 2002; Ha et al 2002; Rohde et al 2004; Chen et al 2005; Stobout et al 2005; Brown et al 2005; Mitsuda et al 2005; Zhong et al 2006; Mitsuda et al 2007; Zhong et al 2007a, 2007b; Zhou et al 2009; Brown et al 2009; McCarthy et al 2009; Ko et al 2009; Wu et al 2010; Berthet et al 2011. In some embodiments, the promoter is substantially identical to the native promoter sequence directing expression of the IRX5 gene (see, e.g., the promoter and transcriptional regulatory elements for IRX5 are contained in SEQ ID NO:3). Some of the above mentioned secondary cell wall promoter sequences can be found within the polynucleotide sequences provided herein as SEQ ID NOs:36-61. A promoter originated from one plant species may be used to direct gene expression in another plant species.
  • A polynucleotide is “heterologous” to an organism or a second polynucleotide sequence if it originates from a foreign species, or, if from the same species, is modified from its original form. For example, when a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide sequence is said to be operably linked to a heterologous promoter, it means that the polynucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide is derived from one species whereas the promoter sequence is derived from another, different species; or, if both are derived from the same species, the coding sequence is not naturally associated with the promoter (e.g., is a genetically engineered coding sequence, e.g., from a different gene in the same species, or an allele from a different ecotype or variety).
  • The term “operably linked” refers to a functional relationship between two or more polynucleotide (e.g., DNA) segments. Typically, it refers to the functional relationship of a transcriptional regulatory sequence to a transcribed sequence. For example, a promoter or enhancer sequence is operably linked to a DNA or RNA sequence if it stimulates or modulates the transcription of the DNA or RNA sequence in an appropriate host cell or other expression system. Generally, promoter transcriptional regulatory sequences that are operably linked to a transcribed sequence are physically contiguous to the transcribed sequence, i.e., they are cis-acting. However, some transcriptional regulatory sequences, such as enhancers, need not be physically contiguous or located in close proximity to the coding sequences whose transcription they enhance.
  • The term “expression cassette” refers to a nucleic acid construct that, when introduced into a host cell, results in transcription and/or translation of an RNA or polypeptide, respectively. Antisense or sense constructs that are not or cannot be translated are expressly included by this definition. In the case of both expression of transgenes and suppression of endogenous genes (e.g., by antisense, RNAi, or sense suppression) one of skill will recognize that the inserted polynucleotide sequence need not be identical, but may be only substantially identical to a sequence of the gene from which it was derived. As explained herein, these substantially identical variants are specifically covered by reference to a specific nucleic acid sequence. One example of an expression cassette is a polynucleotide construct that comprises a polynucleotide sequence encoding a HCHL protein operably linked to a promoter that is heterologous to the plant cell into which the expression cassette may be introduced. In some embodiments, an expression cassette comprises a polynucleotide sequence encoding a HCHL protein that is targeted to a position in the genome of a plant such that expression of the HCHL polynucleotide sequence is driven by a promoter that is present in the plant.
  • The term “plant,” as used herein, refers to whole plants and includes plants of a variety of a ploidy levels, including aneuploid, polyploid, diploid and haploid. The term “plant part,” as used herein, refers to shoot vegetative organs and/or structures (e.g., leaves, stems and tubers), branches, roots, flowers and floral organs (e.g., bracts, sepals, petals, stamens, carpels, anthers), ovules (including egg and central cells), seed (including zygote, embryo, endosperm, and seed coat), fruit (e.g., the mature ovary), seedlings, and plant tissue (e.g., vascular tissue, ground tissue, and the like), as well as individual plant cells, groups of plant cells (e.g., cultured plant cells), protoplasts, plant extracts, and seeds. The class of plants that can be used in the methods of the invention is generally as broad as the class of higher and lower plants amenable to transformation techniques, including angiosperms (monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants), gymnosperms, ferns, and multicellular algae.
  • The term “biomass,” as used herein, refers to plant material that is processed to provide a product, e.g., a biofuel such as ethanol, or livestock feed, or a cellulose for paper and pulp industry products. Such plant material can include whole plants, or parts of plants, e.g., stems, leaves, branches, shoots, roots, tubers, and the like.
  • The term “reduced lignification” encompasses both reduced size of a lignin polymer, e.g., a shorter lignin polymer chain due to a smaller number of monolignols being incorporated into the polymer, a reduced degree of branching of the lignin polymer or a reduced space filling (also called a reduced pervaded volume). Typically, a reduced lignin polymer can be shown by detecting a decrease in it molecular weight or a decrease in the number of monolignols by at least 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or more, when compared to the average lignin molecule in a control plant. Methods for detecting reduced lignification are described in detail in the example section of this application.
  • As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular “a”, “an” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to a “plant cell” includes a plurality of such plant cells.
  • II. Introduction
  • Plant cell walls are constituted by a polysaccharidic network of cellulose microfibrils and hemicellulose embedded in an aromatic polymer known as lignin. This ramified polymer is mainly composed of three phenylpropanoid-derived phenolics (i.e., monolignols) named p-coumaryl, coniferyl, and sinapyl alcohols which represent the p-hydroxyphenyl (H), guaiacyl (G) and syringyl (S) lignin units (Boerjan et al., 2003). Monolignols have a C6C3 carbon skeleton which consists of a phenyl ring (C6) and a propane (C3) side chain. Lignin is crucial for the development of terrestrial plants as it confers recalcitrance to plant cell walls. It also provides mechanical strength for upright growth, confers hydrophobicity to vessels that transport water, and acts as a physical barrier against pathogens that degrade cell walls (Boudet, 2007). Notably, lignin content and composition are finely regulated in response to environmental biotic and abiotic stresses (Moura et al., 2010).
  • Economically, lignocellulosic biomass from plant cell walls is widely used as raw material for the production of pulp in paper industry and as ruminant livestock feed. Plant feedstocks also represent a source of fermentable sugars for the production of synthetic molecules such as pharmaceuticals and transportation fuels using engineered microorganisms (Keasling, 2010). However, negative correlations exist between lignin content in plant biomass and pulp yield, forage digestibility, or polysaccharides enzymatic hydrolysis (de Vrije et al., 2002; Reddy et al., 2005; Dien et al., 2006; Chen and Dixon, 2007; Dien et al., 2009; Taboada et al., 2010; Elissetche et al., 2011; Studer et al., 2011). Consequently, reducing lignin recalcitrance in plant feedstocks is a major focus of interest, especially in the lignocellulosic biofuels field for which efficient enzymatic conversion of polysaccharides into monosaccharides is crucial to achieve economically and environmentally sustainable production (Carroll and Somerville, 2009).
  • Lignin biosynthesis is well characterized and well conserved across land plants (Weng and Chapple 2010). Genetic modifications such as silencing of genes involved in particular steps of this pathway or its regulation have been employed to reduce lignin content (Simmons et al., 2010; Umezawa, 2010) but this approach often results in undesired phenotypes such as dwarfism, sterility, reduction of plant biomass, and increased susceptibly to environmental stress and pathogens (Bonawitz and Chapple, 2010). These pleiotropic effects are generally the consequences of a loss of secondary cell wall integrity, accumulation of toxic intermediates, constitutive activation of defense responses, or depletion of other phenylpropanoid-derived metabolites which are essential for plant development and defense (Li et al., 2008; Naoumkina et al., 2010, Gallego-Giraldo et al., 2011). Alternatively, changing the recalcitrant structure and physico-chemical properties of lignin can be achieved by modifying its monomer composition. For example, incorporation of coniferyl ferulate into lignin improves enzymatic degradation of cell wall polysaccharides (Grabber et al., 2008). Recently, it has been demonstrated that enrichment in 5-hydroxy-G units and reduction in S units in lignin contribute to enhanced saccharification efficiencies without affecting drastically biomass yields and lignin content (Weng et al., 2010; Dien et al., 2011; Fu et al., 2011).
  • In this study, as an alternative strategy to reduce lignin recalcitrance, the inventors developed a dominant approach that uses precursors derived from the lignin biosynthetic pathways to enhance production of non-conventional monolignols, namely C6C1 phenolics. These phenol units lack propane side chain and thus have different polymerization properties compared to classic C6C3 monolignols. Such C6C1 phenolics are usually found in trace amount in some lignins and form the so-called ‘benzyl end-groups’ (Kim et al., 2000; Ralph et al., 2001; Kim et al., 2003; Morreel et al., 2004; Ralph et al., 2008; Kim and Ralph, 2010). The inventors considered increasing C6C1 end-group phenolics in lignin to reduce its polymerization degree and native branched structure. For this purpose, a hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL, EC 4.2.2.101/EC 4.1.2.41) from Pseudomonas fluorescens was expressed in stems of Arabidopsis. HCHL is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydration of the double bond of the lignin precursor p-coumaroyl-CoA, caffeoyl-CoA, and feruloyl-CoA thioesters, followed by a retro aldol cleavage reaction that produces the corresponding C6C1 hydroxybenzaldehydes and acetyl-CoA (FIG. 1; Mitra et al., 1999). The promoter of a secondary cell wall cellulose synthase gene (Cesa4/IRX5) was used to restrict HCHL expression in lignified tissues of the stem (xylem and interfascicular fibers) and prevent depletion of hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs in other tissues in which they are precursors of hydroxycinnamate conjugates and other derivates involved in plant defense and development (Gou et al., 2009; Luo et al., 2009; Buer et al., 2010; Milkowski and Strack, 2010). The data disclosed herein show that HCHL expression driven by the IRX5 promoter results for some lines in no significant changes in lignin content, plant development and biomass yields. It has also been demonstrated that C6C1 phenolics accumulate as end-groups in the lignin of HCHL transgenics, which reduces lignin size and renders cell walls less recalcitrant to enzymatic hydrolysis.
  • III. Plants Having Reduced Lignification
  • A. Modification of Expression of an HCHL Enzyme
  • In one aspect, the present invention provides a method for engineering a plant having reduced lignification. This method includes these steps: first, introducing into the plant an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding an HCHL enzyme and a promoter, with the coding sequence and the promoter being in an operably linked arrangement; and second, culturing the plant under conditions permissible for the expression of a functional HCHL to produce C6C1 phenolics, which can be polymerized with other monolignols and thereby reducing lignification in the plant.
  • In particular, the present invention provides methods of engineering a plant having modified lignin polymers, which may have reduced size, molecular weight, and/or altered (especially reduced or less extensive) branching, that are substantially localized to the lignified tissue of the plant. This is achieved by first introducing into the plant an expression cassette as described above but in particular having a secondary cell wall specific promoter, and then culturing the plant under conditions in which the functional HCHL enzyme is expressed. This enzyme converts various hydroxycinnamoyl-coA into their respective hydroxybenzaldehydes that can be either directly incorporated or further modified (e.g., oxidation or reduction of the aldehyde group) by native enzymes prior to their incorporation into the lignin polymer by polymerization with native monolignols.
  • The expression cassette as described herein, when introduced into a plant, does not necessarily modify the lignin content. Vessel stays intact indicating that the lignin cell wall structure is still robust to prevent vessel collapse, but the lignin composition and properties are modified to a level that its recalcitrance is reduce.
  • One of skill in the art will understand that the HCHL that is introduced into the plant by an expression cassette described herein does not have to be identical to the Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL, which was used in the experiments detailed in the example section of this disclosure. In some embodiments, the HCHL that is introduced into the plant by an expression cassette is substantially identical (e.g., at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical) to the Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL. For example, a variant HCHL will have at least 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95% sequence identity in its amino acid residues as compared to SEQ ID NO:1, especially within one or more of the 8 highly conserved regions (shown in the 8 boxes in FIG. 8).
  • 1. Hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA Hydratase-Lyase (HCHL)
  • In some embodiments, the expression cassette of this invention comprises a polynucleotide encoding an enzyme that produces modified monoligols that can cause reduced lignification. An example of such an enzyme is the Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL, having the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:1. Additional examples of such HCHL suitable for use in the present invention include those shown in FIG. 8. Also appropriate for use in the present invention are variants HCHL, which may be naturally occurring or recombinantly engineered, provided the variants possess (1) substantially amino acid sequence identity to an exemplary HCHL (e.g., SEQ ID NO:1) and (2) the enzymatic activity to convert at least one lignin precursor p-coumaroy-CoA, caffeoyl-CoA, or feruloyl-CoA thioester into a corresponding C6C1 hydroxylbenzaldehyde, as determined by an HCHL enzymatic assay known in the art by way of various scientific publications or described herein.
  • Examples of naturally occurring HCHL that can be used to practice the present invention includes, p-hydroxycinnamoyl CoA hydratase/lyase (HCHL), Enoyl-CoA hydratase/isomarase (ECH), Feruloyl-CoA hydratase/lyase (FCA, FerA), as well as those named in FIG. 8, the amino acid sequences for which are provided in SEQ ID NOs:4-34.
  • 2. Secondary Cell Wall-Specific Promoters
  • In some embodiments, the polynucleotide encoding the HCHL is operably linked to a secondary cell wall-specific promoter. The secondary cell wall-specific promoter is heterologous to the polynucleotide encoding the HCHL, in other words, the promoter and the HCHL coding sequence are derived from two different species. A promoter is suitable for use as a secondary cell wall-specific promoter if the promoter is expressed strongly in the secondary cell wall, e.g., in vessel and fiber cells of the plant, but is expressed at a much lower level or not expressed in cells without the secondary cell wall.
  • In some embodiments, the promoter is substantially identical (e.g., at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical) to the native promoter of a gene encoding a secondary cell wall cellulose synthase Cesa4/IRX5, polynucleotide sequence set forth in Genebank Accession No. AF458083 1 and SEQ ID NO:35, and the promoter pIRX5 is contained in SEQ ID NO:3.
  • In some embodiments, the secondary cell wall-specific promoter comprises SEQ ID NO:3. In some embodiments, the secondary cell wall-specific promoter comprises a subsequence of SEQ ID NO:3 or a variant thereof. In some embodiments, the secondary cell wall-specific promoter comprises a subsequence of SEQ ID NO:3 comprising about 50 to about 1000 or more contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:3. In some embodiments, the secondary cell wall-specific promoter comprises a subsequence of SEQ ID NO:3 comprising 50 to 1000, 50 to 900, 50 to 800, 50 to 700, 50 to 600, 50 to 500, 50 to 400, 50 to 300, 50 to 200, 50 to 100; 75 to 1000, 75 to 900, 75 to 800, 75 to 700, 75 to 600, 75 to 500, 75 to 400, 75 to 300, 75 to 200; 100 to 1000, 100 to 900, 100 to 800, 100 to 700, 100 to 600, 100 to 500, 100 to 400, 100 to 300, or 100 to 200 contiguous nucleotides of SEQ ID NO:3.
  • Secondary cell wall-specific promoters are also described in the art. See, for example, Mitsuda et al 2005 Plant Cell; Mitsuda et al 2007 Plant Cell; Zhou et al 2009 plant cell; Ohtani et al 2011 Plant Journal. They are contained the polynucleotide sequences provided in this application as SEQ ID NO:36-61.
  • It will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that a promoter region can tolerate considerable variation without diminution of activity. Thus, in some embodiments, the secondary cell wall-specific promoter is substantially identical (e.g., at least 50%, at least 55%, at least 60%, at least 65%, at least 70%, at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 85%, at least 90%, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical) to SEQ ID NO:3. The effectiveness of a secondary cell wall-specific promoter may be confirmed by an reporter gene (e.g., β-glucuronidase or GUS) assay known in the art or as described in the example section of this application.
  • B. Preparation of Recombinant Expression Vectors
  • Once the promoter sequence and the coding sequence for the gene of interest (e.g., a Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL or any other HCHL as shown in FIG. 8) are obtained, the sequences can be used to prepare an expression cassette for expressing the gene of interest in a transgenic plant. Typically, plant transformation vectors include one or more cloned plant coding sequences (genomic or cDNA) under the transcriptional control of 5′ and 3′ regulatory sequences and a selectable marker. Such plant transformation vectors may also contain a promoter (e.g., a secondary cell wall-specific promoter as described herein), a transcription initiation start site, an RNA processing signal (such as intron splice sites), a transcription termination site, and/or a polyadenylation signal.
  • The plant expression vectors may include RNA processing signals that may be positioned within, upstream, or downstream of the coding sequence. In addition, the expression vectors may include regulatory sequences taken from the 3′-untranslated region of plant genes, e.g., a 3′ terminator region to increase mRNA stability of the mRNA, such as the PI-II terminator region of potato or the octopine or nopaline synthase 3′ terminator regions.
  • Plant expression vectors routinely also include selectable marker genes to allow for the ready selection of transformants. Such genes include those encoding antibiotic resistance genes (e.g., resistance to hygromycin, kanamycin, bleomycin, G418, streptomycin or spectinomycin), herbicide resistance genes (e.g., phosphinothricin acetyltransferase), and genes encoding positive selection enzymes (e.g. mannose isomerase).
  • Once an expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding the HCHL and operably linked to a promoter (especially a secondary cell wall specific promoter) has been constructed, standard techniques may be used to introduce the polynucleotide into a plant in order to express the HCHL and effectuate reduced lignification. See, e.g., protocols described in Ammirato et al. (1984) Handbook of Plant Cell Culture—Crop Species. Macmillan Publ. Co. Shimamoto et al. (1989) Nature 338:274-276; Fromm et al. (1990) Bio/Technology 8:833-839; and Vasil et al. (1990) Bio/Technology 8:429-434.
  • Transformation and regeneration of plants is known in the art, and the selection of the most appropriate transformation technique will be determined by the practitioner. Suitable methods may include, but are not limited to: electroporation of plant protoplasts; liposome-mediated transformation; polyethylene glycol (PEG) mediated transformation; transformation using viruses; micro-injection of plant cells; micro-projectile bombardment of plant cells; vacuum infiltration; and Agrobacterium tumeficiens mediated transformation. Transformation means introducing a nucleotide sequence in a plant in a manner to cause stable or transient expression of the sequence. Examples of these methods in various plants include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,571,706; 5,677,175; 5,510,471; 5,750,386; 5,597,945; 5,589,615; 5,750,871; 5,268,526; 5,780,708; 5,538,880; 5,773,269; 5,736,369 and 5,610,042.
  • Following transformation, plants can be selected using a selectable marker incorporated into the transformation vector. Typically, such a marker will confer antibiotic or herbicide resistance on the transformed plants or the ability to grow on a specific substrate, and selection of transformants can be accomplished by exposing the plants to appropriate concentrations of the antibiotic, herbicide, or substrate.
  • The polynucleotide sequence coding for an HCHL, as well as the polynucleotide sequence comprising a promoter (e.g., a secondary cell wall-specific promoter), can be obtained according to any method known in the art. Such methods can involve amplification reactions such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and other hybridization-based reactions or can be directly synthesized.
  • C. Plants in which Lignification can be Reduced
  • An expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide encoding an HCHL operably linked to a promoter, especially a secondary cell wall specific promoter, as described herein, can be expressed in various kinds of plants. The plant may be a monocotyledonous plant or a dicotyledonous plant. In some embodiments of the invention, the plant is a green field plant. In some embodiments, the plant is a gymnosperm or conifer.
  • In some embodiments, the plant is a plant that is suitable for generating biomass. Examples of suitable plants include, but are not limited to, Arabidopsis, poplar, eucalyptus, rice, corn, switchgrass, sorghum, millet, miscanthus, sugarcane, pine, alfalfa, wheat, soy, barley, turfgrass, tobacco, hemp, bamboo, rape, sunflower, willow, Jatropha, and Brachypodium.
  • In some embodiments, the plant into which the expression cassette of this invention is introduced is the same species of plant as the one from which the promoter is derived. In some embodiments, the plant into which the expression cassette is introduced is a different species of plant from the plant species the promoter is derived from.
  • D. Screening for Plants Having Reduced Lignification
  • After transformed plants are selected, the plants or parts of the plants may be evaluated to determine whether expression of the exogenous HCHL can be detected, e.g., by evaluating the level of RNA or protein, by measuring enzymatic activity of the HCHL, as well as by evaluating the size, molecular weight, content, or degree of branching in the lignin molecules found in the plants. These analyses can be performed using any number of methods known in the art.
  • In some embodiments, plants are screened by evaluating the level of RNA or protein. Methods of measuring RNA expression are known in the art and include, for example, PCR, northern analysis, reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and microarrays. Methods of measuring protein levels are also known in the art and include, for example, mass spectroscopy or antibody-based techniques such as ELISA, Western blotting, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry.
  • In some embodiments, plants are screened by assessing HCHL activity, and also by evaluating lignin size and composition. The enzymatic assays for HCHL are well known in the art and are described in this application. Lignin molecules can be assessed, for example, by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), spectrophotometry, microscopy, klason lignin assays, acetyl-bromide reagent or by histochemical staining (e.g., with phloroglucinol).
  • IV. Methods of Using Plants Having Reduced Lignification
  • Plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material from plants having reduced lignification due to the expression of an exogenous HCHL in the secondary cell wall can be used for a variety of methods. In some embodiments, the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material generate less recalcitrant biomass for use in a conversion reaction as compared to wild-type plants. In some embodiments, the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used in a saccharification reaction, e.g., enzymatic saccharification, to generate soluble sugars at an increased level of efficiency as compared to wild-type plants. In some embodiments, the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used to increase biomass yield or simplify downstream processing for wood industries (such as paper, pulping, and construction) as compared to wild-type plants. In some embodiments, the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material are used to increase the quality of wood for construction purposes. In some embodiments the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass material can be used in a combustion reaction, gasification, pyrolysis, or polysaccharide hydrolysis (enzymatic or chemical). In further embodiments, the plants, parts of plants, or plant biomass is used as a forage crop and exhibit improved digestibility compared to wild-type plants.
  • Methods of conversion, for example biomass gasification, are known in the art. Briefly, in gasification plants or plant biomass material (e.g., leaves and stems) are ground into small particles and enter the gasifier along with a controlled amount of air or oxygen and steam. The heat and pressure of the reaction break apart the chemical bonds of the biomass, forming syngas, which is subsequently cleaned to remove impurities such as sulfur, mercury, particulates, and trace materials. Syngas can then be converted to products such as ethanol or other biofuels.
  • Methods of enzymatic saccharification are also known in the art. Briefly, plants or plant biomass material (e.g., leaves and stems) are optionally pre-treated with hot water, dilute alkaline, AFEX (Ammonia Fiber Explosion), ionic liquid or dilute acid, followed by enzymatic saccharification using a mixture of cell wall hydrolytic enzymes (such as hemicellulases, cellulases and beta-glucosidases) in buffer and incubation of the plants or plant biomass material with the enzymatic mixture. Following incubation, the yield of the saccharification reaction can be readily determined by measuring the amount of reducing sugar released, using a standard method for sugar detection, e.g. the dinitrosalicylic acid method well known to those skilled in the art. Plants engineered in accordance with the invention provide a higher saccharification efficiency as compared to wild-type plants, while the plants growth, development, or disease resistance is not negatively impacted.
  • Sugars generated from a saccharification reaction using plant biomass of the invention can be used for producing any product for which the sugars can serve as a carbon source. Examples of products include, but are not limited to, alcohols (e.g., ethanol, methanol, butanol); organic acids (e.g., citric acid, acetic acid, itaconic acid, lactic acid, gluconic acid); ketones (e.g., acetone); amino acids (e.g., glutamic acid); gases (e.g., H2 and CO2); antibiotics (e.g., penicillin and tetracycline); vitamins (e.g., riboflavin, B12, beta-carotene), fatty acids and fatty acid derivatives (as described, e.g., in PCT/US2008/068833); isoprenyl alkanoates (as described, e.g., PCT/US2008/068756, methyl butenol (as described, e.g., PCT/US2008/068831; fatty acid esters (as described, e.g., in PCT/US2010/033299), isoprenoid-based alternative diesel fuels (as described, e.g., in PCT/US2011/059784; a polyketide synthesized by a polyketide synthase, such as a diacid (see, e.g., PCT/US2011/061900), biofuels (see, e.g., PCT/US2009/042132) and alpha-olefins (see, e.g., PCT/US2011/053787).
  • EXAMPLES
  • The following examples are provided to illustrate but not to limit the claimed invention.
  • Example 1 Expression of Bacterial HCHL in Arabidopsis I. Materials and Methods Plant Material and Growth Conditions
  • Arabidopsis thaliana (ecotype Columbia, Col-0) seeds were germinated directly on soil. Growing conditions were 14 h of light per day at 100 mmol m−2 s−1, 22° C., 55% humidity. Selection of T1 and T2 homozygote transgenic plants was made on solid Murashige and Skoog vitamin medium (PhytoTechnology Laboratories) supplemented with 1% sucrose, 1.5% agar (Sigma-Aldrich) adjusted to pH 5.6-5.8, and containing 50 μg mL−1 kanamycin.
  • Chemicals
  • 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, 5-hydroxyvanillin, 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, vanillyl alcohol, and 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Vanillic acid, syringic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, syringaldehyde, and sinapyl alcohol were purchased from Alfa Aesar. 5-Hydroxyvanillic acid was obtained from Chromadex, and 3,4-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol from TCI America.
  • pIRX5:GUS Line and GUS Staining
  • Arabidopsis line CS70758 (ecotype Columbia, Col-2) was obtained from the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC). This line has a pMLBART plasmid containing an expression cassette consisting of the genomic fragment located upstream of the CESA4 start codon fused to the GUS gene. Histochemical GUS activity was performed as previously described (Eudes et al., 2006). Various organs of soil-grown line CS70758 were incubated for 1 h or 8 h at 37° C. in the GUS assay buffer using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-D-glucuronic acid (Indofine Chemical Company, Inc.) as a substrate. After staining, stem samples (1 cm) were cross-sectioned (80 μm) using a vibratome before observation under the microscope (Leica).
  • IRX5:HCHL Construct and Plant Transformation
  • For HCHL expression in Arabidopsis, the binary vector pTKan which is derived from pPZP212 was used (Hajdukiewicz et al., 2004). A Gateway cloning cassette (Invitrogen) was inserted between XhoI and PstI restriction sites to produce a pTKan-GW vector. The nucleotide sequence of the IRX5 promoter was amplified by PCR from Arabidopsis (ecotype Columbia, Col-0) genomic DNA using oligonucleotides 5′-CCCGGCGGCCGCATGAAGCCATCCTCTACCTCGGAAA-3′ and 5′-CCCGGCTAGCGGCGAGGTACACTGAGCTCTCGGAA-3′ (NotI and NheI restriction sites underlined), and inserted between the ApaI and SpeI restriction sites of pTKan-GW to produce a pTKan-pIRX5-GW expression vector. A codon-optimized nucleotide sequence encoding the HCHL enzyme from Pseudomonas fluorescens AN103 (accession number CAA73502) for expression in Arabidopsis was synthesized without stop codon (Genescript) and amplified by PCR using oligonucleotides 5′-GGGGACAAGTTTGTACAAAAAAGCAGGCTTCATGTCTACTTACGAGGGAAGATG G-3′ and 5′-GGGGACCACTTTGTACAAGAAAGCTGGGTCTCTCTTGTAAGCCTGGAGTCC-3′ (attb1 and attb2 sites underlined) for cloning into the Gateway pDONR221-f1 entry vector (Lalonde et al 2010). A sequence-verified HCHL entry clone was LR recombined with the pTKan-pIRX5-GW vector to generate the final IRX5:HCHL construct. The construct was introduced into wild type Arabidopsis plants (ecotype Col0) via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (Bechtold and Pelletier, 1998).
  • RNA Extraction and RT-PCR
  • Total RNA (1 μg) extracted from inflorescence stems of IRX5:HCHL T1 transformants and wild type plants using the Plant RNeasy extraction kit (Qiagen) was reverse-transcribed using the Transcriptor First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Roche applied Science). The obtained cDNA preparation was quality-controlled for PCR using tub8-specific oligonucleotides (5′-GGGCTAAAGGACACTACACTG-3′/5′-CCTCCTGCACTTCCACTTCGTCTTC-3′). Oligonucleotides 5′-ATGTCTACTTACGAGGGAAGATGG-3′ and 5′-TCTCTTGTAAGCCTGGAGTCC-3′ were used for the detection of HCHL expression by PCR.
  • Western Blot Analysis
  • For protein extraction, inflorescence stems of IRX5:HCHL T2 transformants and wild type plants were ground in liquid nitrogen, and 0.25 g of the resulting powder was homogenized with the extraction buffer [100 mM Tris-HCl pH 6.5, 2% (w/v) polyvinylpyrrolidone, 2% (v/v) β-mercaptoethanol, 1% (w/v) SDS] at 1400 rpm for 30 min. The mixture was centrifuged at 20,000 g for 5 min and the supernatant collected for protein quantification using the Bradford method (Bradford, 1976) and bovine serum albumin as a standard. For electrophoresis, soluble protein (5 μg) were mixed with 0.2 M Tris-HCl, pH 6.5, 8% (w/v) SDS, 8% (v/v) β-mercaptoethanol, 40% (v/v) glycerol, and 0.04% (w/v) bromophenol blue and incubated at 40° C. for 30 min. Proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE using 8-16% (w/v) polyacrylamide gradient gels (Invitrogen) and electrotransferred (100 volts, 45 min) onto PVDF membranes (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Blotted membranes were incubated 1 h in TBS-T (20 mM Tris-HCl, 150 mM NaCl, 0.1% (v/v) Tween 20, pH 7.6) containing 2% (w/v) non-fat milk powder, and incubated overnight with the universal antibody (1:20000) in TBS-T containing 2% (w/v) non-fat milk powder. Membranes were then washed in TBS-T for 30 min and incubated for 1 h with an anti-rabbit secondary antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (1:20000; Sigma-Aldrich) in TBS-T containing 2% (w/v) non-fat milk powder. Membranes were then washed in TBS-T for 30 min, and detection was performed by chemiluminescence using the SuperSignal West Dura Extended Duration Substrate (Thermo Fisher Scientific).
  • HCHL Activity
  • For protein extraction, inflorescence stems of IRX5:HCHL T2 transformants and wild type plants were ground in liquid nitrogen, and 0.25 g of the resulting powder was homogenized with 25 mg of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and 1.25 mL of extraction buffer (EB; 100 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.5, 20 mM DTT, and 10 mM Na2EDTA). Extracts were shaken at 1400 rpm for 15 min at 4° C., and centrifuged for 30 min at 20,000 g at 4° C. Supernatants were collected, adjusted to 2.5 mL with EB, and applied to PD10 columns (GE healthcare) pre-equilibrated with 25 mL of EB. Proteins were eluted with 3.5 mL of EB and quantified using the Bradford method (Bradford, 1976) and bovine serum albumin as a standard.
  • For HCHL activity, 5 μL of protein extract was incubated for 15 min at 30° C. with 150 μM feruloyl-CoA in 100 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.5 in a total volume of 50 μL. Total amounts of protein per reaction varied from 4 to 6.5 μg. Reactions were stopped with 50 μL of cold acidified methanol (12% glacial acetic acid/88% methanol, v/v) and stored at −70° C. until LC-MS analysis.
  • Biomass
  • For biomass measurements, IRX5:HCHL and wild type plants were grown until senescence and dried stems were collected without roots, leaves and siliques before weighing. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA followed by Scheffe post hoc test.
  • Microscopy
  • Five-week-old plants were use for microscopy. Stem segments cut between the first and second internodes were embedded in 4% agarose. Stem semi-thin sections (100-μm thickness) were obtained using a vibratome (Leica). For toluidine blue O (TBO) staining, sections were incubated in a 0.05% (w/v) solution of TBO (Sigma-Aldrich) in water for 30 sec and rinsed with water. For Wiesner lignin staining, sections were incubated for 3 min in phloroglucinol-HCl reagent (VWR International) and rinsed with water. For Mäulne lignin staining, sections were incubated in 4% KMnO4 for 5 min, rinsed with water, incubated in 37% HCl/H2O (1:1, v/v) for 2 min, and observed after addition of a drop of aqueous ammonia. Sections were immediately observed using bright field light microscopy (Leica DM4000 B).
  • Soluble Phenolics Extraction
  • For extraction of methanol soluble phenolics, approximately 200 mg of frozen stem powder was mixed with 1 mL of 80% (v/v) methanol-water and shaken for 1 h at 1400 rpm. Extracts were cleared by centrifugation (5 min, 20,000 g), mixed with 400 μL of analytical grade water and filtered using Amicon Ultra centrifugal filters (3,000 Da MW cutoff regenerated cellulose membrane; Millipore) prior to LC-MS analysis. Alternatively, an aliquot of the filtered extracts was dried under vacuum, resuspended with 1 N HCl and incubated at 95° C. for 3 h for acid hydrolysis. The mixture was subjected to three ethyl acetate partitioning steps. Ethyl acetate fractions were pooled, dried in vacuo, and resuspended in 50% (v/v) methanol-water prior to LC-MS analysis.
  • Cell-Wall Bound Phenolics Extraction
  • For extraction of cell-wall bound phenolics, mature senesced stems were collected without the leaves and siliques, and ball-milled to a fine powder using a Mixer Mill MM 400 (Retsch) and stainless steel balls for 2 min at 30 s−1. Extract-free cell wall residues (CWR) were obtained by sequentially washing 60 mg of ball-milled stems with 1 ml of 96% ethanol at 95° C. twice for 30 min, and vortexing with 1 mL of 70% ethanol twice for 30 sec. The resulting CWR were dried in vacuo overnight at 30° C. Approximately 6 mg of CWR was mixed with 500 μL of 2 M NaOH and shaken at 1400 rpm for 24 h at 30° C. The mixture was acidified with 100 μL of concentrated HCl, and subjected to three ethyl acetate partitioning steps. Ethyl acetate fractions were pooled, dried in vacuo, and suspended in 50% (v/v) methanol-water prior to LC-MS analysis.
  • LC-MS
  • Separation of C6C1 phenolic acids and aldehydes was conducted on a Poroshell-120 column (150 mm length, 3 mm internal diameter, 2.7 μm particle size) using a 1200 Series HPLC system (Agilent Technologies Inc.). Analytes were separated using a gradient elution with mobile phase composition of 0.1% formic acid in water as solvent A, and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile-water (98:2, v/v) as solvent B. The elution gradient was 0-5 min 13% B, 5-7 min 50% B, 7-8 min 50% B, and 8-11 min 13% B, using a flow rate of 0.55 mL min−1. The HPLC system was coupled to an Agilent 6210 time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer (MS) via a 1:7 post-column split. Analyses were conducted using Electrospray ionization (ESI) in the positive ion mode. Detection of [M+H]+ ions was carried out in full scan mode at 0.85 spectra sec and a cycle time of 1.176 sec spectrum−1 using the following parameters: capillary voltage 3500 V, fragmentor 165 V, skimmer 50 V and OCT RF 170 V, drying gas flow rate 9 L min−1, nebulizer pressure 15 psig, drying gas temperature 325° C. Separation of C6C1 phenolic alcohols was conducted on the same HPLC and MS system using the same HPLC column. Analytes were separated using gradient elution with a mobile phase composition of 0.1% formic acid in water as solvent A, and 0.1% formic acid in methanol-water (98:2, v/v) as solvent B. Elution conditions were the same as described above. Analyses were conducted using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in the positive ion mode. Detection of [M−H2O+H]+ ions was carried as described above except for the following parameters: capillary voltage 3200 V, corona current 4 μA, drying gas flow rate 12 L min−1, nebulizer pressure 30 psig, vaporizer temperature 350° C. Quantification of compounds was made by comparison with standard curves of authentic compounds prepared in 50% (v/v) methanol-water.
  • Lignin Analysis
  • Extract-free samples (CWR) of ball-milled mature senesced stems were prepared using a Soxhlet apparatus by sequentially extracting the ground material with toluene:ethanol (2:1, v/v), ethanol, and water (Sluiter et al., 2008). The determination of lignin content using the standard Klason procedure (Dente, 1992) and the thioacidolysis procedure (Lapierre et al., 1995; 1999) were carried out on CWR. The lignin-derived monomers were identified by GC-MS as their trimethyl-silylated derivatives. All the lignin analyses were performed in duplicate.
  • Total and Hemicellulosic Sugar Analysis
  • For total sugar hydrolysis, CWR of ball-milled mature senesced stems (50 mg) were swelled in 500 μL H2SO4 (72%, w/v) at 30° C. for 60 min, and autoclaved at 120° C. for 1 h in dilute H2SO4 (4%, w/v) after addition of deionized water (14 mL). Samples were cooled down at room temperature and filtered using pre-weighted GF/C glass microfiber filters (Whatman). Filtrates were collected and diluted 100 times with deionized water prior to HPAEC-PAD analysis. For hemicellulose hydrolysis, CWR of ball-milled mature dried stems (5 mg) were hydrolyzed in 1 ml of 2 M trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) for 1 h at 120° C. TFA was removed by drying under vacuum and the residue suspended in deionized water (1 mL) prior to HPAEC-PAD analysis.
  • HPAEC-PAD Analysis
  • Monosaccharide composition was determined by HPAEC-PAD of hydrolyzed material. Chromatography was performed on a PA20 column (Dionex) at a flow rate of 0.5 mL min−1. Before injection of each sample (20 μL) the column was washed with 200 mM NaOH for 10 min, then equilibrated with 10 mM NaOH for 10 min. The elution program consisted of a linear gradient from 10 mM NaOH to 5 mM NaOH from 0 to 1.5 min, followed by isocratic elution with 5 mM NaOH from 1.5 to 20 min, and a linear gradient up to 800 mM NaOH from 20 to 43 min. Monosaccharides were detected using a pulsed amperometric detector (gold electrode) set on waveform A according to manufacturer's instructions. A calibration curve of monosaccharide standards that includes L-Fuc, L-Rha, L-Ara, D-Gal, D-Glc, D-Xyl, D-GalA and D-GlcA (Sigma-Aldrich) was run for verification of response factors. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA followed by Tukey's test.
  • FT-Raman and FT-IR Spectral Analyses
  • FT-Raman spectroscopy was conducted on CWR of ball-milled mature senesced stems (2 mg) from three independent cultures. Raman spectra were collected using a Bruker MultiRAM FT-Raman system equipped with a 1064 nm diode laser (Bruker Optics Inc.). Five spectra were acquired for each sample with spectral resolution of 4 cm−1 using a laser power of 50 mW and 256 scans to achieve good signal-to-noise ratio. White light correction of the acquired spectra was performed to correct the influence of the optics on the spectrometer. Spectra in the range of 200-3500 cm−1 were smoothed and baseline corrected using OPUS software. Lignin and polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) content were determined using integrated intensities measured over the range of 1555-1690 cm−1 and 1010-1178 cm−1, respectively. For FT-IR spectroscopy, analyses were carried out on xylem and interfascicular fibers tissues from 50-μm thick sections of the basal region of stems of five-week-old plants. For both wild type and IRX5:HCHL (line 2), five to six sections from three different plants were analyzed. FT-IR spectra were collected from a 50 μm×50 μm window targeting xylem vessels or interfascicular fibers, and normalization of the data and statistical analysis (Student's t-test) were performed as described (Mouille et al., 2003).
  • Isolation of Cellulolytic Lignin (CEL) and Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC)
  • CEL lignin was purified from wild type and IRX5:HCHL (line 2) plants. One gram of ball-milled mature senesced stems was mixed with 50 mM NaCl (30 ml) and incubated overnight at 4° C. After centrifugation (2,800 g, 10 min), the biomass was extracted sequentially by sonication (20 min) with 80% ethanol (three times), acetone (one time), chloroform-methanol (1:1, v/v, one time) and acetone (one time). The obtained CWR were ball-milled for 3 h per 500 mg of sample (in 10 min on/10 min off cycles) using a PM100 ball mill (Retsch) vibrating at 600 rpm with zirconium dioxide vessels (50 mL) containing ZrO2 ball bearings (10×10 mm). Ball-milled walls (490 mg for wild type and 480 mg for IRX5:HCHL) were transferred to centrifuge tubes (50 mL) and digested four times over three days at 30° C. with crude cellulases (Cellulysin; Calbiochem; 60 mg g−1 of sample) in NaOAc pH 5.0 buffer (30 mL) under gentle rotation. The obtained CEL was washed 3 times with deionized water and lyophilized overnight. CEL recovered were 131 mg for wild type (27.3%) and 101 mg for IRX5:HCHL (20.6%). For SEC analysis, 1% (w/v) CEL lignin solutions were prepared in analytical-grade 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone-DMSO (1:1, v/v) and sonicated for 3 hours at 40° C.
  • Polydispersity of dissolved lignin was determined using analytical techniques SEC UV-F and SEC UV-A as described elsewhere (George et al., 2011, submitted). An Agilent 1200 series binary LC system (G1312B) equipped with FL (G1321A) and DA (G1315D) detectors was used. Separation was achieved with a Mixed-D column (5 mm particle size, 300 mm×7.5 mm i.d., linear molecular weight range of 200 to 400,000 u, Polymer Laboratories) at 80° C. using a mobile phase of NMP at a flow rate of 0.5 mL min−1. Absorbance of material eluting from the column was detected at 300 nm (UV-A). Excitation 250 nm and emission 450 nm were used for UV-F detection. Intensities were area normalized and molecular mass estimates were determined after calibration of the system with polystyrene standards.
  • Cell Wall Pretreatments and Saccharification
  • Ball-milled mature senesced stems (10 mg) were mixed with 340 μL of water, 340 μL of H2SO4 (1.2%, w/v), or 340 μL of NaOH (0.25%, w/v) for hot water, dilute acid, or dilute alkaline pretreatments, respectively, incubated at 30° C. for 30 min, and autoclaved at 120° C. for 1 h. After cooling down at room temperature, samples pretreated with dilute acid and dilute alkaline were neutralized with 5 N NaOH (25 μL) and 1.25 N HCl (25 μL), respectively. Saccharification was initiated by adding 635 μL of 100 mM sodium citrate buffer pH 6.2 containing 80 g ml−1 tetracycline, 5% w/w cellulase complex NS50013 and 0.5% w/w glucosidase NS50010 (Novozymes). After 72 h of incubation at 50° C. with shacking (800 rpm), samples were centrifuged (20,000 g, 3 min) and 10 μL of the supernatant was collected for reducing sugar measurement using the DNS assay and glucose solutions as standards (Miller, 1959).
  • Transcriptome Studies
  • Microarray analysis was performed on complete Arabidopsis thaliana transcriptome microarrays containing 24,576 gene-specific tags (GSTs) corresponding to 22,089 genes from Arabidopsis (Crowe et al., 2003; Hilson et al., 2004). RNA samples from three independent biological replicates were isolated and separately analyzed. For each biological replicate, RNA from the main inflorescence stem (first two internodes) of three plants were pooled. For each comparison, one technical replication with fluorochrome reversal was performed for each biological replicate (i.e. nine hybridizations per comparison). Reverse transcription of RNA was conducted in the presence of Cy3-dUTP or Cy5-dUTP (PerkinElmer-NEN Life Science Products), and hybridization and scanning of the slides were performed as described in Lurin et al. (2004).
  • Statistical Analysis of Microarray Data
  • Statistical analysis was performed with normalization based on dye swapping (i.e., four arrays, each containing 24,576 GSTs and 384 controls) as previously described (Gagnot et al., 2008). For the identification of differentially expressed genes, we performed a paired t test on log ratios, assuming that the variance of the log ratios was similar for all genes. Spots with extreme variances (too small or too large) were excluded. The raw P values were adjusted by the Bonferroni method, which controls the family-wise error rate (with a type I error equal to 5%) to minimize the number of false positives in a multiple-comparison context (Ge et al., 2003). Genes with a Bonferroni P value ≦0.05 were considered to be differentially expressed, as previously described (Gagnot et al., 2008).
  • Data Deposition
  • Microarray data from this article were deposited at GEO (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) and at CATdb (http://urgv.evry.inra.fr/CATdb/) according to Minimum Information about a Microarray Experiment standards (MIME).
  • II. Results Expression of a Bacterial HCHL Enzyme in Arabidopsis Stems
  • The tissue specific activity of the IRX5 promoter was verified using the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) as a reporter gene. Gus activity was essentially detected in the xylem vessels of the stem. After prolonged incubations, stem interfascicular fibers also showed strong GUS activity, and more moderate staining was observed in the vascular system of young seedlings, siliques, rosette and cauline leaves. No activity was detected in other organs or tissues except for the style and anthers (FIG. 9). A codon-optimized sequence encoding HCHL from Pseudomonas fluorescens AN103 was designed and cloned downstream of the IRX5 promoter for preferential expression in lignified tissues of Arabidopsis stems. Presence of HCHL transcripts in the main stem of five independent transformants was verified by RT-PCR in the T1 generation (FIG. 2A). Plants homozygous for the IRX5:HCHL construct were identified in the T2 generation, and used to analyze HCHL protein expression and activity in stems. Western blotting analysis using the ‘universal antibody’ allowed detection of HCHL in stem extracts of the five selected transgenic lines (FIG. 2B; Eudes et al. 2010). Furthermore, HCHL activity could be detected in the stem of these lines, ranging from 0.025 to 0.16 pkat vanillin μg−1 protein using feruloyl-CoA as substrate, whereas no detectable activity was observed in protein extracts of wild type plants (Table I). Two transgenic lines showing the highest and the lowest levels of HCHL activity, and two lines exhibiting intermediate activity level were selected for detailed analysis.
  • Growth Characteristics and Tissue Anatomy of IRX5:HCHL Lines
  • IRX5:HCHL plants had growth and development characteristics visually similar to the wild type from early rosette stage and until senescence (FIG. 10). However, mature senesced stems from lines IRX5:HCHL (4) and IRX5:HCHL (5) were little bit shorter (22% and 13% reduction) and had lower dry weight yield (30% and 16% reduction) compared to control plants, whereas those from lines IRX5:HCHL (1) and IRX5:HCHL (2) were not significantly different (Table II). Stem tissues of five-week-old IRX5:HCHL plants were inspected using light microscopy. Transverse stem cross-sections stained with Mäule and phloroglucinol-HCl reagents, which are indicative of S-units and hydroxycinnamaldehyde units in lignin, respectively, showed similar patterns between transgenic and wild type plants (FIGS. 3A and 3B). Similarly, lignin in stem sections stained with toluidine blue O did not revealed any quantitative differences between genotypes (FIG. 3C). A few collapsed xylem structures were, however, occasionally observed on some stem cross-sections of line IRX5:HCHL (4), but were absent in sections from other lines (FIG. 3C). Overall, these data suggest that lignin content is not drastically reduced in IRX5:HCHL plants.
  • IRX5:HCHL Lines Accumulate C6C1 Soluble Phenolics
  • Methanol soluble fractions from stems of five-week-old wild type and IRX5:HCHL plants were extracted and analyzed by LC-MS. Analysis was performed to focus on hydroxybenzaldehydes, direct products of HCHL activity, and possible derivatives such as hydroxybenzoyl alcohols and hydroxybenzoic acids and their glucose conjugates. Trace amounts of 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (HBAld), 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (3,4-DHBAld), and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) were detected in IRX5:HCHL stem soluble extracts but not in wild type (Table III). Notably, much larger quantities of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid glucoside (HBAGlc) and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid glucose ester (HBAGE) were detected in IRX5:HCHL plant soluble extracts (ranging from 0.48 to 0.57 mg g−1 FW for HBAGlc, and from 0.96 to 1.65 mg g−1 FW for HBAGE), whereas trace amounts of these HBA-glucose conjugates were present in wild type extracts (Table III).
  • Considering that other soluble C6C1 phenolics could be glycosylated, acid hydrolysis of the soluble fractions was performed to release aglycones from conjugated forms. This procedure brought down HBAGE and HBAG pools to undetectable levels, and concomitantly increased free HBA content in samples (Table IV). HBA content in the IRX5:HCHL lines ranged between 1.59 and 2.49 mg g−1 FW, which represents a 113 to 179 fold increase compared to values observed in wild type samples, and indicates that 88-94% of HBA accumulated in transgenic lines is glycosylated. In addition to HBA, other C6C1 phenolics quantified in acid-treated extracts include vanillin (Van), 5-hydroxyvanillin (5OH-Van), syringaldehyde (Syrald), 5-hydroxyvanillic acid (5OH-VA), and syringic acid (SyrA), which are only detected in IRX5:HCHL extracts, as well as HBAld, 3,4-DHBAld, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4-DHBA), and vanillic acid (VA), which are on average 14, 119, 1.6, and 40 times more abundant in IRX5: HCHL extracts compared to wild type, respectively (Table IV).
  • IRX5:HCHL Lines Show Enrichment in Cell Wall-Bound C6C1 Phenolics
  • Extract-free cell wall residues (CWR) obtained from mature senesced stems of wild type and IRX5:HCHL plants were subjected to mild alkaline hydrolysis for the release of loosely-bound phenolics. This procedure released from the cell wall samples some HBAld, 3,4-HBAld, Van, 5OH-Van, SyrAld, HBA, VA, and SyrA, which were quantified using LC-MS analysis. 5OH-Van, undetectable in wild type cell wall, was present in that of IRX5:HCHL samples and HBAld, SyrAld, HBA, VA, and SyrA were increased on average by approx 2, 6, 68, 2 and 5 fold in cell walls of IRX5:HCHL plants compared to the wild type, respectively (Table V). These results indicate that larger amounts of C6C1 phenolics are loosely-bound to cell walls in IRX5:HCHL plants. On the other hand, amount of ferulate and coumarate released from cell walls using this procedure did not differ between transgenic and wild type samples.
  • Spectral Analysis of IRX5:HCHL Plant Stems
  • Line IRX5:HCHL (2), which showed no defective xylem structures and biomass yield similar to wild type plants, was selected for further analyses. Fourier transformed Raman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy was used to determine the chemical composition of CWR obtained from senesced stems of IRX5:HCHL plants. Compared to the wild type, data showed that lignin content and amount of polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) in IRX5:HCHL plants were not significantly different (FIG. 4A). Moreover, Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectral analysis conducted on lignified tissues (xylem and interfascicular fibers) of transverse stem sections of five-week-old IRX5:HCHL and wild type plants revealed differences between the two genotypes (FIG. 4B). In particular, significant changes in spectra were observed for bands assigned to different bending or stretching of lignin (Agarwal and Atalla, 2010, Fackler et al., 2010). For example, absorptions at wavelengths 1589 cm−1 and 1506 cm−1 (aryl ring stretching), 1464 cm−1 (C—H group deformation), 1425 cm−1 (methoxyl C—H group deformation), 1379 cm−1 (aromatic skeletal vibrations combined with C—H group in plane deformation), and 1268 cm−1 (aryl ring breathing with C=O group stretch) were modified in fibers, whereas the most significant difference for xylem cell walls was observed at band 1367 cm−1 (methoxyl C—H group deformation). Overall, spectral analyses suggested compositional modifications of lignin in plants expressing HCHL.
  • Monosaccharide Content and Composition in IRX5:HCHL Plant Stems
  • Monosaccharide composition was determined after sulfuric acid hydrolysis of total cell wall polysaccharides from mature senesced stems of line IRX5:HCHL (2) and wild type plants. Although both genotypes had similar amount of total monosaccharides, IRX5:HCHL plants showed reduction in glucose (−12%) and increase in xylose (+22%) and arabinose (+16%) compared to wild type plants (Table VI). Moreover, hemicellulosic monosaccharides released from CWR using trifluoroacetic acid showed that total amount of sugar quantified in this hydrolysate was 23% higher in IRX5:HCHL stems which corresponds to higher xylose (+23%) and arabinose (+22%) contents compared to wild type (Table VI).
  • Incorporation of Unusual C6C1 Monomers into the Lignin of IRX5:HCHL Plants
  • Lignin content and monomeric composition in mature senesced stems from wild type and IRX5:HCHL (2) plants was determined on CWR. In two independent cultures, klason lignin (KL) was identical and accounted for about 20% of the CWR for both wild type and IRX5:HCHL plants (Table VII). Lignin monomer composition was evaluated by thioacidolysis, a chemical degradative method that generates thioethylated monomers from lignin units involved in labile β-O-4 bonds. Data showed that total amount of conventional H, O, and S monomers released from CWR after thioacidolysis (or total yield) was reduced by 25% and 16% in the two independent cultures of IRX5:HCHL plants compared to the wild type, indicating that fewer of these three monolignols are crosslinked as β-O-4 bond in transgenics (Table VII). Considering identical KL values for both wild type and IRX5:HCHL CWR, these data indicate higher frequency of thioacidolysis-resistant bonds between lignin monomers in transgenic plants. The relative amount of G and S units recovered from this lignin fraction was unchanged, both wild type and transgenic samples showing an S/G ratio ranging between 0.34-0.36, however, molar frequency of H units was significantly higher in IRX5:HCHL plants (Table VII). Furthermore, the content of non-conventional units such as Van, Syrald, and SyrA released by thioacidolysis showed on average a 1.44-, 20.8-, and 1.65-fold increase in IRX5:HCHL plants compared to wild type plants, respectively. Interestingly, two new lignin units were released from the lignin of transgenics plants, which were identified as C6C1 vanillyl alcohol (Vanalc) and syringyl alcohol (Syralc) (Table VIII). On the other hand, the content of coniferaldehyde end-groups (Cald) and VA was unchanged between the two genotypes (Table VIII). Overall, these data showed higher amount of C6C1 phenolic end-groups among monomers released by thioacidolysis from IRX5:HCHL stem cell walls compared to wild type.
  • Lignin of IRX5:HCHL Plants has Reduced Molecular Mass
  • The polydispersity of cellulolytic lignin purified from wild type and IRX5:HCHL (2) stems was determined using size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Elution profiles acquired by monitoring UV-A absorbance (SEC UV-A300) and UV-F fluorescence (SEC UV-F ex250/em450) of the dissolved lignin revealed differences between wild type and IRX5:HCHL plants (FIG. 6). First, total area corresponding to the largest mass peak detected between 7 min and 13.5 min was severely reduced in transgenics due to significant diminution of the largest lignin fragments which elute between 7 min and 9 min. Similarly, smaller molecular mass material which elutes later in a second peak between 13.5 min and 19.5 min was more abundant (increased by 27% and 16% using UV-A and UV-F detections) in IRX5:HCHL samples. Finally, the amount of the smallest lignin fragments detected between 19.5 min and 26.5 min using UV-F is increased by 55% in transgenics (FIG. 6). These results demonstrate smaller chains and reduced polymerization degree in lignin purified from IRX5:HCHL plants.
  • IRX5:HCHL Lines Show Increased Saccharification Efficiency
  • To examine impact lignin size reduction on cell wall digestibility caused by the expression of the HCHL enzyme in lignifying tissues, saccharification assays were conducted biomass derived from mature senesced stems pretreated with hot water, dilute alkaline, and dilute acid. After a 72-h incubation with cellulase and glucosidase, pretreated biomass of IRX5 HCHL plants released more reducing sugars compared to wild type (FIG. 7). In particular, improvement of saccharification efficiency observed for the different IRX5:HCHL lines ranged from 34% to 77% after hot water, from 43% to 71% after dilute alkaline, and from 15% to 31% after dilute acid pretreatments (FIG. 7).
  • III. Discussion
  • Expression of HCHL in plants has originally been considered for in planta production of valuable and soluble compounds such as Van and HBA. Due to strong ectopic HCHL expression, however, adverse phenotypes such as chlorotic and senescing leaves, stunting, low pollen production, male sterility, collapsed xylem vessels, and reduction of biomass were observed in transgenic tobacco, and sugarcane (Mayer et al., 2001; Merali et al., 2007; McQualter et al., 2005). In this study, the inventors selected the promoter of a secondary cell wall cellulose synthase to preferentially express HCHL in the lignifying tissues of Arabidopsis stems (FIG. 9). Successfully, plants transformed with the IRX5:HCHL construct were not dwarf or sterile, and young rosette leaves did not show reduced epidermal fluorescence which is symptomatic of alteration in phenylpropanoid-derived soluble phenolic pools. Although two IRX5:HCHL lines showed reduced biomass, and in one case some occasional collapsed xylem vessels caused by stronger HCHL activity and possibly modification of call wall integrity, some other IRX5:HCHL lines were comparable to wild-type plants.
  • As expected, the transgenic lines show increased amount of soluble C6C1 aldehydes (HBAld, 3,4-DHBAld, and Van), which are produced upon HCHL activity after cleavage of hydroxybenzoyl-CoA, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoyl-CoA, and feruloyl-CoA (FIG. 11). HCHL has no activity against sinapoyl-CoA, suggesting that Syrald is a conversion product of Van, which is supported by the identification of the new intermediate 5OH-Van (Mitra et al., 1999; FIG. 11). Similarly, the data presented herein cannot exclude that some of the 3,4-DHBald and Van accumulated in transgenics derive from HBAld after successive hydroxylation and methoxylation on the C-3 position of the phenyl ring. Interestingly, several genes encoding monooxygenases are upregulated in plants expressing HCHL, but no known or predicted O-methyltransferase showed altered expression level (Table IX). Analysis of soluble aromatics in transgenics also shows that C6-C1 aldehydes are oxidized into their respective acid forms. This conversion could be a response to reduce the amount of these chemically reactive compounds since several genes from the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR), aldo-keto reductase (AKR), and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) families are upregulated in plants expressing HCHL, (FIG. 11; Kirch et al., 2004; Kavanagh et al., 2008). In particular, AKR4C9 (At3g37770) encodes an enzyme known to metabolize a range of hydroxybenzaldehydes (Simpson et al., 2009). In addition, soluble C6C1 phenolics predominantly accumulate as conjugates in transgenics since we showed that glucose conjugates (phenolic glucoside and glucose ester) represented around 90% of the HBA soluble pool, presumably for vacuolar storage as previously described for other C6C1 phenolics (Eudes et al., 2008). This C6C1 acid glucoside accumulation is in agreement with what was observed in tobacco, sugar beet, datura and sugar cane plants expressing HCHL (Mayer et al., 2001; Mitra et al., 2002; McQualter et al., 2005; Rahman et al., 2009). Interestingly, expression analysis of HCHL plants revealed seven up-regulated genes of the UDP-glucosyltranferase (UGT) family and among them UGT75B1 and UGT73B4 were previously shown to catalyze glucose esterification and phenolic glucosylation of benzoates (Table IX; Lim et al, 2002; Eudes et al., 2008).
  • Furthermore, this study showed that some C6C1 phenolics are released from extract-free cell wall fractions of senesced stems upon mild alkaline hydrolysis. Higher amounts of HBAld, 5OH-Van, SyrAld, HBA, VA, and SyrA were measured in the ‘loosely wall-bound’ fraction of IRX5:HCHL lines compared to wild type. Although the type of linkages involved is unclear, loosely attached C6C1 phenolics were previously extracted from cell walls of Arabidopsis leaves and roots (Tan et al., 2004; Forcat et al., 2010).
  • The lignin from plants expressing HCHL shows increased content of C6C1 phenolics. Notably, analysis of lignin monomers released after thioacidolysis identified two novel units (Vanalc and Syralc) and showed large amounts of Syrald, Van, and SyrA. This suggests part of C6C1 aldehydes are converted into alcohols and acids and demonstrates that they are incorporated into the lignin as β-O-4-linked C6C1 monomer end-groups in lignin (FIG. 11). Due to the absence of phenyl propanoid tail, these new monolignols when incorporated in lignin end chains, should block further polymerization of the polymer and act as condensation terminator or stopper molecules. Interestingly, transgenic plants also show higher content of conventional H-units (+30%), which preferentially distribute as terminal end-groups in lignin and contribute to modifications of lignin size and structure (Lapierre, 2010; Ziebell et al., 2010). In addition, plants overproducing C6C1 monolignols and with similar lignin content as wild type plants show a lower thioacidolysis release of monolignols, indicating a reduction in the availability of free propanoid tail in lignin end-chain for polymer elongation. It also indicates higher carbon-carbon linkages and increased lignin condensation degree.
  • It was postulated that higher incorporation of end-group units in lignin would hinder more frequently chain elongation and ultimately reduce lignin branching and polymerization degree. This hypothesis is further supported by the analysis the polydispersity of lignin in plants overproducing theses “stopper” molecules, which shows significant reduction of high molecular masses and significant increase of low molecular masses, hence supporting smaller lignin chain length. These observations are relevant for understanding the higher susceptibility of the biomass from HCHL lines to polysaccharide enzymatic hydrolysis. Although saccharification efficiency of biomass is determined by several characteristics of cell walls, the observed saccharification efficiency improvement after different pretreatments suggests that less ramified lignin would reduce cross-linkages and embedding of cell wall polysaccharides (cellulose and hemicellulose) and would favor their accessibility to hydrolytic enzymes. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that total sugar content is unchanged in cell walls of plants overproducing theses C6C1 monomers.
  • it is concluded that in planta the over-production of lignification “stopper” molecules can be used to modify the lignin structure in order to reduce lignocellulosic biomass recalcitrance. Since this approach does not require any particular genetic background, it should be easily transferable to various energycrops. Restricting the biosynthesis of these lignification “stopper” molecules in supporting lignified tissues (i.e. schlerenchyma fibers) as well as avoiding strong production in conductive tissues (i.e. vessels) should limit the risk of adverse effects on plant development and biomass yield.
  • Example 2 Expression of Bacterial HCHL in Rice
  • This example illustrates expression of bacterial HCHL in a monocot, rice. Rice plants were transformed with the DNA constructs described in Example 1. Rice lines were engineered (FIG. 12) that expressed the HCHL gene, as demonstrated by RT-PCR (FIG. 13). Furthermore, evaluation of rice lines demonstrated that they accumulated pHBA (para-hydroxybenzoate) (FIG. 14), which is generated from the conversion of p-coumaroyl-CoA by HCHL.
  • This experiment additionally demonstrated that a secondary wall promoter, pIRX5, from a dicot (Arabidopsis in this example), can be used in a monocot (rice in this example).
  • It is understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents, accession numbers, and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
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    • Lim E K, Doucet C J, Li Y, Elias L, Worrall D, Spencer S P, Ross J, Bowles D J (2002) The activity of Arabidopsis glycosyltransferases toward salicylic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, and other benzoates. J Biol Chem 277: 586-592
    • Li X, Weng J K, Chapple C (2008) Improvement of biomass through lignin modification. Plant J 54: 569-581
    • Luo J, Fuell C, Parr A, Hill L, Bailey P, Elliott K, Fairhurst S A, Martin C, Michael A J (2009) A novel polyamine acyltransferase responsible for the accumulation of spermidine conjugates in Arabidopsis seed. Plant Cell 21: 318-333.
    • Lurin C, Andres C, Aubourg S, Bellaoui M, Bitton F, Bruyere C, Caboche M, Debast C, Gualberto J, Hoffmann B, Lecharny A, Le Ret M, Martin-Magniette M L, Mireau H, Peeters N, Renou J P, Szurek B, Taconnat L, Small I (2004) Genome-wide analysis of Arabidopsis pentatricopeptide repeat proteins reveals their essential role in organelle biogenesis. Plant Cell 16: 2089-2103
    • Mayer M J, Narbad A, Parr A J, Parker M L, Walton N J, Mellon F A, Michael A J (2001) Rerouting the plant phenylpropanoid pathway by expression of a novel bacterial enoyl-CoA hydratase/lyase enzyme function. Plant Cell 13: 1669-1682
    • McCarthy et al. MYB83 is a direct target of SND1 and acts redundantly with MYB46 in the regulation of secondary cell wall biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Physiol (2009) vol. 50 (11) pp. 1950-64
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    • Merali Z, Mayer M J, Parker M L, Michael A J, Smith A C, Waldron K W (2007) Metabolic diversion of the phenylpropanoid pathway causes cell wall and morphological changes in transgenic tobacco stems. Planta 225: 1165-1178
    • Meyer et al. Lignin monomer composition is determined by the expression of a cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1998) vol. 95 (12) pp. 6619-23
    • Milkowski C, Strack D (2010) Sinapate esters in brassicaceous plants: biochemistry, molecular biology, evolution and metabolic engineering. Planta 232: 19-35
    • Miller G L (1959) Use of dinitrosalicylic acid reagent for determination of reducing sugar. Anal Chem 31: 426-428
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    • Mitra A, Mayer M J, Mellon F A, Michael A J, Narbad A, Parr A J, Waldron K W, Walton N J (2002) 4-Hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase/lyase, an enzyme of phenylpropanoid cleavage from Pseudomonas, causes formation of C(6)-C(1) acid and alcohol glucose conjugates when expressed in hairy roots of Datura stramonium L. Planta 215: 79-89
    • Mitsuda et al. The NAC transcription factors NST1 and NST2 of Arabidopsis regulate secondary wall thickenings and are required for anther dehiscence. Plant Cell (2005) vol. 17 (11) pp. 2993-3006
    • Mitsuda et al. NAC transcription factors, NST1 and NST3, are key regulators of the formation of secondary walls in woody tissues of Arabidopsis. Plant Cell (2007) vol. 19 (1) pp. 270-80
    • Mouille G, Robin S, Lecomte M, Pagant S, Hofte H (2003) Classification and identification of Arabidopsis cell wall mutants using Fourier-Transform InfraRed (FT-IR) microspectroscopy. Plant J 35: 393-404
    • Moura J C, Bonine C A, de Oliveira Fernandes Viana J, Dornelas M C, Mazzafera P (2010) Abiotic and biotic stresses and changes in the lignin content and composition in plants. J Integr Plant Biol 52: 360-376
    • Morreel K, Ralph J, Lu F, Goeminne G, Busson R, Herdewijn P, Goeman J L, Van der Eycken J, Boerjan W, Messens E (2004) Phenolic profiling of caffeic acid O-methyltransferase-deficient poplar reveals novel benzodioxane oligolignols. Plant Physiol 136: 4023-4036
    • Naoumkina M A, Zhao Q, Gallego-Giraldo L, Dai X, Zhao P X, Dixon R A (2010) Genome-wide analysis of phenylpropanoid defence pathways. Mol Plant Pathol 11: 829-846
    • Rahman L, Kouno H, Hashiguchi Y, Yamamoto H, Narbad A, Parr A, Walton N, Ikenaga T, Kitamura Y (2009) HCHL expression in hairy roots of Beta vulgaris yields a high accumulation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (pHBA) glucose ester, and linkage of pHBA into cell walls. Bioresour Technol 100: 4836-4842
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  • ILLUSTRATIVE SEQUENCES
    SEQ ID NO: 1
    Amino acid sequence for Pseudomonasfluorscens HCHL
    (GenBank Accession No. CAA73502)
    MSTYEGRWKTVKVEIEDGIAFVILNRPEKRNAMSPTLNREMIDVLETLEQDPAA
    GVLVLTGAGEAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRREASQWQWKLLRMYAKP
    TIAMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAICADEATFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTV
    GHRQSLYYIMTGKTFGGQKAAEMGLVNESVPLAQLREVTIELARNLLEKNPVVL
    RAAKHGFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQSRLLDTEGGREQGMKQFLDDKSIKPG
    LQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 2
    Polynucleotide sequence encoding SEQ ID NO: 1 
    (codon-optimized by GenScript)
    ATGTCTACTTACGAGGGAAGATGGAAGACTGTTAAGGTTGAGATCGAGGATGGA
    ATCGCTTTCGTTATCCTCAACAGACCTGAGAAGAGAAACGCTATGTCTCCTACT
    CTCAACAGAGAGATGATCGATGTTCTCGAGACTCTCGAGCAGGATCCTGCTGCT
    GGAGTTCTCGTTCTCACTGGAGCTGGAGAGGCTTGGACTGCTGGTATGGATCTC
    AAGGAGTACTTCAGAGAGGTTGATGCTGGACCTGAGATCCTCCAGGAGAAGATC
    AGAAGAGAGGCTTCTCAGTGGCAGTGGAAGCTCCTCAGAATGTACGCTAAGCCT
    ACTATCGCTATGGTTAACGGATGGTGCTTCGGAGGAGGATTCTCTCCTCTCGTT
    GCTTGCGATCTCGCTATCTGCGCTGATGAGGCTACTTTCGGACTCTCTGAGATC
    AACTGGGGAATCCCTCCTGGAAACCTCGTTTCTAAGGCTATGGCTGATACTGTT
    GGACATAGACAGTCTCTCTACTACATCATGACTGGAAAGACTTTCGGAGGACAG
    AAGGCTGCTGAGATGGGACTCGTTAACGAGTCTGTTCCTCTCGCTCAGCTCAGA
    GAGGTTACTATCGAGCTCGCTAGAAACCTCCTCGAGAAGAACCCTGTTGTTCTC
    AGAGCTGCTAAGCATGGATTCAAGAGATGCAGAGAGCTCACTTGGGAGCAGAAC
    GAGGATTACCTCTACGCTAAGCTCGATCAGTCTAGACTCCTCGATACTGAGGGA
    GGAAGAGAGCAGGGTATGAAGCAGTTCCTCGATGATAAGTCTATCAAGCCTGGA
    CTCCAGGCTTACAAGAGA
    SEQ ID NO: 3
    Polynucleotide sequence containing IRX5 promoter (pIRX5)
    ATGAAGCCATCCTCTACCTCGGAAAAACTTGTTGCGAGAAGAAGACATGCGATG
    GCATGGATGCTTGGATCTTTGACATTGATGACACTCTTCTCTCAACCATTCCTT
    ACCACAAGAGCAACGGTTGTTTCGGGTAAATAAACTAAACTTAACCATATACAT
    TAGCCTTGATTCGGTTTTTGGTTTGATTTATGGATATTAAAGATCCGAATTATA
    TTTGAACAAAAAAAAATGATTATGTCACATAAAAAAAAATTGGCTTGAATTTTG
    GTTTAGATGGGTTTAAATGTCTACCTCTAATCATTTCATTTGTTTTCTGGTTAG
    CTTTAATTCGGTTTAGAATGAAACCGGGATTGACATGTTACATTGATTTGAAAC
    AGTGGTGAGCAACTGAACACGACCAAGTTCGAGGAATGGCAAAATTCGGGCAAG
    GCACCAGCGGTTCCACACATGGTGAAGTTGTACCATGAGATCAGAGAGAGAGGT
    TTCAAGATCTTTTTGATCTCTTCTCGTAAAGAGTATCTCAGATCTGCCACCGTC
    GAAAATCTTATTGAAGCCGGTTACCACAGCTGGTCTAACCTCCTTCTGAGGTTC
    GAATCATATTTAATAACCGCATTAAACCGAAATTTAAATTCTAATTTCACCAAA
    TCAAAAAGTAAAACTAGAACACTTCAGATAAATTTTGTCGTTCTGTTGACTTCA
    TTTATTCTCTAAACACAAAGAACTATAGACCATAATCGAAATAAAAACCCTAAA
    AACCAAATTTATCTATTTAAAACAAACATTAGCTATTTGAGTTTCTTTTAGGTA
    AGTTATTTAAGGTTTTGGAGACTTTAAGATGTTTTCAGCATTTATGGTTGTGTC
    ATTAATTTGTTTAGTTTAGTAAAGAAAGAAAAGATAGTAATTAAAGAGTTGGTT
    GTGAAATCATATTTAAAACATTAATAGGTATTTATGTCTAATTTGGGGACAAAA
    TAGTGGAATTCTTTATCATATCTAGCTAGTTCTTATCGAGTTTGAACTCGGGTT
    ATGATTATGTTACATGCATTGGTCCATATAAATCTATGAGCAATCAATATAATT
    CCGAGCATTTTGGTATAACATAATGAGCAAGTATAACAAAAGTATCAAACCTAT
    GCAGGGGAGAAGATGATGAAAAGAAGAGTGTGAGCCAATACAAAGCAGATTTGA
    GGACATGGCTTACAAGTCTTGGGTACAGAGTTTGGGGAGTGATGGGTGCACAAT
    GGAACAGCTTCTCTGGTTGTCCAGTTCCCAAGAGAACCTTCAAGCTCCCTAACT
    CCATCTACTATGTCGCCTGATTAAATCTTATTTACTAACAAAACAATAAGATCA
    GAGTTTCATTCTGATTCTTGAGTCTTTTTTTTCTCTCTCCCTCTTTTCATTTCT
    GGTTTATATAACCAATTCAAATGCTTATGATCCATGCATGAACCATGATCATCT
    TTGTGTTTTTTTTTCCTTCTGTATTACCATTTTGGGCCTTTGTGAAATTGATTT
    TGGGCTTTTGTTATATAATCTCCTCTTTCTCTTTCTCTACCTGATTGGATTCAA
    GAACATAGCCAGATTTGGTAAAGTTTATAAGATACAAAATATTAAGTAAGACTA
    AAGTAGAAATACATAATAACTTGAAAGCTACTCTAAGTTATACAAATTCTAAAG
    AACTCAAAAGAATAACAAACAGTAGAAGTTGGAAGCTCAAGCAATTAAATTATA
    TAAAAACACTAACTACACTGAGCTGTCTCCTTCTTCCACCAAATCTTGTTGCTG
    TCTCTTGAAGCTTTCTTATGACACAAACCTTAGACCCAATTTCACTCACAGTTT
    GGTACAACCTCAGTTTTCTTCACAACAAATTCAAACATCTTACCCTTATATTAC
    CTCTTTATCTCTTCAATCATCAAAACACATAGTCACATACATTTCTCTACCCCA
    CCTTCTGCTCTGCTTCCGAGAGCTCAGTGTACCTCGCC
    SEQ ID NO: 4
    Sagittula_stellata_E-37__ZP_01746375 (amino acid sequence)
    MTATEATLPANDPDLSGDNVAVAFEDGIAWVKLNRPEKRNAMSVSLAEDMNVVLD
    KLEIDDRCGVLVLTGEGSAFSAGMDLKDFFRATDGVSDVERMRAYRSTRAWQWRT
    LMHYSKPTIAMVNGWCFGGAFTPLICCDLAISSDDAVYGLSEINWGIIPGGVVSK
    AISTLMSDRQALYYVMTGEQFGGQEAVKLGLVNESVPADKLRERTVELCKVLLEK
    NPTTMRQARMAYKYIREMTWEESAEYLTAKGDQTVFVDKEKGREQGLKQFLDDKT
    YRPGLGAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 5
    Saccharopolyspora_erythraea_NRRL_2338_YP_001105000 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSTPTTDPGTTTTPWGDTVLVDFDDGIAWVTLNRPEKRNAMNPAMNDEMVRTLDA
    LEADPRCRVMVLTGAGESFSAGMDLKEYFREVDQTADPSVQIRVRRASAEWQWKR
    LAHWSKPTIAMVNGWCFGGAFTPLVACDLAISDEEARYGLSEINWGIPPGGVVSR
    ALAAAVSQRDALYFIMTGETFDGRRAEGMRLVNEAVPAERLRERTRELALKLAST
    NPVVLRAAKVGYKIAREMPWEQAEDYLYAKLEQSQFLDAERGREKGMAQFLDDKS
    YRPGLSAYSTD
    SEQ ID NO: 6
    Solibacter_usitatus_Ellin6076_YP_821552 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MDQYEEKWQTVKVEVDAEGIAWVIFNRPAKRNAMSPTLNREMAQVLETLELDAAA
    KVLVLTGAGESWSAGMDLKEYFREVDGQPESHQEKIRREASLWQWKLLRMYAKPT
    IAMVNGWCFGGAFSPLVACDLAIADEKAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAVADTMGH
    RKALHYIMTGETFTGAQAAEMGLVNAAVPTSELREATRTLALKLASKNPVILRAA
    KHGFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQALHRDPEDARAEGMKQFLDEKSIKPGLQSY
    KRS
    SEQ ID NO: 7
    Ralstonia_solanacearum_GMI1000_NP_521786
    (amino acid sequence)
    MATYEGRWNTVKVDVEDGIAWVTLNRPDKRNAMSPTLNREMIDVLETLELDGDAQ
    VLVLTGAGESWSAGMDLKEYFRETDGQPEIMQERIRRDCSQWQWKLLRFYSKPTI
    AMVNGWCFGGAFSPLVACDLAIAADDAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAVADTMGHR
    AALHYIMTGETFTGREAAEMGLVNRSVPRERLREAVTELAGKLLAKNPVVLRYAK
    HGFKRCRELSWEQNEDYLYAKVDQSNHRDPEKGRQHGLKQFLDDKTIKPGLQTYK
    RA
    SEQ ID NO: 8
    Xanthomonas_albilineans_YP_003377516 (amino acid sequence)
    MSNYQDRWQTVQVQIDAGVAWVTLNRPEKRNAMSPTLNREMIDVLETLELDSAAE
    VLVLTGAGESWSAGMDLKEYFREIDGKEEIVQERMRRDCSQWQWRLLRFYSKPTI
    AAVNGWCFGGAFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAVADTMGHR
    NAMLYIMTGRTFTGTEAAQMGLVNASVPRAQLRAEVTKLAQELQQKNPVVLRFAK
    HGFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKVDQSNHRDPEKGRQQGLKULDDKTIKPGLQTYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 9
    Acinetobacter_baumannii_ATCC_17978_YP_001084143 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MKMSYENRWETVDVKVEDGIAWVTLNRPEKKNAMSPTLNREMIDVLETLELDQNA
    KVLVLTGAGDSWTAGMDLKEYFREVDTQPEIFQERIRRDSCRWQWQLLRMYSKPT
    IAMVNGWCFGGGESPLVACDLAIAADEATEGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGH
    RASLYYIMTGKTFSGKEAETMGLVNKSVPLAQLKAEVTELANCLLEKNPVVLRTA
    KNGFKRCRELTWDQNEDYLYAKLDQCIHRDTENGRQEGLKQFLDEKSIKPGLQSY
    KRTG
    SEQ ID NO: 10
    Acinetobacter_sp._ADP1_YP_046390 (amino acid sequence)
    MTYDKRWETVDVQVEHGIAWVTLNRPHKKNAMSPTLNREMIDVLETLELDSEAKV
    LVLTGAGDSWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAQPEIFQERIRRDSCRWQWQLLRMYSKPTIA
    MVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEATFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHRA
    SLYYIMTGKTFTGKEAEAMGLINKSVPLAQLKAEVTELAQCLVEKNPVVLRTAKN
    GEKRCRELTWDQNEDYLYAKLDQCNHRDTEGGRQEGLKQFLDEKSIKPGLQSYKR
    TG
    SEQ ID NO: 11
    Chromohalobacter_salexigens_DSM_3043_YP_572340
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSDYTNRWQTVKVDVEDGIAWVTLNRPEKRNAMSPTLNREMIDVLETIELDQDAH
    VLVLTGEGESFSAGMDLKEYFREIDASPEIVQVKVRRDASTWQWKLLRHYAKPTI
    AMVNGWCFGGAFSPLVACDLAIAADESVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHR
    QALYYIMTGETFTGPQAADMGLVNQSVPRAELRETTHKLAATLRDKNPVVLRAAK
    TGFKMCRELTWEQNEEYLYAKLDQAQQLDPEHGREQGLKQFLDDKSIKPGLESYR
    R
    SEQ ID NO: 12
    Burkholderia_cenocepacia_AU_1054_ZP_04942909
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSKYDNRWQTVEVKVEAGIAWVTLNRPEKRNAMSPTLNREMLEVLDAVEFDDEA
    KVLVLTGAGAAWTAGMDLKEYFREIDGGSDALQEKVRRDASEWQWRRLRMYNKP
    TIAMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADDAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTV
    GHRRALHYIMTGDTFTGAEAAEMGLVNSSVPLAELRDATIALAARLMDKNPVVL
    RAAKHGFKRSRELTWEQCEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPERGREQGLKQFLDDKTIKPG
    LQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 13
    Burkholderia_ambifaria_MC40-6_YP_776799 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSKYDNRWQTVEVNVEAGIAWVTLNRPDKRNAMSPTLNQEMLQVLDAIEFDDDA
    KVLVLTGAGSAWTAGMDLKEYFREIDGGSDALQEKVRRDASEWQWRRLRMYNKP
    TIAMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTV
    GHRRALHYIMTGDTFTGVEAAEMGLVNSSVPLAGLRDATIALAARLMDKNPVVL
    RAAKHGFKRSRELTWEQCEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPERGREQGLKQFLDDKAIKPG
    LQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 14
    Burkholderia_cepacia_AMMD_YP_776799 (amino acid sequence)
    MSKYDNRWQTVEVNVEAGIAWVTLNRPDKRNAMSPTLNQEMLQVLDAIEFDDDA
    KVLVLTGAGSAWTAGMDLKEYFREIDGGSDALQEKVRRDASEWQWRRLRMYNKP
    TIAMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTV
    GHRRALHYIMTGDTFTGVEAAEMGLVNSSVPLAGLRDATIALAARLMDKNPVVL
    RAAKHGFKRSRELTWEQCEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPERGREQGLKQFLDDKAIKPG
    LQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 15
    Burkholderia_thailandensis_MSMB43_ZP_02468311
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSKYDNRWQTVEVKVEAGIAWVTLNRPDKRNAMSPTLNQEMLQVLDAIEFDDDA
    KVLVLTGAGTAWTAGMDLKEYFREIDGGPDALQEKVRRDASEWQWRRLRMYGKP
    TIAMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTV
    GHRCALHYIMTGDTFTGVEAADMGLVNRSVPLAELRDATIALAARLIDKNPVVL
    RAAKHGFKRSRELTWEQCEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPERGREQGLKQFLDDKAIKPG
    LQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 16
    Burkholderia_ubonensis_Bu_ZP_02382374
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSKYENRWQTVEVKVEAGIAWVTLNRPDKRNAMSPTLNQEMLQVLDAIEFDDDA
    KVLVLTGAGAAWTAGMDLKEYFREIDGGPDALQEKVRRDASEWQWRRLRMYGKP
    TIAMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTV
    GHRRALHYIMTGDTFTGVEAADMGLVNRSVPLAELRDATIALAARLIDKNPVVL
    RAAKHGFKRSRELTWEQCEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPERGREQGLKQFLDDKAIKPG
    LQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 17
    Azotobacter_vinelandii_AvOP_YP_002798614
    (amino acid sequence)
    MNKYEGRWKTVIVEIEGGIAWVTLNRPDKRNAMSPTLNREMRDVLETLEQDPAAR
    VLVLTGAGSAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRREACEWQWKLLRMYAKPTV
    AMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAICADEATFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHR
    QALYYIMTGKTFDGRQAAEMGLVNQSVPLAQLRETVATLCQDLLDKNPVVLRAAK
    NGFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQSRLLDEEGGREEGMRQFLDEKSIKPGLQAYK
    R
    SEQ ID NO: 18
    Pseudomonas_putida_KT2440_NP_745498 (amino acid sequence)
    MSKYEGRWTTVKVELEAGIAWVTLNRPEKRNAMSPTLNREMVDVLETLEQDADAG
    VLVLTGAGESWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRREASQWQWKLLRLYAKPTI
    AMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAICANEATFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHR
    QSLYYIMTGKTFDGRKAAEMGLVNDSVPLAELRETTRELALNLLEKNPVVLRAAK
    NGFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQSRLLDTTGGREQGMKQFLDDKSIKPGLQAYK
    R
    SEQ ID NO: 19
    Pseudomonas_fluorescens_SBW25_YP_002872871
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSNYEGRWTTVKVEIEEGIAWVILNRPEKRNAMSPTLNREMIDVLETLEQDPAAG
    VLVLTGAGEAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRREASQWQWKLLRMYAKPTI
    AMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAICADEATFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHR
    QSLYYIMTGKTFGGQKAAEMGLVNESVPLAQLREVTIELARNLLEKNPVVLRAAK
    HGFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQSRLLDTEGGREQGMKQFLDDKSIKPGLQAYK
    R
    SEQ ID NO: 20
    Pseudomonas_syringae_NP_792742 (amino acid sequence)
    MSKYEGRWTTVKVEIEQGIAWVILNRPEKRNAMSPTLNREMIDVLETLEQDPEAG
    VLVLTGAGEAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRREASQWQWKLLRMYAKPTI
    AMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAICADEATFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHR
    QSLYYIMTGKTFDGKKAAEMGLVNESVPLAQLRQVTIDLALNLLEKNPVVLRAAK
    HGFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQSRLLDKEGGREQGMKQFLDDKSIKPGLEAYK
    R
    SEQ ID NO: 21
    Ralstonia_eutropha_JMP134_YP_299062 (amino acid sequence)
    MANYEGRWKTVKVSVEEGIAWVMFNRPEKRNAMSPTLNSEMIQVLEALELDADAR
    VVVLTGAGDAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRRDACQWQWKLLRMYAKPTI
    AMVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHR
    QALHYIMTGDTFTGQQAAAMGLVNKSVPRSQLREHVLELAGKLLEKNPVVLRAAK
    HGFKRSRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPEHGREQGLKQFLDDKSIKPGLQAYK
    RA
    SEQ ID NO: 22
    Burkholderia_glumae_BGR1_YP_002908688 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSYEGRWTTVKVTVEAGIGWVVLNRPEKRNAMSPTLNKEMIDVLETLELDDEAQV
    LVLTGEGDAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAASDVVQERIRRDASRWQWQLLRMYSKPTIA
    MVNGWCFGGGESPLVACDLAIAADEATFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHRQ
    ALYYIMTGDTFTGKQAAQMGLVNQSVPRAALREATVALAAKLLDKNPVVLRNAKH
    GFKRSRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQANYRDKEGGREKGLKQELDDKSIKPGLQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 23
    Burkholderia_phytofirmans_PsJN_YP_001887778 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSYEGRWKTVKVDVAEGIAWVSFNRPEKRNAMSPTLNKEMIEVLEAVELDAEAQV
    LVLTGEGDAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRRDACRWQWQLLRMYSKPTIA
    MVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEATFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHRQ
    ALYYIMTGETFTGQEAAQMGLVNKSVPRAELREATRALAGKLLEKNPVVLRAAKH
    GFKRCRELTWDQNEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPEGGREQGLKQFLDDKAIKPGLQTYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 24
    Burkholderia_mallei_ATC_23344_YP_105383
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSYEGRWKTVEVIVDGAIAWVTLNRPDKRNAMSPTLNAEMIDVLEAIELDPEARVL
    VLTGEGEAWTAGMDLKEYFREIDAGPEILQEKIRRDASRWQWQLLRMYAKPTIAMV
    NGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHRQALY
    YIMTGETFTGAQAAQMGLVNRSVPRAQLRDAVRALAAKLLDKNPVVLRNAKHGFKR
    CRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPEHGREQGLKQFLDDKTIKPGLQAYRR
    SEQ ID NO: 25
    Burkholderia_pseudomallei_Pasteur_ZP_01765668 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSYEGRWKTVEVIVDGAIAWVTLNRPDKRNAMSPTLNAEMIDVLEAVELDPEARV
    LVLTGEGEAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRRDASRWQWQLLRMYAKPTIA
    MVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHRQ
    ALYYIMTGETFTGAQAAQMGLVNRSVPRAQLRDAVRALAAKLLDKNPVVLRNAKH
    GEKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQAQLRDPEHGREQGLKQFLDDKTIKPGLQAYRR
    SEQ ID NO: 26
    Burkholderia_multivorans_ATCC_17616_YP_001583186
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSYEGRWKTVKVAVEGGIAWVTLNRPEKRNAMSPTLNAEMIDVLEAIELDPEAQV
    LVLTGEGDAWTAGMDLKEYFREVDAGPEILQEKIRRDASRWQWQLLRMYAKPTIA
    MVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHRQ
    ALYYIMTGDTFTGQQAAQMGLVNKSVPRAQLRDEVRALAAKLLDKNPVVIRNAKH
    GFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQANYRDPEGGREQGLKQFLDEKSIKPGLQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 27
    Burkholderia_vietnamiensis_G4_YP_001116289
    (amino acid sequence)
    MGYEGRWKTVKVEVAGGIAWVTLNRPEKRNAMSPTLNTEMIDVLEAIELDADAQV
    LVLTGEGDAWTAGMDLKEYFREIDAGPEILQEKIRRDASRWQWQLLRMYAKPTIA
    MVNGWCFGGGFSPLVACDLAIAADEAVFGLSEINWGIPPGNLVSKAMADTVGHRE
    ALYYIMTGDTFTGQQAARMGLVNKSVPRAQLRDEVRALAAKLLDKNPVVIRNAKH
    GFKRCRELTWEQNEDYLYAKLDQANYRDPEGGREQGLKQFLDDKSIKPGLQAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 28
    Sphingobium_japonicum_UT26S_YP_003543683 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MSEYLTEGPDLSRTCVDVMFDEGIAWVTLNRPEKRNAMSPTLNSEMLAILEQLELD
    PRCGVVVLTGAGDSFSAGMDLKEYFRETDGLPPAQVRRIRQTAQAWQWRTLQHFGK
    PTIAMVNGWCFGGAFTPLVACDLAIAANEAVEGLSEINWGIIPGGNVTKAIQERLR
    PQDAALYIMTGRNFTGEKAAQMGLVAEAVPLTDLRDHTRALALELLSKNPVVLNAA
    KIALKKVADMTWDVAEDYLVAKGAQTRVADKTDGRNKGITQFLDEKSYKPGLEGYR
    RDK
    SEQ ID NO: 29
    Xanthomonas_axonopodis_NP_641235 (amino acid sequence)
    MNEHDVVSVRIENRIAWVKFARPDKRNAMSPALNRRMMDVLDELEFDDNVGVLV
    LGGEGTAWSAGMDLKEYFRETEAQGLRGVRRSQRESYGWERRLRWYQKPTIAMV
    NGWCFGGGFGPLFACDLAIAADEAQFGLSEINWGILPGGGVTKVAVELLSMRDA
    MWMTLTGEMVDGKKAAEWRLVNESVPLERLEARTREVAELLLRKNPVALKYAKD
    AVRRVGTMTYDEAEDYLVRMQEAANSFDNNARKEGIRQFIDEKSYKPGLGEYDL
    SKHSA
    SEQ ID NO: 30
    Xanthomonas_campestris_ATCC_33913_NP_636201
    (amino acid sequence)
    MNEHDVVSVHVENRIAWVKFARPDKRNAMSPALNRRMLDVLDELEFDDNVGVLVL
    GGEGTAWSAGMDLKEYFRETEAQGLRGVRRSQRESYGWFRRLRWYQKPTIAMVNG
    WCFGGGEGPLFACDLAIAADEAQFGLSEINWGILPGGGVTKVAVELLSMRDAMWM
    TLTGELVDGRKAAEWRLVNESVPLERLETRTREVAELLLKKNPVALKYAKDAVRR
    VGTMTYDEAEDYLVRMQEAANSFDNNARKEGIRQFIDEKRYKPGLGAYEPDAGTN
    SEQ ID NO: 31
    Azospirillum_sp._B510_YP_003451575 (amino acid sequence)
    MTQQQAAARTGTAEDVVTVELDNGVAWVTLNRPDKRNAMNPALNARMHGVLDD
    LEVDDRCQVLVLTGAGESFSAGMDLKEYFRETEAKGHMATRRAQRDSYGWWRR
    LRWFEKPSIAMVNGWCFGGAFSPLFACDLAVAADEAQFGLSEINWGIIPGGNV
    TKVVADLMSQREAMYYILTGETFDGRKAAEMKLVNFSVPHAELRAKVRAIADN
    LLEKNPQTLKAAKDAFKRVVEMPFDAAEDYLVVRQESLNYLDKSEGRKQGIKQ
    FIDDKTYRPGLGAYKR
    SEQ ID NO: 32
    Agrobacterium_vitis_S4_YP_002549228 (amino acid sequence)
    MTVAEKSDADTVLVDIEDRIAFVTFNRPEKRNAMNPALNIRMAEVLEELEADDRC
    GVLVLRGAGTSWSAGMDLQQYFRDNDDKPRHATLKSRRQSGGWWQRLTYFEKPTI
    AMVNGWCFGGAFNPLVACDLAIAANEATFGLSEINWGILPGGNVTRAVAEVMNHR
    DSLYYIMTGEPFGGEKARDMGLVNESVPLEELETRVRKLCASLLEKNPVTMKAAK
    DTFKRVRNMPWELADDYIYAKLEQMLLLDKTRGRDEGLKQFLDDKTYRPGLGAYK
    RK
    SEQ ID NO: 33
    Rhizobium_etli_Brasil_5_YP_001985541 (amino acid sequence)
    MTENTSPVLVEFDGGIAFVTLNRPEKRNAMNPALNARMLEVLDELEGDERCGVLV
    LRGAGQSWSAGMDLKEYFRDNDDKPRDATLKARRQSGGWWGRLMYFEKPTIAMVN
    GWCFGGAFTPLVSCDLAIAAEEANFGLSEINWGILPGGNVTRAVAEVMRHRDALY
    YIMTGELFGGRKAAEMGLVNEAVPLVDLETRVRKICASLLEKNPVTLKAAKDTYK
    RVRNLPWDLADDYIYAKLEQMLFLDKTKGRDEGLKQFLDDKTYQPGLGAYKRGR
    SEQ ID NO: 34
    Rhizobium_leguminosarum_bv_trifolii_WSM1325_YP_002973001 
    (amino acid sequence)
    MTEDKSPVLVEFDSGIAFVTLNRPEKRNAMNPALNIRMLEVLDELEGDERCGVL
    VLRGAGESWSAGMDLKEYFRDNDDKPRDVTLKARRQSGNWWGRLMYFEKPTIAM
    VNGWCFGGAFTPLVSCDLAIAAEEANFGLSEINWGILPGGNVTRAVAEVMRHRD
    ALYYIMTGELFGGRKAAEMGLVNEAVPLAELEPRVRKICASLLEKNPVTLKAAK
    DTYKRVRNLPWDLADDYIYAKLEQMLFLDKTKGRDEGLKQFLDDKTYQPGLGAY
    KRGR
    SEQ ID NO: 35
    Amino acid sequence for IRX5 
    (GenBank Accession No. AF458083_1)
    MEPNTMASFDDEHRHSSFSAKICKVCGDEVKDDDNGQTFVACHVCVYPVCKPCYE
    YERSNGNKCCPQCNTLYKRHKGSPKIAGDEENNGPDDSDDELNIKYRQDGSSIHQ
    NFAYGSENGDYNSKQQCRPNGRAFSSTGSVLGKDFEAERDGYTDAEWKERVDKWK
    ARQEKRGLVTKGEQTNEDKEDDEEEELLDAEARQPLWRKVPISSSKISPYRIVIV
    LRLVILVFFFRFRILTPAKDAYPLWLISVICEIWFALSWILDQFPKWFPINRETY
    LDRLSMRFERDGEKNKLAPVDVFVSTVDPLKEPPIITANTILSILAVDYPVNKVS
    CYVSDDGASMLLFDTLSETSEFARRWVPFCKKYNVEPRAPEFYFSEKIDYLKDKV
    QTTFVKDRRAMKREYEEFKVRINALVAKAQKKPEEGWVMQDGTPWPGNNTRDHPG
    MIQVYLGKEGAFDIDGNELPRLVYVSREKRPGYAHHKKAGAMNAMVRVSAVLTNA
    PFMLNLDCDHYINNSKAIRESMCFLMDPQLGKKLCYVQFPQRFDGIDHNDRYANR
    NIVFFDINMRGLDGIQGPVYVGTGCVFNRPALYGYEPPVSEKRKKMTCDCWPSWI
    CCCCGGGNRNHHKSKSSDSSSKKKSGIKSLLSKLKKKNKKKSDDKTMSSYSRKRS
    ATEAIFDLEDIEEGLEGYDELEKSSLMSQKNFEKRFGMSPVFIASTLMENGGLPE
    ATNTSSLIKEAIHVISCGYEEKTEWGKEIGWIYGSVTEDILTGFRMHCRGWKSVY
    CMPKRPAFKGSAPINLSDRLHQVLRWALGSVEIFFSRHCPLWYAWGGKLKILERL
    AYINTIVYPFTSIPLLAYCTIPAVCLLTGKFIIPTINNFASIWFLALFLSIIATA
    ILELRWSGVSINDLWRNEQFWVIGGVSAHLFAVFQGLLKVLFGVDTNFTVTSKGA
    SDEADEFGDLYLFKWTTLLIPPTTLIILNMVGVVAGVSDAINNGYGSWGPLFGKL
    FFAFWVIVHLYPFLKGLMGRQNRTPTIVVLWSILLASIF
    SLVWVRIDPFLPKQTGPLLKQCGVDC
    SEQ ID NO: 36
    Polynucleotide sequence PATCESA7_PATIRX3
    TGGGAACTTTCGGTACATTTTCCAATAAAATCTATATACTATAAGATATTAAAT
    ATACACAAATATATCTAAGTGAATCATACAAATTATGTAGGCACACAGGAAGAG
    GCTGCTGAGGCTTATGACATTGCAGCCATTAAATTCAGAGGATTAAGCGCAGTG
    ACTAACTTCGACATGAACAGATACAATGTTAAAGCAATCCTCGAGAGCCCGAGT
    CTACCTATTGGTAGTTCTGCGAAACGTCTCAAGGACGTTAATAATCCGGTTCCA
    GCTATGATGATTAGTAATAACGTTTCAGAGAGTGCAAATAATGTTAGCGGTTGG
    CAAAACACTGCGTTTCAGCATCATCAGGGAATGGATTTGAGCTTATTGCAGCAA
    CAGCAGGAGAGGTACGTTGGTTATTACAATGGAGGAAACTTGTCTACCGAGAGT
    ACTAGGGTTTGTTTCAAACAAGAGGAGGAACAACAACACTTCTTGAGAAACTCG
    CCGAGTCACATGACTAATGTTGATCATCATAGCTCGACCTCTGATGATTCTGTT
    ACCGTTTGTGGAAATGTTGTTAGTTATGGTGGTTATCAAGGATTCGCAATCCCT
    GTTGGAACATCGGTTAATTACGATCCCTTTACTGCTGCTGAGATTGCTTACAAC
    GCAAGAAATCATTATTACTATGCTCAGCATCAGCAACAACAGCAGATTCAGCAG
    TCGCCGGGAGGAGATTTTCCGGTGGCGATTTCGAATAACCATAGCTCTAACATG
    TACTTTCACGGGGAAGGTGGTGGAGAAGGGGCTCCAACGTTTTCAGTTTGGAAC
    GACACTTAGAAAAATAAGTAAAAGATCTTTTAGTTGTTTGCTTTGTATGTTGCG
    AACAGTTTGATTCTGTTTTTCTTTTTCCTTTTTTTGGGTAATTTTCTTATAACT
    TTTTTCATAGTTTCGATTATTTGGATAAAATTTTCAGATTGAGGATCATTTTAT
    TTATTTATTAGTGTAGTCDTAATTTAGTTGTATAACTATAAAATTGTTGTTTGT
    TTCCGAATCATAAGTTTTTTTTTTTTTTGGTTTTGTATTGATAGGTGCAAGAGA
    CTCAAAATTCTGGTTTCGATGTTAACAGAATTCAAGTAGCTGCCCACTTGATTC
    GATTTGTTTTGTATTTGGAAACAACCATGGCTGGTCAAGGCCCAGCCCGTTGTG
    CTTCTGAACCTGCCTAGTCCCATGGACTAGATCTTTATCCGCAGACTCCAAAAG
    AAAAAGGATTGGCGCAGAGGAATTGTCATGGAAACAGAATGAACAAGAAAGGGT
    GAAGAAGATCAAAGGCATATATGATCTTTACATTCTCTTTAGCTTATGTATGCA
    GAAAATTCACCTAATTAAGGACAGGGAACGTAACTTGGCTTGCACTCCTCTCAC
    CAAACCTTACCCCCTAACTAATTTTAATTCAAAATTACTAGTATTTTGGCCGAT
    CACTTTATATAATAAGATACCAGATTTATTATATTTACGAATTATCAGCATGCA
    TATACTGTATATAGTTTTTTTTTTGTTAAAGGGTAAAATAATAGGATCCTTTTG
    AATAAAATGAACATATATAATTAGTATAATGAAAACAGAAGGAAATGAGATTAG
    GACAGTAAGTAAAATGAGAGAGACCTGCAAAGGATAAAAAAGAGAAGCTTAAGG
    AAACCGCGACGATGAAAGAAAGACATGTCATCAGCTGATGGATGTGAGTGATGA
    GTTTGTTGCAGTTGTGTAGAAATTTTTACTAAAACAGTTGTTTTTACAAAAAAG
    AAATAATATAAAACGAAAGCTTAGCTTGAAGGCAATGGAGACTCTACAACAAAC
    TATGTACCATACAGAGAGAGAAACTAAAAGCTTTTCACACATAAAAACCAAACT
    TATTCGTCTCTCATTGATCACCGTTTTGTTCTCTCAAGATCGCTGCTAATCTCC
    GGCCGTCCCT
    SEQ ID NO: 37
    Polynucleotide sequence PATCESA8_PATIRX1
    TTTAGTGCAGTCTAGGAAGACGGATCCAAAGGAGATAAACAGAGTTCAAGAAGCT
    CTTAACTACTATACAATCGAATCGTCAGCCGCGCTTTTTGTTTCGTTCATGATCA
    ATTTGTTTGTAACTGCGGTTTTCGCGAAAGGGTTTTATGGAACCAAACAAGCTGA
    TAGTATAGGACTGGTTAACGCGGGATATTACCTACAAGAGAAATATGGCGGTGGT
    GTTTTCCCGATACTATACATTTGGGGGATTGGTTTATTAGCTGCTGGACAAAGCA
    GTACTATAACCGGGACTTATGCTGGACAGTTTATAATGGAAGGGTTCTTAGATCT
    TCAAATGGAACAATGGCTATCAGCTTTTATAACGAGAAGCTTTGCTATTGTACCT
    ACTATGTTTGTTGCTATTATGTTTAACACATCCGAGGGCTCGCTCGATGTTTTAA
    ACGAATGGCTTAACATTCTTCAGTCGATGCAGATTCCTTTCGCGGTTATTCCTCT
    TTTGACTATGGTTTCTAATGAACATATCATGGGTGTCTTCAAGATCGGACCTTCG
    CTTGAGGTAAAGCAATTTTTTGTCATCTCTCTTTATTGTTATGTGCTTTTGATTG
    TAACGAGTTAGTTGGGATCTTTGCAGAAGCTAGCTTGGACTGTGGCGGTGTTTGT
    GATGATGATAAATGGGTATCTTCTTCTAGATTTCTTCATGGCTGAAGTGGAAGGG
    TTTCTTGTTGGGTTTCTGGTTTTTGGTGGAGTAGTTGGATACATCAGTTTCATCA
    TCTATCTTGTTTCTTATAGAAGCTCACAATCTTCTTCCTGGTCGAGTTTAGAAAT
    GTCAGAGAGAGTTGTTTCCACAGAGACGTAGAAACCCATAACTTTAGTATTCTTC
    AACCCTTACAACTTATCTGAGCAAAATCAGAAGGTCGAATTTGATGGATGGTTTT
    GCTGTATTTGGTCAACGGTTTTATTTGAGACAGTAGACCAGAGGAAACTCAGATG
    TGATGATGCAAAGACTGAATTGGTTAAGAGTGTAGATTGATTTGTTCTAACATTG
    CAAATGTAGAGTAGAATTATGCAAAAAACGTTAATGAACAGAGAAGTGATTAAGC
    AGAAACAAAATTAGAGAAGTGATATTATATCTCAAAATTTATTTTTGGTACAGCT
    AAAGCTCAAATTGTTATAGAGATTAGAGATATTAAACCAAATGACGAGTGTTTTC
    TTTAGTAGTAAACGGTGAAAATTCTCTTCTGACAAAGACAATTAAAATTTTAGGT
    TTAAGACTTTAATATTTGTCACAAATTGTCATTTACCTAAATAAAAAAAAAACTA
    AATATTTTTTTTAGATACATATGTGTCTTATAATTTTAACTATAAATTTTAATTT
    TATGTCTTAAATAATTGTTTACACTATAAATTTAAATATTTTAATGCTAAAATTA
    ATTTGATTCAAAAAAGTGATTTTAATTCTTATTTTTCTTATAGAAAGTTGGTGAT
    TGAAAAGATTTACTTAAAAATTATAACAACTTCAATGGTGAATAACCCGACCCGA
    ATAAACCGGATATAACAACTTCAATGTTAGCTTGATATAGAAAGTACGGTGACGC
    TTAGGAGGCAAGCAAGCTAGTATCTGCCGCTGGTTAGAGACAAAGAACATGTGTC
    ACTCCTCTCAACTAAAACTTTCCTTCACTTTCCCGCAAAATCATTTCAAAAAAGC
    TCCAAATTTAGCTTACCCATCAGCTTTCTCAGAAAACCAGTGAAAGAAACTTCTC
    AACTTCCGATTTTTCACAATCCACCAAACTTTTTTTAATAACTTTTTTTCCTCTT
    ATTACAAAACCTCCACTCTCATGGCTTCTCAAACTTGTTATCCATCCAAATCTCA
    ATCCCTAATTAGGGTTCATTTCTCTGTTTCTCCAAACAGGGGAATTCGAAG
    SEQ ID NO: 38
    Polynucleotide sequence PATNST1
    GTTTGTAGAGTTGGATCAGCATCCAGATTTAAACCCTTATTTTTGTTTTTGCCAA
    GCATCCAGACTTAATCCTATATTAGATACTGTATATGCATCTTGATGGAATATAG
    ACTATATAGAAAGACCAAAAATGGAAGAGTACGAATAAAAATGCATAATATACCT
    TGGAAATTATTCTTGGTTATTGTGAAACTTAAAACATTTCAACGAAGTCATATAC
    TATTATTTAATCATTGATTTAAAATTGCTAATCAAATCACGTGTTGTTGTTATAT
    ATGGATAAAGAGTTAAACTATAACACAACTGAGAAAAAAATAAAGTTATCAATTT
    TGTTAAGAATCAATGAAGGTTTCACAAGACTGGGAAGAAAAAAAAATAGATATAT
    GGAGTACATAAAACATTAAAATTTTGCTAAATTTTACTTTTGAACTCTATTGATT
    CGGGTTGACATGATGATAATGTTACATTCGTACAATTTCACAATGAAAAAAACGA
    GTACTAAATATTGTCAATCAAACATATGAATGTACAAAAATCCATAAACTCTACC
    AAAATAGAATGAAGATTCTGAAATCAAACCTACTTTTTCTTTTTAATTATAAATT
    CAACTATATTATAAATTTATTTATCACAAATAATAGAGGAGTGAGAATATTTTAG
    ACAACGCAAATTTCTTTTATTTAGTTCTTATACTTTATTTTTTACCAAACGTTAA
    TTAAAAAAATCACACATACATAATTTCTAAAAAAAATGTATTCTTCAAGTAATAT
    ATCTTTCTGAGTACTAGTTTATCTATTTATCTCCGTATTTAATAATCAAAAGTTA
    CGTTTAAAATAGAAACAACTTTTATCAAACAAAATATATTAGAAAACGCATGGTA
    CTGGCTACTGGAAAGAATCATGACCTGTAAATTTCTACAGTTTTCCCGTTTTATA
    TAGTACTTAGAAACTTTGGATTTTCATAGCGCAACCAATAAACACATGGACTTAA
    GACACAAAAAAAGTTGGGTGCAATGTCATTAATCAAACTAAAAAAATAATGATTA
    AAAGCATGGAATTCCGAAAACGCAACAAAATGATTCTGTGTTTAGACAAATGCAG
    AAAGGCCTCTTAACTAATCTTAAATAAAGTCTTAGTTCCAACCACATAAACACTC
    CTTAGCTCCATTAATTTTGGTTTTCTTAATTACGTTTCTACACAAGTACACGTAC
    TTACACATACAATTCCACAGTCTAAATGATAAAACTATGTGGTTTTTGACGTCAT
    CGTTACCTTTCTGTCGTCTCACCTTTATATAGTGTCTCTAACAGAACGTAACAAC
    CAAATGTTTAAAAAAATAAAAACAGCACCCCTTAATTAGGCTCATTCGTTTTGCA
    CTAACCATACTACAAATCATCTCGAACGATCGAGCAAAGATTTGAAAAATAAATA
    AACGTATAACTCTAGAGATTTTCATTAGCTAAGAAAAGTGAAATCGATTGTTAAT
    CCTATTTCAGACGGGACAGGAACACTCATTACCCAACTCTATCATCTCTCGAACA
    CCAAACTATATCTACCGTTTGGGGCATTATTTCCCACTTTCTTTCGAAGACAATT
    TCCCATATATAACATATACACATTATTACTAATATATTTTTATAAATTTTCGTCA
    CATCCCAAAAAAAAACACTCTTTGTCACATCAACTAGTTTTTTTGTAACGATCAA
    ACCTTTTCGTTTAAAAAAAAAAAACTTTTGTAGTGTAAACGTTTATTTATCGATG
    AAAAAAGCCACATCTTCCGGAGGGAAACTTTTTAAGACACCCTATTTCGACTTTA
    TTTTGTAAATACAGTGTGCATGTGCATATAAAGAGAGATATCATTTGTATAAATA
    TCAAGAATTAGAAGAGAAAAAGAGAGAAGAAGACAATCTATTACTATTACGATGT
    GTGGGTTGTTAATTTGTTTAAAGGGAGCTTTTCTATAGAGATTTTTAAGGTCAAG
    GGTCATCGTTCGATGTGGGCTTGCTTCCTACAATCTAGTTGCCTTACGGGGCCTA
    CTCTTTTTCTTTTGATAACTACATCACCTTTTTTTTCTCCGACAACTATATATCA
    CTTTTTTTATGTTTTCCTTTTTTTCTTCACAATAATTCTTTACTCGTTGCAAATG
    TAAAGATACACAAAGTTACTTATTTTGTTTACGATGGTTCTTAGTAGTTTAAAGA
    ATTAATGAATAAGATAAACCTAAACTTTGAAAAGACTAAAAAAAATGTATAACAA
    CATACATTATACGTATTTGAAATAGTCCAAGTGATATTATGTCATTGATATTAGC
    ACAAATAATTACGATGCCTGATATTGTCACATTTGATGATTTTAAGTTCTTGTAA
    AAGATAAGTGTAACTAAATCACTATAGTGAGGCCCACGTTTTAATTTCTAAACTA
    ATTACAATGACAATAAAATAGCAAAACTATTTAAAACTAGACGCCAAAAAAAATT
    GAAACTAATAATTGTGAAAAAAGAACAAGAGAATAATAATCATTAATAATTGACA
    AGTGAAATTAATATATTGCTCTTGGAGGGTTATATTTTAATTTTCAAACTAAATA
    ATGAATACAAATGGAAAAGCTAATGATAAGAGTTGAATTTTAATAATTAAGAAAA
    ACAAAAAAAGGTGTACAAGGAGACACATGCGTTTTCCTCATGCATCTTGTTTTTA
    TACAACAATATATATATATATATTGAGTCATTCTCTGCTAGCTCTCTCATCTCCA
    ACTTTCAGTATGATATATAGTTACAATTAAATAAACCTCACATGCTCTATTCTTG
    CTTGATTTTTGAGTTAATCTTGAATCTCTTTG
    SEQ ID NO: 39
    Polynucleotide sequence PATCESA4_PATIRX5
    ATGAAGCCATCCTCTACCTCGGAAAAACTTGTTGCGAGAAGAAGACATGCGATG
    GCATGGATGCTTGGATCTTTGACATTGATGACACTCTTCTCTCAACCATTCCTT
    ACCACAAGAGCAACGGTTGTTTCGGGTAAATAAACTAAACTTAACCATATACAT
    TAGCCTTGATTCGGTTTTTGGTTTGATTTATGGATATTAAAGATCCGAATTATA
    TTTGAACAAAAAAAAATGATTATGTCACATAAAAAAAAATTGGCTTGAATTTTG
    GTTTAGATGGGTTTAAATGTCTACCTCTAATCATTTCATTTGTTTTCTGGTTAG
    CTTTAATTCGGTTTAGAATGAAACCGGGATTGACATGTTACATTGATTTGAAAC
    AGTGGTGAGCAACTGAACACGACCAAGTTCGAGGAATGGCAAAATTCGGGCAAG
    GCACCAGCGGTTCCACACATGGTGAAGTTGTACCATGAGATCAGAGAGAGAGGT
    TTCAAGATCTTTTTGATCTCTTCTCGTAAAGAGTATCTCAGATCTGCCACCGTC
    GAAAATCTTATTGAAGCCGGTTACCACAGCTGGTCTAACCTCCTTCTGAGGTTC
    GAATCATATTTAATAACCGCATTAAACCGAAATTTAAATTCTAATTTCACCAAA
    TCAAAAAGTAAAACTAGAACACTTCAGATAAATTTTGTCGTTCTGTTGACTTCA
    TTTATTCTCTAAACACAAAGAACTATAGACCATAATCGAAATAAAAACCCTAAA
    AACCAAATTTATCTATTTAAAACAAACATTAGCTATTTGAGTTTCTTTTAGGTA
    AGTTATTTAAGGTTTTGGAGACTTTAAGATGTTTTCAGCATTTATGGTTGTGTC
    ATTAATTTGTTTAGTTTAGTAAAGAAAGAAAAGATAGTAATTAAAGAGTTGGTT
    GTGAAATCATATTTAAAACATTAATAGGTATTTATGTCTAATTTGGGGACAAAA
    TAGTGGAATTCTTTATCATATCTAGCTAGTTCTTATCGAGTTTGAACTCGGGTT
    ATGATTATGTTACATGCATTGGTCCATATAAATCTATGAGCAATCAATATAATT
    CGAGCATTTTGGTATAACATAATGAGCCAAGTATAACAAAAGTATCAAACCTAT
    GCAGGGGAGAAGATGATGAAAAGAAGAGTGTGAGCCAATACAAAGCAGATTTGA
    GGACATGGCTTACAAGTCTTGGGTACAGAGTTTGGGGAGTGATGGGTGCACAAT
    GGAACAGCTTCTCTGGTTGTCCAGTTCCCAAGAGAACCTTCAAGCTCCCTAACT
    CCATCTACTATGTCGCCTGATTAAATCTTATTTACTAACAAAACAATAAGATCA
    GAGTTTCATTCTGATTCTTGAGTCTTTTTTTTTCTCTCTCCCTCTTTTCATTTC
    TGGTTTATATAACCAATTCAAATGCTTATGATCCATGCATGAACCATGATCATC
    TTTGTGTTTTTTTTTCCTTCTGTATTACCATTTTGGGCCTTTGTGAAATTGATT
    TTGGGCTTTTGTTATATAATCTCCTCTTTCTCTTTCTCTACCTGATTGGATTCA
    ATATTAAGTAAGACTAAAGTAGAAATACATAATAACTTGAAAGCTACTCTAAGT
    TAGAACATAGCCAGATTTGGTAAAGTTTATAAGATACAAAATACAAATTCTAAA
    GAACTCAAAAGAATAACAAACAGTAGAAGTTGGAAGCTCAAGCAATTAAATTAT
    ATAAAAACACTAACTACACTGAGCTGTCTCCTTCTTCCACCAAATCTTGTTGCT
    GTCTCTTGAAGCTTTCTTATGACACAAACCTTAGACCCAATTTCACTCACAGTT
    TGGTACAACCTCAGTTTTCTTCACAACAAATTCAAACATCTTACCCTTATATTA
    CCTCTTTATCTCTTCAATCATCAAAACACATAGTCACATACATTTCTCTACCCC
    ACCTTCTGCTCTGCTTCCGAGAGCTCAGTGTACCTCGCCT
    SEQ ID NO: 40
    Polynucleotide sequence PATGAUT8_PATIRX8
    ACGAGCTGACTTGTACCGATGAGCTGGCTCTTCTGGGCGAGCTGGCTGATCTTGA
    CGAGCAGACTTCTCCCGACGAGCTGACTTGTGTCGATGAGCTGGCTCTTCTGGGC
    GAGTTGGCTGATCTTGACGAGCAGACTTCTCCCGACGAGCTGACTTGTGTCGATG
    AGCTGGCTCTTCTGGGCGAACTGGCTGATCTTGACGAGCAGACTTCTCCCGACGA
    GCTGACTTGTGCTATCCTTTCTCCAGGTCTCGAAAAAGTCCCCTTTCCCGAGACT
    TTCTATTCCTTATTTATACCCGTCCGTATAGTAGGGTACGCAAGGTGAATTCTCG
    AGAGTGCCCCTTTTCTACGCAGCCGAACTCACATCCTGACCAGGCCGGGCTTCGG
    CCTGGTGGGCCGGCTCGAGTTCTAAAGTGATGGTCGGGGCTGGGTCGTTATTCCT
    TGAAATGGGCCGGTTGATCACTGAGGCCCAATTGATGTATCAACATGTGGTTTTT
    ATAAAAAGAGTCGTGAGAAGAGTTTTCTCTAAAAATCCCTTGTGTTTGGTAATCA
    AACTTCATTCAACCAACGAATTCCAAAAAAACAACTAAATTGTTCGGGTATATAA
    AATGATTGGTAATGATATATCCCATAGAGGCCGTAGACATAGGCCCAAAAAGTTT
    CCATAACTAGCAGAAATTGAAACTTGCAAGTTGCAAATATTATTACACTGGAAAG
    GCAACAAGTCTTGAAGTACAAACTACAAAGACTTCTTGTTTGGATGGGGACGACT
    GACGAGTTTGAATAACTTAAGAGAAAAGGGTCGCAATCGAAATTAGACAAGAAAT
    TAGTCCTCAAAAAGTAAATTCTGAAGTTGAAGCTCCAATGTCTTTGTTCAAAGAC
    TTTATTTAGATGTAAAGTTATGTCTTGTAACCACCAAACAGCTCCTTTTCATCTA
    CACTCCCAATTTTTTTAACATCTATGTTTTGCATTGCCTTTGACTTGTCTTTCTC
    TCTCCAACTTCTCTCCTTCAACATAAAGCCAAATCCTAAATCCAAATCCCTTAAA
    CCGAACCGAATTAAACCGAAGCTGTTGAACTATCGCAAAATTTCAGATCTTACTA
    ATCATAAACATGTGACGTTTAATTCATTTTAAGAGTTTCATGATTTGCACTGAAT
    GGTATTCCGAGTCCACCGGAAAAAAACTTTTCCTACAAGTAGAAAAAGGATAACC
    CCATAAATCCAAATAACCTAACCGATCAAACATATACCAATATAAACCAAAACAA
    GATTCAGATTCATCGGTTTAGTAATCGAAGTAATGTACTAATGTGTAATATTGAT
    TCCACCACCAGCTTAGAGATTCGAACCAAAAACCGAATAGCGCATAACCGAGAAA
    ACCCAAAGCTTCCTAACAAATACATAAAACCGTGGTGTTTCTAATTCTAACCAAC
    ACACGTTTCCTTTTTATTCACAAGAAACATCAGAGTTATGATCTGCCATTAATAA
    CCTAAACACAAAGCAAGGTTAGGTAAATGATATGGACCCCTAATGAATAATCATA
    CAATACATAACAACGTAAGATCCAGTTTCCCTCTTCG
    SEQ ID NO: 41
    Polynucleotide sequence PATNST2
    AACGGTGGCGTGATGGAGCTTCATCCTCCCATCTTCGCCGAATTCATCACCAACG
    AATTTCCCGGCCATGTCATCCACGACTCTTTAAGCCTCCGCCACTCATCTCCACC
    GCTTCTCCACGGCGAAGAACTCTTTCCCGGTAACATCTACTACCTCCTTCCTCTT
    TCTTCTTCCGCAGCCGCGACCGCTCAACTGGATTCCTCCGACCAACTATCAACGC
    CGTACAGAATGTCTTTCGGGAAGACGCCGATAATGGCGGCTTTGAGTGGCGGTGG
    TTGTGGAGTGTGGAAGGTGAGGCTTGTGATAAGTCCGGAGCAGTTGGCGGAAATT
    CTTGCGGAGGATGTGGAAACGGAAGCGTTGGTGGAAAGTGTGAGGACGGTGGCGA
    AGTGTGGCGGTTACGGCTGCGGCGGAGGAGTTCATTCGAGAGCGAATTCAGACCA
    GCTAAGCGTTACGAGTAGCTTTAAAGGGAAATTGTGGTAAAATTTCGAATTATGA
    ATAAACTACGTTTATGTTTTAATCTGTTTCACGATTTAAGCATTTAAATTAGTAT
    GTTGATTTCCGTATTCATTGAAGACTTGGAACGATTATATAAGTTTATCAACGTA
    GATATATTTGAAATATCATTGTTATCTCTCATGAAACAATTAATTTATGAAGTCG
    TAGACTCGTAGTTAGAGATTATTTAATCTTCCCTATTCAATGCCAAAAGTCTAGA
    AGAGCAAAACAAAAGGGAGAAACTCTTTTATTTCAGGCCCAATGACACAAAGCTG
    GCCAGAAACAGTTTAAGATTAGGCTAAAGTTATAAGTCCGACAAGCACGAGTGCT
    AATATATATAGTTATATGACGTCTCACCATTAAGGGTTTAATAAATTTTGAAACA
    CCTCAAATTAAGATTGCTTCCCATGCAAACTTCCTTCATCTTCTAGAAAAATTAC
    GATTTGTAATACTTCAATTATATCATTTTAGTTTTTTGTCACTAATTATCATCAA
    TTTATCATAGCTCCGTGCCGCAACAACGTTCGTTTTAATCAGATTATATATTACT
    CTGCTATAAACTCAGAACCATGTTAGAAAAATGAAAAAGACATTTCAGAATATTC
    ATTAACTCAAAATTTTAATCTCATGATTTAATTTTTTATTAACAATGTTATCCTA
    TAGCACATGGCAAATTTGAACGGCCCTTGCGTATTAATCTATTATAATCTCAAAA
    CCATGTGTAAGAAAAAGGAAATTCAGAAAATAACCTTTTGTAAATAGGCCCCCAC
    AAAATCTACAACATACGTAGATACCTCCTCGCTTACAGTTGTAAACAACTGTTCA
    TCTAGATTCATGCCGTCATTCAAGTTTAAATTAATACAATAATTTAAAATTTTAA
    TTTGGATGAATCGAATCCACCGTCGTTTCCTGAATACCAGATAGGTTAACTTTAT
    GATTAGTTCGAGTGAACCACATGCACAATATTCGAATCTTAGACATTCGTTGCAA
    TGTTAACTTCACATATATTTGATAAACGCTTCTTGAATCAGATCTTAATCTCTTT
    CTTTCTCTCCATCTTCTAAGGAGGTTGTGGATTATCATGTAGTATATCATTATCT
    TCGCATCACCTTCAACAAGAACAAGCTACGAGCTTTAAAGTCGTATTTAACACAA
    TAATGTATAAAGTCTTTCTTCATCACATCACATACATTTTTTGTTGCCATCACCC
    TTCATTCACTTTTTTTGTTAACACTATTCGTTTCTATATAAAATAAAAATAAAAT
    GAGGAATGTCTTGTCCATAGAGATTTTTAAGGTCGAGGGTCATCGGAGCGATGTG
    GGCTTGCTTCCTACATTATAGTTGATATGTGGATCCCGCGTGGACCATATTTTTA
    CCCAATAGCTACGTGCATGGTCCCACCGCTCTCTCTCACGCACTATTCCGAAATT
    GCCATAAACAATTTCACCGGACAAAAAGAGCAAATAATTTCGATGTTTAATAAAG
    AGACCATTAGTATATTTGACCCAAAAAAAAATAAAAAAAAAAGAGAGACATTACT
    ATAACTTTTATTAGATGAAATATTGCAACATTGTATTTATAACGGATCTAATTTA
    CTGAATCATATTTTTTTTCTTTGTTAAAGAGATACTGAATCATGCAGAAAAATAG
    ATAGATTTTTAAATACTAGGTGAACTCATGACGAATCAACCATTACGAGAGATTT
    CTGGATAAAAGCAAAAACAAAACAAAACTAACATGCTAATCTAGGCAATTAGTAG
    AGCGAAAAGTCGGCAAAACCAAAGGCCGAAGAAGCTTGATCGATATACTTTTTTT
    TTTTTGTTTTGGCTGGATATACTTGGTATGAACTAAGAATTAAGTAAAAACTCAT
    AGGGAGTAATTTTTCGAGAAGTGCATTCACTATGAGTATAAAACAGACATTTTCA
    AATTATTAAAACAAGCTCTTAGAGGCTCATATGTTTAATTGTAAGTGGCGGCTCA
    TGCGAACTTATAATGAAAACATCAAATATTCGGAAAAATAATACTCCACTGTTAA
    AAAGAAAACTTAACAAAGGAATTAAAAATATGAGAGCAAAAGAACACATGCATTT
    TCTCATGCATGTACTATTATTTATTTTTTTGCAGAGTTGATGTAAAAAATATACA
    CATATATATAGACATACTTTGGTTAGTTATAAACTCGTTCTATTTTCTTCTCCTT
    TTTCTATCTTTAGCA
    SEQ ID NO: 42
    Polynucleotide sequence PATNST3
    ATTCTACACATTCACAAAGTTTACTACACTATATATAATTTACCCAACAAACACT
    TATTTTACTGCATTATTCAGTATATTATCTTACCTATAAATGTGTATCATCATCA
    TCAATAACGCGATTATTTGTGCTGAAGGATTATATATTCAAAATGATCTAGTTAT
    ATATGTCACATGATTGCCGTTAACAAGACACATTTGAAGAAGCTAAGCAAGAAAA
    ACGGACACTITTGCGACTTGTTACATAATTTAACTTATAGGTCAAAAGAATTTGA
    TTAGTCATTGCAACTACGTGTGGATGTCACTTTCTATTCAACCAAAACTCACAAT
    ATTATATGATCTAGTTTTGTCGTATTACTGATTTGTATTATAAAATGTTATTTAA
    TTTGAATTCTACGTAGATATTGCTCATGCATGATAGTATGTATCTAAACTATTCA
    AATAACTAACTACGTGGATATTTTATAATCCAAGTAAAAAGCAGAAAGTGGGTAA
    CTACGTCAGTATGACTATACTTTTATCGGAATTGCTTGACATCCAAACTTTTGCT
    ATGCTTCACCAACCAATGCAGTTTCACTTAATTATTAACTATTGACTATGTCTTA
    TTAAGTTAGCACTAATTCGTTAATCATTCAAAACGTTATTTGATTGAATTACATA
    TTACACTCTCTTTCTGCATCACCACTCACACCATATGCAACTATAACCAACTCAT
    ATTCAAATGTATTAATTGGATTTTGGTGCGAGATTAAAAATTGAAAGGAAACAAC
    ACAATATGATAATGGGATAAAATCTTGAACGGAAACTCAAACTAATCCTCATAAG
    GTATAACAAAATAACAATTTAAGCTAAGCACAACAACATACAAGTTCGACCTTTT
    CCTTTGATGATCCAGCCCAACAGTTCTCTTATATCTCAAACCATTCGACCATTTG
    AGCCAAACTAGCTAAACCTGCAGGAATCAAAACCAACAAAGATTCAGATTAGCTA
    AACCGGTTTCATCCCTTTGTCACATGACTCACATCCGTCTTCTACATAACGATTT
    CTAATGATGTGAGCTCTTAACTTGCTCCAGCAAGATCATCAACTTTGGAGCACCT
    TCAATGATTTAGTTAACATGTTAGATAAATTAAATATTCTTGTTTCAATATATAT
    CAACTTTAGTGTAAAAGCCTTAACATTCTCTTGAATATTTAATTTATTTCTCCTT
    ATTTCGATTTAATGACAAATGTGAATTAATTTTTGTGATATTTTTGTTCGAAATT
    AGTTTTCAGTTAATAACATACATGTGAGCATGGGACACACATGATTTAACAAAAG
    GGAATGACGAAATGATATATCAAAATATTAGTATGGGAACAAATTACGAGGTGAA
    ACTTCACACTCAACTCAATTAAAACTAGAATAAAGAAATGGAAAAAGTGAAAGAA
    TGAGAGGTCAAATGTGGTTAATCATTATGTGGTATTAGTTAATCCATCAATTGTG
    TACCCAAAAGCATGATTAAGCATAGAATTTAGAGAAACAAAACATCATTATTAAT
    GTTGAAACACAAAGATCCCATCAACAGACAAATGATAAGTACAGTGCATGTAGGG
    TAACAACTTTTATGTACATGTTATATACTTATATTATATAATAAGAAAACGATTA
    AAGTGTCATTGCTCCAGCCTCTATTTGTAAATCATATTATATCAGTATGCTTAAT
    TCCAATAATTAAGTCCATAACTAAAATATATACACATATATGTATGTTAAATGGT
    TGAATATATACATATATTTTCATAAACAAATATTGCTAATTAATTCAGTTATTTG
    TGTACATAATCCAACTATCACCTTTTTAGCTGGAAGTGGATATTCCAACATGTCA
    GTCTGTCACTCCCACATTCATACTCTCTATTCTTTTTAGCTATTTCAATATCTAC
    GGTTAAATATTAATGGCTATATAGCCTTACCCTTCATTTTAGTTTTTTTTTGGTA
    TTCGCATAACCATCGAATACTCAAACTTACTATGTAAGATGGTCTGAATAACTAT
    TTCCGATTTAAGATGAATAGCTAGATTGAAATATACATGCACTAATTGGACATGC
    ACTAAAGGCAGAGGTGAATTAAATGATGAAATGAAGATGAAGTGTCACACTTGTG
    CAAAAAGCATGTCCCCTGCTCTTCTCCGCTTGTTTCAATTTCTTTGACTTTCATC
    ACGTTTTTGTCACTTAAATACACCAAAAAATATAGTACAATTAAACATCGAAAAT
    CGTCCAAAAAGAAGAAAAAAAATCATGGAAAGTTCTTTCGTTAATGTTACACACA
    TTATCTTGATTAGGTGACACCAGATATTAGAATAAAAATGATAGATTATGAAAAG
    AAAAAAAAAATTGATGTATTTTTAGGATACATCGAAAGGAATGAACATACCAAAA
    ACATGGGAAAAAATAGATAACTAATTAACATGGTAGAATGTAGATGACGTAGATC
    ATGAAACGAGTGTGTGATATATTAATGAAAATTATTTTAATATACGTAGCTATAT
    TAGAAAATAATTTACATTTATTTTCTTCTAAACAAATCTATACTTTATATTTACA
    TACATTAGTAAAGACCAAAACACATGGAATTCAAATTCTGCAATAAGTAATTGCA
    AGAAAACACAAAGATTAATCCCCCACTAAACCCGTTTATTTACGTTAGTATTTTT
    CCGTTTTATACATTACACATGACATGACATTACACGTCAAAAGAAATATGTCTTA
    CGTCAGAACTTACGTATGATCAAACTCGATTTAAACATAGAAACATCTGTTTACT
    AAATTATACTAATTTCATAAAGACACTTTAATGCATGAACTTCTTTGTTTAAATA
    ACAATTTCCCCCTTTTGGGGGCTATGTCTCGTCGAGTCCTACCACCATTATAAAT
    TATCTCATCGTTTGCTTTCTTTTTTTTAAGTTGTAACCATTTCCACTCGTAATCA
    TACAACTTCTCTACTCTTCTAGAGCAAAAACCCAAAAATATATTGCTATCTTCGT
    TA
    SEQ ID NO: 43
    Polynucleotide sequence PATFRA8_PATIRX7
    CTTCAAATCTCTTGTATCATTAAATAGTAACGTTTTAAATATTTTCTGGATAAGCA
    TAAGTTTCTTTGAAAACTATTTTGTATATATTCCTACTTCTCCATTTTTCTAAATT
    ATTTTATATTATACATAGTTTTCCAAATTATCAAACATTTTTACATGTTTTGACTA
    ATAAATAAACATATTACTGCGAATTAATTAAAAATAAATATTCCACACAATAATTA
    CCTTACAAGCGAATAAACTTTTACTATGTTTTCGATGTAAATTTTTCTTACATATT
    TGTAACTGAAATTTCTAACTTGTTGTTTCATAAGTTTTAAAATTTATTATCTAATT
    ATCTACTTTTATGTGTTCTAGAGCAAAGTGCTAAATGTATATATACTTAGATGTTG
    TGTTGTAATCCAATGTCAATATAATCAATGATTTAGCTATTTGTAAACATACTAAA
    TAGTATTCCACCAAAAAAAAAACATACTAAACAGTAAACAAACAGCAAAAACAAAA
    TCCACATGTCCTAAAAGATAGTCTGATTTTCGTTCATAATGCTCTGGTTTTTGAAA
    GATAATAATTGTGTTGTATGAGTGTATGACAAATATTCATTGGTTTGAGAAGTTAA
    CAAAATTTGGTGGCTACAAATGGTTTCCTATTCGAGTTGGGTCCATTATCCCTTGG
    CGTGTACGGAAATAATACCTACCCATCATAATCTGATCAAAGATGAGGTAGTCTTT
    AAATAAATTTTGCGGCTTATATCAATCTTTATGTACTATAAACTGTGAACTTTTTG
    TTCTTCAGGACTTCCACATCATTGCCCAATCCGGTTATACCTTCGCTAGTTAATAT
    GTTAATTAACATTAAATTAAAGAGCTAACATTTCTTAGGTAGTAAAATAGAAGTTT
    TGAACTACTATACTACTAACATGTGAAAATACTTTAGTCACAAATATGACAATATA
    CAAATTTATTGGAATGCAAATTCTTGAATTTCAATTGTTTGAAAATTATATATTTC
    TACATAACAATTCTTTATAAACTAAAAATATTAATTTTCCATGGCTATGCGTTATA
    CGTATATGTCAAATATTTTTATTATTTATATAATTTTACGATAAATTAGTACTCCT
    ACTTTACTATATTACTCAACACTAAAAGACCTCTTTAACTCCGCCTAACAAGATAT
    GTTTTCTTTTGAATGTTTCGGTTAAACATGACAGAGATTTGTITTCTTGCTTTCGC
    TCAATACATATTTGTGCTCCTTTAGAAAAGTAGTATTTCCTAACAATCCAACATTT
    TCATATTTATTATATCTTTTAAATATTATCATGGTTCTTTTTCTTTCGTCATGTTT
    GGCCTCTTTAAAATAATTCTTGAATTGTATGAGCATTAATCCAATAACGTCCTGAT
    CCCAAAAACCTCATATTAGGTTTGAGAGTCCGAAAATATACTTTTCACATAAAGCA
    CCTAAGGTGTCATACTTTAACAACTTCACAAAATATGCAAAATTTGTCATTGTCAC
    TTTGAGATGTAAGTTTTTTTTTACATGCAAATAGATTGAGTCTCTTTACGTGTAAA
    TTCATTTAATAAAATTGTATGGAATATCTATTTATATCATATATTTCTAACATATA
    TATAAATATCTATACAAAAATACGACTTTTTGGCACATGTAATTAGAAAAATCCAC
    AAGAAACAGAAAAAAGAAACACCAAATACAACGAAATGAAGAAATTATTATAAATT
    TGAATGGCTTAACATCTCTTAAGAGTCAACAAGGTAAAGGATTAATTAGTAGTCTT
    CATCAATCTTTCTCCACCTTCTTCTATTCCTTAATCTCCACTTTATCTCCCAAACC
    CGAAAACTCCTCTICACCAACTTAAACCCTATTAACTAATCCCAACAATCAGATGT
    TTCGAATTCAACAACCAGCTCAGGCCATAAGATTCATCCCGGAGAAACAAGAACG
    SEQ ID NO: 44
    Polynucleotide sequence PATIRX9
    CGGGTTTTCGGTTCGACCCGGACTCGAAACGGGTCTAGATGAAGAAAACCTCATCT
    CTTTTTGTGTCTAAGGATTTTTTGGTACTGAAACTCTCACTCTTTTTTTTGGTTCC
    TCTGGTCCCTCTCTATATGATTCAGATCGAACACTGTGGTTTTATATTTTTTAATG
    TTTTGTTATGTTCACACGTTGGGTTCAGAAAAATTGACGGCCGAGATCTTTTCTAT
    AAGAGGAAATCGGTGGTTCTACTTAGCTAATCCTTTTTACTAGAAAAGTTTAACAT
    TTTGTACTTTTTGTCTGTATGCTCTCTAGTTGTTTGTTGAGATCTCTTGCTGCTAG
    ATTCACTTTTTGGGACACATTGCTTTGTATTTGAAGCTAGAAAGTTTATATCAACA
    TGATCTAAAAAAGTATTTTAAGAGAACTACATTGAGGTAGTTATTTCTTTTCCTAA
    ATTAGTCATTGGTAAATTACATCGTGACATTTATAGAACATTGCAGAGCATAAAAG
    ATTGAAAAAAAAATGAGCTGAGATTTGTATGTATATAAAGAAAACGTATTAGCATA
    GCTTTCTTTCAGATTTAACGGTGGAAATCATACAAAACTTTCTTGCAGAACAATGA
    GTATATATATGAAGGACTCGTTAACGAAAATATTAGTTTAAATCTAGATATCTTCC
    AGTAAAATATGAGTTTCGCCTTCGTATATGATACGGCAATAACTTTGGGACCAACT
    AATTTGCATATCACATGTTGATATCTCTTTCAGTTCTACTCATTCTTTTTTTTTGA
    AAACAACAAATTATTGGCTGCAAATGTTTTTTGGTTTAACTAGTGCTTCTCTAATT
    GTCAAGTATCTTAGTCTAGAGTTAATTACTTAAATACTAAAAGGCTGTCGACAAAA
    TCAAGCTTGAATCTCCTTGTGGTATCTTCAACTCTTCGTTGTCTGCTTACGAGTGG
    TTTACTCAGTAATTATCTATAATATGTTATTTTTTTTCCCTCATCTTTTAGTTGTT
    GTTTCATTACATTGAAAAGCTTGTAATGTCTTTATATGGTATATATGGATCTTATG
    AGTGAGGCAAGATCCATGATGTTTTTGATCTTAGAATGTATATGATGATCTTAGAA
    TGTATTTGACCGCCCACAAATTATTGTTCATTGGGATTATATCTCTAGTCCAACTC
    CAAGCAATCGAAATGGGTCCTGCTTTTAAGAACAACAGTATATGTTTAAGAATAAT
    AACTTTATATATTCTCGATTTTAAGATCTTTTGACAAAACCTCCTTTTCGTTAGGA
    GCGTACTAATTTCCAAGTGTTTGATTAGTGGGGTCTCCGTAAATTTATTTAGAGTT
    TCTATCTATTTATTAATAGCTCAATTAATTAATCTATACTGTATCTAAACATCAAT
    TTATATATTTACTCTTGAGACCAAAACTGTCAATTTATAACATTGGATAGTTTCTT
    AATTCTTATTATATATTTTTCAAACACTTTTCAAGACTAATCTCCACATTAGGTAC
    TCTCTCTAGAGATAAAAATATTTATCAAAAACATTTTTATTTATTTATTAAGTAGT
    AGATAAACTACTGTGGCAAAATCGTAAATGTCTAAATGCTGATGAATTTTTTTTGC
    TGCTCCAATCTGGTTTAGTGCTCCATATACATCCACGGCCAAAATGAATCTATGGC
    GGCATTAAGATTCATTAGTAAGCAACGATTATATTAATATAATTGTTTTTAGCAAT
    GATTTTCCGTAATTTCCCAAATATGTTTCAGTTAATGTGTTCCAATCCCAACAACT
    GGTTGTTGCAAAAGACCACCAACGCAAGCAATCATCAAACATCAAAATAATCTTAC
    CTTAGCGAACAAACAATAACTACACAATTCTCATAAAGCTCTTATATATCACTAAC
    TTCACACATTTTGTTTTCCACAAAAATAAAAACGGAACTCACTCAAGAAACCTTCT
    TCCTTGAAGAGAGGGTT
    SEQ ID NO: 45
    Polynucleotide sequence PATGUT1_PATIRX10
    AATAACAACCACTTAAGTTACTGCAAGTTACCACAAAGAAAAATGATCTAGCAA
    ATGAGTAGCATCATATTGATCAAAGACACTGCAAGATAAAAGTCACCTTGCTAA
    TGTTCGAGATAATGATAAAGTGTAGACTTGGAGCAAGAAGCCATTTAAACTAAC
    AACTTCCTAATTGAGACCTTTCATGTAACTTAATGTCAAAATCACAAGCAACTA
    GAGGAAGAAATAAAAATGTACCAGGTAGCTTCTTGGGCTTCCTCATGGGAACAA
    ATTTGGCACCAATAGCCAACGCAATAGGAGGGCCAAAAATGAAACCTCTAGCTT
    CAACACCTGCATTTACCACAACATCAATTTAGGCAGAACCAAAAATCATCCACC
    AATTCATTTCAACTTTTCAGTTTAAGCTAAAGCACTCAGTATCTAAAAAGGCCA
    AAAGAAACTAAATCCACAAGCTGTTAATCGATTGGAGTACCAAACAGAACCATA
    CGAGTTGTTACCTGCAACAACAGATATGCCTTTATCTTTGTATCTATCAACAAA
    CAAAGCAATAGTATCCTTAAAGGCCTCAGTGTCGAGAAGAAGCGTCGTTATGTC
    CTGAAACATGATTCCTGCCAAGTATCCAAATTAAAACCTTAAGATCCCAACGCA
    GATCAAGACTAGAGACGATATTAATCGGTATAAATGGAAAAAATGGAGACCTGG
    TTTAGGGAAGTCGGGGATGACTCTAATGGAAGAGGCAATCTTAGCGATTCTGGG
    ATCTTGCACATCTTCAGTCGCCATTTCACTGTCCCGACTGGCTGCTGCTTTAGC
    AAAATACTCGGCGTCAGATTTGCAAACACAGAGAGACCCTAAAGACTCAATAGA
    GAGACACAGTGATGAAAAAATGACCAATTTATCCCGAATGGTAACGCTTTGACG
    GAATTGCCCCACGCAAGCAAAATATCTTTTTCAAAAGGAAACAAAAAGTTTAAA
    AGGGAAATAGAAGGTGGTGGGGTCTACCGGCGGAGGAGAAGAGGCGGAGTGAGG
    TGGTTGAACGGTGGTTTGAGAGGCGGATCGAAGGAGGAGCACGGTGGTGGTTGT
    TGAGAAGACGGTTGCAAGGAACAGCACGAGCAAGACAGAGACGATGAGAAACAA
    GTGGAGAAATTATTATTGTTTGCATTGTCTTTGGACTGAGAGATCTTAAAAGAG
    AATGTAAATTACTTTAAACACGGAATAATGGACAAAAGCCGTGATCAATGACTT
    TTCAAGTCTTAACCAAACCTATAACTCATCCATTGTTTGTTTTTTCTACATATT
    TCTTCACATAAAATTGGATGATTTAGAATCTTTCAGAGTGTTCACACTCCAACA
    GATTATTATCCACAATGTTATGGTTACATTTAGAGATATATAACAATGTTCATT
    TCATCGTTGCTAATGACATAAAACGATCAAAAACTGAATCATAGTACTTCTTTT
    ACAGTGATCTCAAATATATTAATCGCTAATCAATGAATTATGTCACCTATAATT
    GTCGTATTACCAACAACTATAAAACATATATATAAAAAATTGTTGTCGTTAACT
    AGTTGTTGATAGTGGCCACTCTAAAACGATCATGACCTACTACGGAAGTTATAA
    CTAGTCAACGTTGGACGTTAGCAAGGCCCAATGGACATTAACTCAGCCCATAAT
    AGCACGCGCCTTGTGATGTGCACCAGTTTCCGTCTTTGGTCGTTGAATTCAAGG
    AAAAAAAAAGTACATCACAAGCAATTTCTTACTTATCTGTGACTTGAAGCTATT
    TCTCCAATTTCGTTTTCCATCGACACTCTATTTCATTTTCACCATTCACGTCTT
    CCTTCTGAATAAAATAAACCCTAAAACCTAATACCGAAGTAAACTCGTCAACCA
    CTGCGCCCATGACCTCCCAACGATACTCTTCCCTTATATTCTTCCTCTTCCTTC
    TTCCTTTCTGCGATCCAAACCTTCAAACACATCTCCGGTAGAT
    SEQ ID NO: 46
    Polynucleotide sequence PATIRX14
    ACCTGCATCGAATTTATATAAATTTAAAACACATTATCATCATCTCTAACTTGAA
    CTTTTAAACAAGTTTATCTTTTTGTTTCACAAAAAAAAACAAGTTTATCTTTATG
    TCCCTCCTGAGACATATAAAACAAGATTATCTTTCTTCTTAGTAGGGATATAGCA
    AGTCCGGACGAGATCAAAAGTAGATTGACTCTTAAGATCTTACTAAGTTTGAGCT
    TGCTTTGGTTCCCACCTCTAAAAACCAGTTTTGCATAGTCTGAGACTCGTGTTAA
    ATTCGATCAAATCTCTCTTTCAACGACGGTTAACTATGGACGTATTCGCAAAACA
    TCACATAAAAACATCTCTAAAGTATTTGGCTATTTGCATAAATATTTCACTCTTA
    CAGTCGTCAAAAGTATGAATGAACTCTACATATCGGCCCAATATGAACCAATTTG
    TAAGACCATAATGGAAAGCCCATGTTTCTCTTGTGCTTGTTTTAGTTGCAGAATC
    ATTAGTTCACATATTGACCGGATTATATTAGTTTTTAAAAACGCATGTATGATGT
    AGTCACTGTATCATACCCAAGTTACTGTATTCATTACCCAAGTTCAAACTCGATA
    AAATGCATAAACTAAACATACGTTCTTTAGCCTTTTGTTTTCACTTCAATTAACT
    CATTTTGTGCGTTGTATATTTTTTTTCTTTCCAACAGCTACTTTTCTCACGTCTA
    TATTTTTTACCGTTTGTGATTTTTGAGTCTCAAATATATGGAATTGTTTTTTTTA
    AATGGCTACTTTCCAAAGTCTTATATTTTTTACCGTTGTAAATGTTCAGTTTCAG
    ATATATATGGATTTCTTTTTCTAATGGCTACTTCTCTAACGTCTATATCTTTTAC
    CGTTGTAAATTTTAAATTCTGAAATATATTACCGTTTGTGATTGAGTTCACTTGA
    CACACCTTCGTTAAAAATTACACAACAAAAAGCGTTCACAATAAGCCCAATGGGC
    CTAAAAGACCCTAACAATCGAACATACCCTTCTGACCAACACATTTTCTTAAGGA
    GACACTGTTGGTCCATTTACTCATTTAAGTAGGATTCATAACACTTGTCATGGTC
    GTCATTTCTTGTTCAAATGCCTTTTTAAGTAATAACGCAATGGAAGCATATATAT
    ACTTTAAACCCACAAATTAATAATGCATATGTATCTATTTTTCTTGCATATACTA
    AACATGTCTAAGTATGATATAAACTTTGACACTTTGGTGGTGCTGAGTAATCATC
    ATATTTATGCTTTGTGTGCAAGTGAAAACGAACCGATAACAATCTTTAAGACTTC
    CCTACCAAACCGGTTTAACCTTCACAACAAACAAACCTAGATCAATTATCTCTAA
    ACCAAAACCCTTCAAACCATGTCTTTTGTCGGACCAAACTGTACTCTTATATATG
    ACATGCAGATACGTCGTTTTCATGGGCCTTACTAATGGCCCATTAAAAACATTCG
    TAATCAATTATTTTGGTTAGTCTTTCCCAAATTCGTCTACATTCCTCCTCGATAA
    TCACTTTTAATTAAAACCATATGAATTTACGAAAAAAACAAAAACACAATTATCA
    TTATGCAAAACATTTAATTCAATAAATTGAGGGATGTTTAATGTTAACACCAAAA
    ATTATTACCAAAAATTGACTTCAATTAGAGACATATTAAAACGACCCTGATTTTA
    CTCAAAACTTAATTGAAAGATTTAATTATCCAATAATAAAACGACACGTGTACCT
    CCTTGTCGCTTTCCTCTGCTTTCTTCGATGGCGTTGCATCGAAGCATCAGAGAGA
    TTGGTATGGTGGTGGTGGTGAGAGAGCAGCAACAACAGCAAGAAGAGAAAGCGAT
    AATCGAACTGATTAAGATCGTGAAATCCAAGTAATCTCTGTTGCTTAATCTCAGA
    TCTTTTTGATAAGGAGAAGGAAGCAGAAGAAAGAGGTCAACGAAGAAG
    SEQ ID NO: 47
    Polynucleotide sequence PATMYB46
    GTTACACTAACGGTTTCTTGTTAGATTTAGCTGACGTGTCTTTATGAATATATAT
    AGAGTTAAATTTTAATATTTTAAGAGTAGTATTACTTCATTAAAAGCTTAGTTGT
    AAAATTACTAAAGATTTTCATATATTATAAACTATTTTTTCCTGGCAAACTTATA
    TTATAAAATTTGTTGAGCGATTGTGTGATTCTTTCATCCACAATTAGATTAAAAA
    AAATCGCAAAAAGTAATACAAGAAAAAATAATAATTTTACAAATTAATAATGATT
    GTTTCTTTGGCTAAGAGTTCAGATTTGCAGAGTGTTTTTTGGTCCTTGGGCGATA
    TTACGAAAAGTGAATTGTAAAGATATGTATAGATTGTGAGGAAAATGCGAGAATA
    ACTGAGAGCTAGGGCTATGCATGAGATGATTGAAATATCATGAACCAAATGGTTA
    GATGAGAGCTTGGAGTGAGAGGTGACACTTGTTTGAGATGGGGAATAGCGGATTA
    ATGTGCTTGCATGACCTTGGTTCTGAATTTTCGATTGATGAAATCTTGCATTTCG
    TTATTTTCAAACTTTGTCCACGAGTTTTACATAACTAGGTTCATTCAAGTTACAA
    CTTAAATTGGTTAGCTGACGTCTTTTTTCATGCATATACAAGAGGTTGCATTTGC
    AAGCTTCAAAAGAGATTACACCAAAAACAATTTCCCCTAAAGGTTAAGATATATC
    TTTGGCCITCAATTCGACATTAGGAATTATGITCAAGATTCAAGATTCAGTACTA
    TTCTAACTTCTTTTGTACTTTATCTATGGATGTCTTGTTTATGATTGTATAAAAA
    GTTTTGTTTTTTCGGATGGGTGGGCTATTAATATTATAAATCATATAATATGAGT
    GTTCTGTAAAAAAATAAAAATGATATGAGTGTAAATCGAGAACTTAAAAAATCAT
    GACACACGTTTATATATTAAAGAAAAAACGAATATAAAATATATGGATAAAAGGA
    GTATAACATTTTCTTCATTACAATAATTAGATTTCTTCAAGTATACGTGTTGGTG
    CGCGAGAGGTGGTTGTGTGAAGCCGAAGCAAAACTTCTTGCTCGCTAAGCCTCAT
    ATAACACAAAAAAAGGGTTCTGTGACACACGTCGATTTATTTTATACAATTGAAA
    TATGCTTACATACGTATACAATTAATTAAATAACACAACATTTGCTTACCTTGAA
    AATGAAGACATCTTTGAATAGAAATAGACATGCTCATGAATATATATATTAATGT
    TATATACTATCATATATCAATGTTATATATCATATATATACACACGTAAGGTTAA
    CGAATTAGATATGTCTGTAATGTATACCTTGTGAATGAAGAAACTAATAGAAATG
    AGTTATATATTCAAAAAGAACAAGAAAAGAAGAAAATAAAATTAAGAACAAGTGA
    AGAGCACTTCTCCTTTTTTTCTTTGATGTTTTGCATATCGGGTCTTTTTCAAAAC
    CGTTTTCGTCCATGACCGATCAACTAACGTTTCTTCATTTCGTCAAATTAGTTAT
    ATACAAAACATACATTTGTTGTTGGTGTATTTTATTTTATTTACCTTACACAATA
    TATGCCGACAAAAAAAATGTGTTTAATTTGAAAAAGAGCCAGGGTTCGGATGTTT
    TTCTTTTATGTTTTAAAACAAAGCAACACTATATTATAAATATAATATATACAAT
    AAAAATATAATTAAGGAATAGAGATTAAAAAGGAAGAAGTGCAAATGGTTTTTCT
    TCCCAGAATTGTAAGCAAACCATACAACCATCCCTTTCTCATCATCATCATTCTC
    CCTTCATCAAGTCTTCTCTCTTTTCTCTCTCTATTATAAAACAAACTTCACTCGT
    TCACATCAATGGATCCTTGAGAAAGACAAACAAATTGAAGAGAAATAATAACAAT
    TAACTCAACCAAAAAT
    SEQ ID NO: 48
    Polynucleotide sequence PATMYB58
    CAAAGACTAGAGACAGAGGCGTGCCAATAGCAACACGTTTGCTTTCGTCATGCA
    AATTGGGATATTTCAACTTTCTTCCATTTTTTCAACCTAGTTTACTAAACTTTT
    CTTTTTCCAGTGCGAACCTAATTGGTTCTAGTTAAAATAACATTTTCGTAAGTT
    GTTCACCAAACAAAGGAACATATGATTATAACTTTACTAGAGATGCATGCACAA
    TAATGCTATTGTCGAATAAATACTTATATCTTCTCCAAAAAAGTTTCTTTATTA
    TGTTAGAAGATCCATCAATATACTAATTGATTTTTGGTTATATGTTTTGATTTA
    AAGACAAAACTATACAGGACATGCATGTGAGAACAAAAATTGTTGTTGTTGTAG
    TTGCTAGTTGAGTTTTATTTATGTTGCCAAAATAACACCATGTCAACTTTAATT
    TTCGTCATATAATTTAACGTAAGCATGATGTGTTTCGTCATATCTTGTTTGGCA
    TATGGAATATAAATCATACTATTGATTTGGAATCTTTAACTTAACTTCCTATTA
    AGTAAGCGATTGATGCTGATATGTATGTTTCTTTAGATTGATGAACGTAATATT
    AATCAGTAGTGGATATACATTGTATCTTTAGAATTTAGGTTAGTATATTATGGC
    CAAAATGACTAAATTGAGTACCATAAACTAAAGTTAAAGTAGTGGTAAAAGCTT
    ACGATATTGTTTTATAACAATTTTCAAAAAGTAAAAGATATATAAATGTTAGAG
    GTTTTGGATAACCATATTGTTCTATAACATTTTAAACATATGTCATATATGTTT
    CGTTTATAATATTTATGACTTGACCAAATAATTTGTGTATGTTATTTAAATCCA
    AATATATATGAGAAATATATAGACGACATGATTAAAATTATTTAAAAGAGTCAT
    GATGAGAGGGATGGAGACTAAAAAAAAGAGGAGAAAAAGATAGAACGTCGAGAA
    ATGTTGTGTGTGTATAAAGTAAAGGAAAGCTAATTTGATCATTGTATTCGAAGA
    AAACAAAAAAGTATACACATGTTACAGGGTTATAGGACCCATTTTCTTTAAAAT
    AAATCCACTATGGACTGATGTACATATTTTTTCTTACTGTTCTTAAGCATGATT
    TTATATGTATAATATGGTTATAGATTAGAATTTTATTCAGCCTTCCACGATTCT
    TAACCCTAACCAGTCAATTTTTTCTTCCTTATAAATATGAGTGCCAATCGGAAG
    GTGATAGCATCCTTACGTCTTGTTTGGTAGATTACTAAGTCAAGTTTTATTCAT
    GAAATTTCCACTTATCAAACTTTCTCATTTTGTTAAAATTTAAAACCGTTTTTC
    AAAAGTTGGTATAGCCATAGACAGAAAAAAATTATTACAATCCTATCTGATTTG
    ACTCAGACACCCTAATTAGTCAAATCTCAAAATTAGCTAATATTAACTAACGAG
    TTGCGCATTTTGCAGCAGTACAACAAAATTAGTCAAAATAATTTAGGATAACAG
    CACTAATCACAGGAACAGGTATTTTTTTTTTTCCTTTCTTTTGACATCATAAAG
    ATGGATTCAACTTATAGATTGGTCAGAGGCAATCTTTATAGGTTTCATGATTGA
    ATAAAAAATATGAGACTCAGTATCTAAGTTTCAAACATGTTTCATCTGTGTTTA
    GTTGATTACATTTTCATAATAGTTTATTAATGACATATAGAAATGCGAACTATA
    CAATTATAAAAAAGATGTGAATTTTGCCAGATACTCATCCACAATATAGACAAG
    TTTTTAACCTCAACAAATCTGATGTGACATTTGTCAATGTCTGTGGTTTATAAC
    ATGTTTCTCAATGTCAGGATCACACACACCACTTCTCATGTATAAATACACATA
    AAAGCAATTGGATTTGGTAAGAGGGAATCTCAAAAGTGTGTGTCTGTGAGAGAG
    GAGAGAGAGAAT
    SEQ ID NO: 49
    Polynucleotide sequence PATMYB63
    GTTGATATATATTAATATGTGTCCCTATTATGATCACACAAAACATACACATGCA
    GAGCTTTATTCCAATAGCTAAAATCTGAACTTTAAAGTCAGTACACTCGAAATTG
    ATATTGACGTATGTATTACTAATAGCAACATGTGTTCTTTCATCATAAGTTTACA
    TAATTTTTTAATTTTATTCTACTTAATTAATGTCACAGTTTCCATCGTTTTGATA
    AGGTCCATACTCCATAGGGACGTTGAAAATTTAATTTAATTTTTTCCACTCATAG
    TTGTCCTTTTTTTCTTAGTAAAGTTTGGGAAAGTTTTCCCACTCATACTTGTTTG
    TTCACCAACCTTCTGATTACCAAGAGTCGTATAAAAATGCAAAACTAATAGATCG
    TCATTTATATATGTTGCTCCTATAGACTTTTATCGACAAAATTTTCCGAATTAAT
    CATTTTGTAACTTCAATACATATACGTCCAGATATTTACCCTAGTGAAAAATATT
    TCTTCTTTTTCAAACCTCTTTTCCTCTCTATTCCTCCTAAGAGCTTGTTAACGTA
    ACAAAATTGTTGGGTTTATTAACTTCAATTATTGTCGATACTTAGTACTTTAAAA
    TATTTGGAGTAATAGATGTAGTGATGGCTGTGTCGTAATTGCTTGAATAATTTTG
    GATGGGTACAGAGGAATTAATTAAGTAATGAAGGTTTGGTGGAATTAAGTAATTA
    ACGTAGCCAAGAGCCAACAACAACACCAAACCCACCAAACATTAAAAAAGTCAAA
    AAGACGTAAGTCTTTGACCTCTTCCACTCTCTTTGGTCTTTAGTTTGGTGAGTTC
    GTGCACTATGCTCACACACACTCCTTACGCCTTTTGGTGTTTTCGGATGTGATTA
    GAAATGACTTTTTAACAGTTTTTTTTTTTTTCTGTCTCTCATTTTAATGTTATAT
    TTAAGGATTATATATATTTCTGCTTTTTTGTATACAAAATATGAAAATATTCCAT
    GGAGTGACGTATGGAGTGACTGCGTACTTAGTAAAACAGCATTATTAGTGAGAGT
    TCATTTTTCTCGTGTTACACTGTATCTACATGATGATCACGGGACTATCTATTAT
    TCAAAAGTTGGTAATTATACACTGAGCCTGATTACAGAAGACTCGCAGACAAAAA
    CTAATATAATCAATTCCTCCTATGTATACCTTAAGCTAATTCTTAATTAACAAGT
    TGCAGATTTACAATCTTATTTTAGTCAAAACACTACCTAATATTTTGCCACTTTA
    TAACTATATATTCTTACTCCTCCAAAGTATTTTTATTAAGAAATACATAAAACTC
    TTATCATTACCGCTGTAAATTCCTAAGACCATTTCAATTAACACTCGTCGACATG
    TAGTAGTTTCTTACATTAGCGAAATTTATTTCAGACAATTTTATAAGATATGTCA
    AATCTGATAATATTTTTAACACGAGATGCTAGTTTCCATTATTACTTGATGTCAA
    AAAAGAAGAAAATATTATTTAAGGATTTTGGTTTCTAAAAACGAATGTGAAATAT
    TCATGCATCGGTGTTAGAAGGAAAGATAAGTTGCATGCATCATAAGGATGCCAAA
    TGAAGTAAAAATGAGAAAATGGAATCATACCAAATAATCAACCATACCACAGACA
    GACAACCTTTTCCCACTCAACAAATCTGATTTGACATTTATCAATTCCTCTGTTT
    ACATATTCATCTTTTCTCATGTCAAGATCACACACTCTTACCTCTCATATATATA
    AAACAGAACCAAATTATCTTTGGTAAAAGTGAATCTCATCAGGAACTGAGTGATA
    TAAAGTTATATATATAGAGGAGAGAGGGAGTGAGAGGGAGTGAGAGAGAGAGA
    SEQ ID NO: 50
    Polynucleotide sequence PATMYB83
    TTTGATACAGCAACAGAAAAAAAATAAAAATACAGAAGAACATTAAGAATGATC
    TTCTACCATCTGAGAATGGCAAATCCAGAAAGGATGAGAGAAGAGATGATCATG
    ATAATAGACATTCCTGGGAAACAAGAGGCTCCTGTCTGTGACTCTGAATCGTAC
    TGTGCGGAGGCGGTAAAGACAGAGGAGAGCGTCATTGTGGCGAAAACAGCCATC
    GCTGTGTATTGATTGTAGCCAGAAGCCATGTTTACTAAATTTGACCCTCTCAAA
    ACCAATTATGTCACCTTTGGCTTTGGCTTTACCAATGTTGTTGTTTTATAGGGA
    AAGAAGAAGTTCGTGGGGACGTGAAGAGCATAAGGTTAATGCTCATTTCATAAA
    ACCCCACTTTCTGTTTGTTGGTCAACGATTGTTATTGTAATGACTAATGACCTA
    TAGAACAAAACCCATCTAACATGAATCTTCTTTTAAATGGATTTGGTGAAAAGA
    CCAAGTTTTAAAATCATCATACGTGCGATGAAAGAATACCCAATTTGAAGCATG
    AGCCCAATGATAGTTTATAGGCCCAAATAATTTTGATTTATAGTCACAGACAGG
    ACAGGAGCCTCTTGTTTTATGAGTTGAATTGGGCCGAAGATGATACAATATAAA
    GCATGAGACCAATAGAGGACTGACCAGTTTCTTACCTTCGTTCGTCGAAGAATC
    GAACAGTCCCTTAATTTTTCCAGATTCAGATTAATAGCCTATGTATCATCTGTT
    TGGATGTGTTAGGCTCTTTTGAATTTCTTAAAATTAGTCTAGATTTTGATTTGT
    GATATCCTTGTTATACAAAATTTGAATTTTTCAGAAAATTCATACTTAATTTCA
    TGGTAGACTTGTCGAACACTGTGATTTGTTTGGGAAAAAAAAGGTTTAGTTTAT
    ATTCATTACGTACGTGATGCATGATGCTTAGTATGCATTAAGATAGAGTATATG
    ATCCGTGCTCCATCATTACTTGCTATTATCGATCGATACTTACTATTATTGATC
    CTTAAAAGCTGATTTTTGCATGCGCATTATTTTCAATATGCTATTTTGAAAATA
    TTTTTTGATGATGATGATTGTTTTATTTCGGTTATAAGTTATAAACGGACTCGT
    TTTTGTGATTGAATTATGGGCTTTTGATATCACATCAAATGTTATTTATGTGGA
    AATGAATTGAGAAAAAATGATGATTTTATCTTGCACCTATTCTTAAGTTTGGCT
    TTGATGTGTTTGGCTTTTGATGCTATATTTCTGTCAAAGAATCCTGAATTTATT
    TATTTATTTAGATTCGGTTGATTGTGTCGTAAAATGGAAGTTACTTCAAAATAA
    GCCTCCTTGCAAGAGTATATATACTATATTACTTTTAGATAGTGAAAATTGGTT
    ATTAGTTGTCGTTTAGAAAGAAGGAAATTTTAAGAAAAAATACTGATCGTAAAC
    TATAACCAATGTATGTATTAGTATACTTTGATACTTCAAACACACGTGTGTGGT
    GCGGGGATGAGACAGAGAAAGAGGTTGGTCTTGTTCTTGTCTTTGACTCTAAAC
    CAGTCTTTTTCGATACATTTTTCTTCACTCACAAGTCTATCATCATGTTTCTAA
    CGAAGACATTTATTTTATTTATATTTTGTAACAAAAAAATGAAGACCCACCTCT
    TGCTTCTTCTTCACATCCCCATTTCATCTTCTCTCTGTCTCTCTCTATTAGAGA
    CTCTCTCTACTCTACCCATCAATCTCAACAAACACTACTTTCTATCTCTTTCTC
    TCTTTGTCATATCCATTACGCATATTCGTATCATTCCAAAGCAATCCCCACAAA
    TCATATCATCCTCTCCATCTTTCCTTGCTTCTTACAATCTCTCCAATTTCAAAT
    CTGTATACTCTTCTTCAAAAAGGCTCCACCAGTCCAAA
    SEQ ID NO: 51
    Polynucleotide sequence PATMYB85
    CTTAGCATACAATCTTTAATTTTTCATGGAAGATTTTTAAAACATTTCCGATCC
    GATTAAACAAAGAAGCGAGCGAGCCACATTCTGACAATAATTAAGTAGACACTA
    TGATACGACGAAGAATATTAATTTAATATTGAAAGATAGATCAATTTGTAGCAA
    AACCATGAAGCCAAAATTGCAAGTCACCCACAAGTCGCAAAGATTAGAAACATA
    TATTGATACAGTGATCTATACGTGTACACCATGTGTCAAATGGATATTCGTCTA
    TTATTTTTCGTATCGGCGACAAAGTATTTTGTGCGGCAATTCATTATTGAAGCT
    TTTACTAAGTTTCTTCTATGTTATGTAAAAAACAAATCTTACCAAAATTAGAGA
    CTCGTATATAATATACTTAATAGGTTTGTTAGGGTTGCCAAAAAAAATGGTTTA
    TCGCAATGGACTAAAGATCTCAATTCTCAAAACTTATCGGATTTTGCCATAGTT
    GAACCGGACCAAGCCAATTATTTGAGATTCTGAAAAGAGTATTATTATGGGCAA
    ATTCTGAATATTTTATGTAAAATCGGTTTTGTAAAGACTGGATCATATTTTTAT
    TCGTGTTTATTTCACAGCTGATAGCGACAACAATGAAAAATTCATTTTTTTTGT
    GTGTGTCATCAACTATTAGAGTCGGTGATTTATATACAGTTTTGGTGACAGAAT
    AAGTGCCTACAACTTAAAACTACACTAGTTTTAGTTATCAAGATCCTTAGTACT
    TAATGTTGAAATTAATACATTTTTTAATAAATAAATACAAAGTATATATTTATT
    TGAAACTTGAGCAAGTATTTGAGTAAAAAAGGTATGAATCGCACGTGTGATTGC
    GTACATTCGCACGCATCCTATCCTTTCACATTAGTTCCAAAGTCATTTTCACCA
    ACCAAATGCGACATCTCCAATACTCCTTTCTATGATCCTACTAGCAACAGATTT
    GACAAAGTAAGACAAATTATATTTCTTAACCTTAATCATTTCTGACCAAAAAAA
    ACCTGAATCATTATTTATTAGAATAATCTTATTTTATCAGAATTCGTAATTCTT
    TAGCTGACTAACTCCTAATTAAAATGAACCATTCAATATAAAAATATAAACGAA
    CGTATTATGTATAAAGTCAGATACAGAAGATCTTCTTTGAAACTGTTGTAATTT
    CCCCATCATGACACCTGTATATACATACGTACCTTAAAAAAATTCTGATCTATA
    TGTACTTTTGTATGAACGAGTAATGCATAATTCTTATTTAGATTAGACATTCTT
    TAATGATAAAATAGTGAAGACGGGTATTATACATATATTAAGTCACTATTAGGG
    TGATTAATTGTATTTATATACCAAGAAATCTCTAAGTGACAACATTATGAGGGT
    GATTAGTAGTCCGTACTGTTTTTCATTCTAACCAATCACATAAAAGAATACTAA
    AAGCGACAAAAAAAACTATTATCAGCTTTTTATACCATTTTATATGTTCGTTAT
    TTATACCGTTTTTAATTATTTATATGTTATCAATTACTTTTTTCATATCGACAA
    AAGATTTTATAATTTTTTGTGTTACCAATCGAACCATGTATATATATATAACCG
    TTACTAGTTAAAATGCTTTGCCATAATGCCACTAGAATTTTTAATAAAAGTTAC
    TAAAACAATTTCGAAAATATTAAGATGTAAAGTTATTTTTTCCTGAAACCAATT
    GTGGGGGAAAGGTGTGAGAAGGTTATATATAGGTGGGTGAGCTTTGGTAAGCTT
    TTGACATAACTTGCAAGCTGTTGAGATTTTCCATCCTCGATAACTTTATTCTTC
    CATATCTCTTCCATTTCGCTCTCTATTTCACATCCCCATATAACATAATATACA
    ATCACACATATCATTTCTATATAGTATTTA
    SEQ ID NO: 52
    Polynucleotide sequence PATMYB103
    TGGTGCCCTGGTCTACAGTTCCCTAGTTAAGATTCTATTTTGACAACAAAATTGA
    GTATTCCAATCATCCATATTTGTTATAGGGAGAAATTGAGCATGCTATATACGGT
    GATATATATGATATTTATTTAATATATTGAATAACAAACACAGAACTAGTGTTAT
    AGGTGCAGGTATGTAAATATAATGTGATAAACATTTTTTATATAGATTGGAAAGA
    ATACGAGATTGTTGTTGCTCTGTTAGAACGAACAAACAGAACTAGTGTTATAGGT
    GCAGGTAAGGTAAATATAATGTGATAAACATTTTTTATATAGATTGGAACAAATA
    AACATTTTTCTGTTAGAACGAACAAAGGCCTGTCAAAAAGAACAAACCTGATGTG
    ACATATTACATATATGATTATAATTGATTATTGTATATATAGTATTGCATGACTA
    TCTTTACAAGATTTCAATACGAAAATAAATTAAAAGGAGAAAATTTATAAACGAA
    GCGATTTCATTCTCGGTAAGGTTTTCCGATATGTCTCCTAACTAAATCAAAGCCT
    TGTAATTGAAACTTGTAATGATTGTTATTCTATATATCTTTGAAGAAAGCTTCGG
    TATTGGACGTACTTAATATAATTGGATTTTATTTAAATTACAAAAATCACTGTAT
    AATTCGGCTACATGACTTAATCAATTATTTCACGTTGAAAACAATACTATATCAA
    CTTCAAATACACTCCTTGTGTATGGATTCCACAAGTTCTTTTCTATCTATAGAAA
    TATAGAATCCACAAGTTCTATCTACTTTTATTAGAATTTTTTATTGTTCGTTGTT
    GTTAACATAATTATAAGCAATAAATTCAAAAAAAAAAAAATCTAAAAGACACAAA
    ATTTCCATCTTTGATAGGGCTTCGGAATCATTAATTACTTTTTACAAACAAAAAA
    GAAGAAGATAGGGCTTCGGAAATTATTAGAAAGATGGAAGGATATTGTATTAAAT
    TTGGCTTCATATTTTCCTTTGGTTTGCGGCCATCAAGTACTAGTACTACTCAGTA
    CCCACAGGCCACAGGAAAAAAAGTAGTACTGCTTTATTAAGTGTGTTACGATAAA
    TGGAAAGCGTTTTAGTATGTGATTACAAATTGTTGTATGTGATCATTAATTAGTT
    ATTGGTCCGACTTCTAAGTTTAAATATTTTCAGAATTCAGTTAGTTTAATTATAC
    ATGTTAGACGAAATGACTCTTTTTGAGCCAATATATAATGTATCTGAATTTTTCA
    TTTTGAAAAATCTTTTTATAAAATAATAGGTCAACCTCGAATTATTATAATAAAA
    TAAATAATTTGCGTTACTATGAAAATTAATTTACTGAATACAGTATATAGAGAGA
    GATAGAAATAGAGGAAAACAGTGGATAATACATGATTAGTTGATACTCATGTGCA
    GCGAGTCTATATATATTATATACTCATGATTAGTTGATACATATGTGACGATTAG
    TTCTACGAATCAATCTCTAGTTTTCGTCTTAAAATCATTTGGTTTTATAGAATAT
    AAGAAACAAAGAAAACAGGAACTTTCGCGGGAGACAGAAGGGTACGTGAAGAGAA
    AAACACATAAAAGTGATAAGGGCTTAACGTAATAATACTACAACAAAACCTCTCT
    ACGTACAACGAGTAATAACACATGAAAATAGAAAGTCGATGAGACATCGTTTTAA
    GGTTAGATCGATGAAGAAATATCTCAGGCCCCACCCCTGGGACCCGACCCGACCC
    GACCCGACCCGACCTTTGTCTCCTCTCCTTTTAAAAACTCTCCATTGCTTCTTTG
    TCTTCTCTCTTCTATAACATAACTCAAGAAATTAAAGAAGATAGATAGAGAGAGA
    GAGAGAGAGTAAAAACCTAAAGGGTGATATACTTATATAAAAATTAATTTAAGAT
    TGTGATTAAGTGGTTCACTATATTTAAGTTACTTTGAGGAGCTACTAATC
    SEQ ID NO: 53
    Polynucleotide sequence PATCADC
    AAAGCAAATCGATCTGCCAAACATATCACAGCTCTTGGAGAAAATGCAGGTCTC
    TTCAGACTCTGATATTTCGGATCTCGATAGCCTTAAATTCGATGCTCCATTGCC
    TAGTCATATGCAACTAAGCTTTAATTTGTTGAAATCTAGAGTCGAAACTTGTGA
    CAAAAATTAGATTTTTTTTCTTACCGAGCTTTCTTCTTTGTGTTCATTGAGGCC
    CAAGTATTTGTGTATTTGGACCTGAATATTCTCATACAAAGATAAATAATTATA
    ATTAAATGATTTTTCGCATATAATCATTATTGTGGTATGATTAACACAGTTGGT
    GTGATGACTGATTGACACAATAATCACCGTTTGGATTCGATTCCTTTAATACTT
    GTCACTAGAGTTGTTTGACTAAACAGCTAACTTGTCACTAGAGTTATTGTGTTT
    GTATTTTGATCTGTTATTAATCTGATTGGGTATAATTACAGATAGAGAGACATC
    TATATTGTAATTAAGACAATCTTAAAGTGTAAACTAAAAAGATCTCTCTGACCT
    CTGGAAAACGAAAGGTGGGTGACACATCACTCTAGCTATGAATATGATGAATAT
    TCAGTACCTAACCGAACAAAGACTGGTTTGGTATTTTTATTGGAAAAAAGAGAT
    AAATAATTGTGAATGTGAATTATCCTGTCTGAAAGGTAAGCTGATGACATGGCG
    TTATATGATTGGACGAGCTTCAGAACAAAAGAGTAGCGTCGAATCGAATCTTTA
    CCTACTACACTTTGAACTTTGAAGTACATTACCTACTTCCTCCTTGATCGAACG
    TCTTTTCTCAAAACTATTTTATTTCCCCAATTAAAGTAGTGGTGATAAATTCAC
    AAAAATACAAACACTTTTATTTTTGACGTCAAAAACAAATACTTCTTTGAACAG
    GCTATTACAATATTTTTAAGAAAAAAGTAAGCAAAATAGTCCACAAACCAAAAT
    CTGTAACATATTAAACGATTTATGTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTCTTAACTAGAGAACA
    ATTCGGGCTTTTACTAAGGATGATGAGTGTAGTTACCGAATAGTGTATTCATAT
    AATCTTTTAATGAGCTTAAGATATGATATTATTTCGACTAATCAGATAAGAGTA
    GTTAGATAATTTCGTAATAGAGCAACTCTTTCGCAAATAAAACCATTGTAAACA
    TTACCAATTAGTTTTTCTTTTTTTTTGGTCACAACCAATTAGTTTGTTTGTTCT
    ATTTTATGAAGTGCGTATTAAAGCTAACGTGTTTACAGTAACGCCACACAAATA
    AAAATAAAAATAATTATGTACTTTATGGATTTATAGAAAAAACAAGAATAGTCA
    CCAAAAATTGATTGTGTCATATATCTTTTGTCAACTATTTTATCTTATTTTTCT
    ATGGATATGTATGTCCAAAATGTTAGACAAAAAACCAAAAAATCATGTCCAAAA
    TTTCGTTAGGCTGCCGATATCTCTGTTTCCCTTTCAACGACTATCTATTTAATT
    ACCGTCGTCCACATTGTTTTTAATATCTTTATTCGAGGTTGGTTTAGTTTTTTT
    TACCAAACTCACTTTGCTACGTTTTTGCCTTTTTGGTATGGTTGTATTTGTACC
    ACCGGGAAAAAAAAGATAAGAGGTTTGGTTGGTCGAGCTTACTGATTAAAAAAT
    ATACACGTCCACCAAATATTAAAACAATATATCCCATTTTTCCTCCTCTCTTTT
    GGTATTACATTAATATTTTATTATTTCCCCATTTGCTCTGTATATATAAACATA
    TGTCAATAGAGTGCCTCTACAGTCATGTTTCCATAGACATAATCTCTCACCATT
    GTTTTTCTCTGCAAAACTAAAGAAACAAAAAAAGAAAAATCGGAGAAACCAAGA
    AAAAAGAA
    SEQ ID NO: 54
    Polynucleotide sequence PATCADD
    GCTTCGGTGATGCATTTCTCCTTCTCATCAATCATCCTAGCAATGTTTTGAAGC
    TGAGAAATTCTCCACTCGTAGCTCTTCGTTCTGCCAGAGTTGAAGTTGCTTCTG
    AGCTCATCTACAAGCAAAGCTGCTTCTTTTCCACTAAAGTCTGATGCTTGCTCC
    TTTACCACAGCAGATAGTGTTGCATAACAAGTACTGATTCAAGACACCAAAACC
    GCAATGTGAGAGACTTTAAGACTAAAAATCATGGATAAGACTAAAAAAACATGG
    ATAAGTATCAACTGTTCTCACGATTATTTATTCATACCACTGTACTTAAACTTA
    AAACCCACTATACTAAATAGAAAGGTAATCATCAAAAAATCAGTATGTAAAAAC
    CACTTTTGTGAATAAAATATGTAAAATGGGTGAATAAAGAAATGTGCTTACAAT
    TTCAACCGATAAGGGATACAAGCATTGCTGCAATATCCACCACCACCACGACGA
    GATATCCGAAAAGGTGAAGTTGCAACATTTAATCTGCAACAAAAGAGGCCATTC
    ATTAAAATGGTACTAATTAGATCTAATCATATCATATTGAATGACCAAATCATT
    CACAGAAGCATCCATTGCTCCAATTAACATTCTAGACCAAATTCAACTTAAAGG
    TAACTCTTTTATACAGGAAACCGAGAAACCGAAAACGCAATTCACATAAAAAGG
    AAGGCTTGTTTGGAGAAGCAGAATCGAACAAGTCAATCTCAAACCCTGATGAGC
    AGGTTTTTCAAGTTACCTGGCAGGAGAAAAACCCTTGGCAAAACAAAGGGTTTG
    AATATGATTAATCTCTAGAAGCTTCGTCATGACTTGGGTTCAGTTAAAAATCTC
    AAATTGGAGACATTATTGGTGTTTATATATTTGAGAGAGAGAGCCAGAGAGGAG
    ACGTTGAATTGAATGAAGGGTGTGGTCGGAAGAGAAGACGTGTAGAAGAGACGA
    GACAAGTAAATTTAAGCATTGGCCCCATTTACAGCCACAAGTCCGCTACAACAA
    ATTATTTCCAAGAAACTCTGAGATAACGTCGTGATGAAACGGCTCATGCTGCTG
    TTGTGATTCGTGAATTAGAGGTTTATCTTTTGGGTTTTTGAATGTTACTTAATT
    GGACGGTCGATTTTTCAAACTGGGTGTGAAATGTGAATGGGTCATTCATAATGG
    GCTTTTGTTTTAATGTGAAGCCATTCACACACTCTTTGTCCTTCTTTTCTATTA
    TTCATAACTGTCACTCTTTGTTCTTCGAAATAGTAAAGAGCAAATCGATTCTTT
    GTTGATCTGGGCCGTAAAATTTCCATGGTTGTGGGAAGTATTCTCGCAGCTGAT
    CTGGGCCGTCAATGCTACAGTTTCATGTCAGAGAGAGGTCAAGAATCAACACGT
    GGCCAACCATGATTTTAAACCAAAGCAAACACACGATTAGACCCCACATTGTTT
    GTTCACCAACCCCCGTGGACCCTCCTTTAGCCGACGTGTCCACGTCAATAGTGG
    TTTTTCTTCCTTTCAAAGTACACAAATTCCATTCTTTCTCATTTTACTTTTTGG
    ATTACGTTGTTGTTATAAACTGGTAAAATGAATTATGAATGCAAATAAATTTCA
    TTTAAGTTTTGTIGGCTICTAATATTTTTTTCACCTAAAATTCTAATAAACTAC
    ACAGCCATGAGCCATCGTATGAAAAGAAGAAGAAAAAAAATGTCTTTTTCTAGA
    AGGATCTTTCAACGACTAAAAAAGATTTTAAGCTTTTGACTAATTTTGTCAATA
    ATATACACAAATTTACACTCAATTATAGCCATCAAATGTGTGCTATGCAGAAAC
    ACCAATTATTTCATCACACATACGCATACGTTACGTTTCCAACTTTCTCTATAT
    ATATATATAGTAATACACACACATAAACAGCAAAAGCGTGAAAGCAGCAGATCA
    AGATAAGAAAGAAGAAAGAATCATCAAAAA
    SEQ ID NO: 55
    Polynucleotide sequence PATPAL1
    TTTTCCCAATGATACAACTATAAATCAAAAAGAAAAAATGTACTGATAAACGAA
    ACTAAACGTATAAATTAATATATTTCTTGACATAAATAGGAGGCTTTTGCCTGC
    TAGTCTGCTACGATGGAAGGAAAAATGCATGCACACATGACACATGCAAAATGT
    TTCAATGAAGACGCATTGCCCAATTAACCAACACACCACTTCTTCCATTCCACC
    CATATTATTTATTTCTACCATTTTCTTTAATTTATTGTTTTTTCTTTGATTCAT
    ACACTGTTTATGACTATTACATTTTCCCTTTCGACTAATATTAACGCGTTTAAA
    CCAAAGAATGGATTTGATAATGAAATTTTATTTTATTAGCATATAGATAATGGA
    TGGCTTCATGCTTGGTTTCCATGACAAGGAATGACACAAGATAATTATTTTGAA
    TAAAATCATAAATATGATAATACTAGTTGTAAAAAAACTTGAGTGTTTCGTGTG
    TTATTTTTCGGTTTCTTGACTTTTTATATTTCTCGTTTTTGTAATTTTAGGATG
    GATTATTTAGCTTGCTTTTCTCTTTTATTACTTTCTAAAATTTTATTTATAAAC
    TCATTTTTAATATATTGACAATCAATAAATGAGTTATCTTTTAATTAATAAAAA
    ATTTGTAAACTCTTGTAAACAGATCATAGTCACTAAAAGCTATTATAAGTTATT
    TGTAGCTATATTTTTTTATTTCATGAACTTAGGATAAGATACGAAAATGGAGGT
    TATATTTACATAAATGTCACCACATTGCCTTTGTCATGCAAACGGCGTGTTGCG
    TCACTCGCCTCCTATTGGGAATCTTATAATCGCGTGAATATTATTAGAGTTTGC
    GATATTTCCACGTAATAGTTATCTTTCACAAATTTTATACTCAATTACAAAATC
    AACGAAAATGTACATTTGTATCTTTAACTATTTACGTTTTTTTTACGTATCAAC
    TTTCAGTTATATGTTTTGGATAATATATTTTTTTACTTTTGACTTTTCAGTTTT
    CACCTAATGATTGGGATATACATATGCATGCATAGTTCCCATTATTTAAATGTA
    AGCTAAGTGCATATGAACTGTTAGTCAAAATTACGAAGTTTATTTGTACATATA
    TATAGTTATAACAAAATGGTACAGTAAATTAAACAGAACATCAAGAAAGTACAA
    AAGACTGAACACAATAATTTACATGAAAACAAAACACTTAAAAAATCATCCGAT
    AAAATCGAAATGATATCCCAAATGACAAAAATAACAATATAGAAAATACAAAAA
    CAAAAACAAAATATGAAAGAGTGTTATGGTGGGGACGTTAATTGACTCAATTAC
    GTTCATACATTATACACACCTACTCCCATCACAATGAAACGCTTTACTCCAAAA
    AAAAAAAAAAAACCACTCTTCAAAAAATCTCGTAGTCTCACCAACCGCGAAATG
    CAACTATCGTCAGCCACCAGCCACGACCACTTTTACCACCGTGACGTTGACGAA
    AACCAAAGAAATTCACCACCGTGTTAAAATCAAATTAAAAATAACTCTCTTTTT
    GCGACTTAAACCAAATCCACGAATTATAATCTCCACCACTAAAATCCATCACTC
    ACTCTCCATCTAACGGTCATCATTAATTCTCAACCAACTCCTTCTTTCTCACTA
    ATTTTCATTTTTTCTATAATCTTTATATGGAAGAAAAAAAGAAACTAGCTATCT
    CTATACGCTTACCTACCAACAAACACTACCACCTTATTTAAACCACCCTTCATT
    CATCTAATTTTCCTCAGGAACAAATACAATTCCTTAACCAACAATATTACAAAT
    AAGCTCCTATCTTCTTTCTTTCTTTTAGAGATCTTGTAATCTCCTCTTAGTTAA
    TCTTCTATTGTAAAACTAAGATCAAAAGTCTAA
    SEQ ID NO: 56
    Polynucleotide sequence PATPAL2
    TTTCCCTGTTTTTTTTCCCCTCTTTCTGTTTCCCATTTGAAAGTAAAAGATCATTT
    AAGCACCTAACTCAATTTTATTTTATTTTAAACACCTAATGTCATGCTCCTTGGCT
    CCTTGTAATTAGTTGATCGTTTCAATTTAGACCAGCAAAACATTTTAGTATGTTCG
    TAAATATTGCGTACATGCCATTTCGTTTGTCATGCAAACGGTGTGTGTTTCTTTAC
    TTAGCTTCTAGTTGGTGTATATTGCGTCGCATTAATATCGGTTTACCTTCCTCCTG
    TCTACGTAATGATATATTCTCCACCACAAATTTAAATTCTTATTGAAATTTCCTAA
    TTTTTTAGGTAGCTCAAGGTCTCAAGTATACTACGTACCCTATTTTTTTGAATATC
    TATCTATATTATAACAAGAGTTTTTCTGAGCTAGTTAATGAGATGACAATATTCTA
    CATAAATAAATGACCCTCGAAAGTTTCAAGTACTTTAGGATCTGACCAAATCGGGG
    TAAAACATTTTGAAACTAATTACGTTCACATCTACCATCGATGATTGACAAGCTTA
    TTGTCACCTTTTATGTTAAAGTGACATGGTCTTGACGTTAATTTGCATGTTATTCT
    ACATCTATAGTCCAAAGATAGCAAACCAAAGAAAAAAATTGTCACAGAGGGTTCAA
    TGTTACTTAGATAGAAATGGTTCTTTACAATAATAAATTTATGTTCCATTCTTCAT
    GGACCGATGGTATATATATGACTATATATATGTTACAAGAAAAACAAAAACTTATA
    TTTTCTAAATATGTCTTCATCCATGTCACTAGCTCATTGTGTATACATTTACTTGC
    TTCTTTTTGTTCTATTTCATTTCCTCTAACAAATTATTCCTTATATTTTGTGATGT
    ACTGAATTATTATGAAAAAAAACCTTTACACTTGATAGAGAAGCATATTTGGAAAC
    GTATATAATTTGTTTAATTGGAGTCACCAAAATTATACAAATCTTGTAATATCATT
    AACATAATAGCAAACTAATTAAATATATGTTTTGAGGTCAAATGTTCGGTTTAGTG
    TTGAAACTGAAAAAAATTATTGGTTAATAAAATTTCAAATAAAAGGACAGGTCTTT
    CTCACCAAAACAAATTTCAAGTATAGATAAGAAAAATATAATAAGATAAACAATTC
    ATGCTGGTTTGGTTCGACTTCAACTAGTTAGTTGTATAAGAATATATTTTTTTAAT
    ACATTTTTTTAGCAACTTTTGTTTTTGATACATATAAACAAATATTCACAATAAAA
    CCAAACTACAAATAGCAACTAAAATAATTTTTTGAAAACGAAATTAGTGGGGACGA
    CCTTGAATTGACTGAACTACATTCCTACGTTCCACAACTACTCCCATTTCATTCCC
    AAACCATAATCAATCACTCGTATAAACATTTTTGTCTCCAAAAAGTCTCACCAACC
    GCAAAACGCTTATTAGTTATTACCTTCTCAATTCCTCAGCCACCAGCCACGACTAC
    CTTTTCGATGCTTGAGGTTGATATTTGACGGAACACACAAATTTAACCAAACCAAA
    CCAAAACCAAACGCGTTTTAAATCTAAAAACTAATTGACAAACTCTTTTTGCGACT
    CAAACCAAATTCACGTTTTCCATTATCCACCATTAGATCACCAATCTTCATCCAAC
    TGGTCATCATTAAACTCTCACCCACCCCTCATACTTCACTTTTTTCTCCAAAAAAT
    CAAAACTTGTGTTCTCTCTTCTCTCTTCTCTTGTCCTTACCTAACAACAACACTAA
    CATTGTCCTTCTTATTTAAACGTCTCTTCTCTCTTCTTCCTCCTCAGAAAACCAAA
    AACCACCAACAATTCAAACTCTCTCTTTCTCCTTTCACCAAACAATACAAGAGATC
    TGATCTCATTCACCTAAACACAACTTCTTGAAAACCA
    SEQ ID NO: 57
    Polynucleotide sequence PATC3H
    ATCGTAAGTTTTTTTGTGTGTGTGTTAACAATGTACTCACTACTCACTGTTCCAT
    ATTTTTGATGTACGTATATCGAAAACATTCTGCCAACAAATGCAAACATAACAAA
    AGTCAAAAACAATAACATAACCGGGAATTAAACCAAAATGTAATTGCTTTTTATT
    AGTGTCAGGCCTTCTGCTTAAAAATATTCTCGGCCCAGAGCCCATTAACACCTAT
    CTCAATTCATATTGAAGAAAATGACTATATTACTTGACAAAAACTTTAGTCAGAA
    AAATATGGAATCTCTTTCGGTACTGCTAAGTGCTAACCTTAAATAGTATAGAATT
    CTTAGTTCATTCTCAAAAACATAGCTATATGTAGATTATAAAAGTTCGATATTAT
    TTCCTGCAAAAGATGTTATAATGTTACAACTTACAAGAAAATGATGTATATGTAG
    ATTTTATAAACTGGTACCGTAATTCATAAAAGATGGTGGTGGGTATGTATCAGTA
    ACGGAACTTACATATGCGTGTGTATTACTATGTCTATATGGTGTATTCCTTTGTG
    TGGAACAATGCACGTCAGAGTTGTTTATTTTCTTATAGAATTTAAGGAATCAATT
    ATTGGATTTCTCAAGGTGAAAGTGGACTTCTTTGCACGCAAGGTCTAGTTGCCGA
    CTTGCCGTTGCATGTAACATGATTGTTGAAATAAAGTGAATTGAGAGAAGTTTGG
    CCAGACATTTTAAATTTAACCCAAAAAAAGTAGGGCCTAACACAAAATATAACCT
    CTCTTTGTTCAAAGGAAATAACACCTACGTCTTATAATTGAACCAAACATTGAAT
    CATTGAACTCACCTATAATAATTATAATAACACGAATTCACAAGACACCTAAAAG
    AAAAAGTTCACAAAAACAAATAAAAATTTACCTCTCACCAAACACACTCACCTAC
    CCGTCTGGTCCCACTGACCCCAACATACAACACCGACTCTCTCCCACACCAATTT
    TTTTTTTTGGCGTTTTAAAACAAATAAACTATCTATTTTTTTTTCTTACCAACTG
    ATTAATTCGTGAATAATCTATTATCTTCTTCTTTTTTTTGTGACGGATGATTAGT
    GCGTGGGGAAATCAAAATTTACAAAATTTGGGATGATTCCGATTTTTGCCATTCG
    ATTAATTTTGGTTAAAAGATATACTATTCATTCACCAAGTTTTCAGATGAGTCTA
    AAAGATAATATCATTTCACTAGTCACTTAAAAAAAGGGTTAAAAGAACATCAATA
    ATATCACTGGTTTCCTTAGGTGACCCAAAAAAAGAAGAAAAAGTCACTAGTTTCT
    TTTTGGAAATTTTACTGGGCATATAGACGAAGTTGTAATGAGTGAGTTTAAATTT
    ATCTATGGCACGCAGCTACGTCTGGTCGGACTATACCAAGTTACCAACTCTCTCT
    ACTTCATGTGATTGCCAATAAAAGGTGACGTCTCTCTCTCTCTCACCAACCCCAA
    ACCACTTTCCCCACTCGCTCTCAAAACGCTTGCCACCCAAATCTATGGCTTACGG
    GGACATGTATTAACATATATCACTGAGTGAAAAGAAGGGTTTATTACCGTTGGAC
    CAGTGATCAAACGTGTTTTATAAAAATTTGGAATTGAAAACATGATTTGACATTT
    TTAATGATGGCAGCAGACGAAACCAACAACACTAAGTTTAACGTTCGTGGAGTAT
    ACTTTTCTATTTTCGAAGAAGACATATAACTAAGCTGATTGTTATTCTTCATAGA
    TTTCTTTTCACTGCGAATAAAAGTTTGTGAACATGTCACCGTTTGAACACTCAAC
    AATCATAAGCGTTTTACCTTTGTGGGGTGGAGAAGATGACAATGAGAAAGTCGTC
    GTACATATAATTTAAGAAAATACTATTCTGACTCTGGAACGTGTAAATAATTATC
    TAAACAGATTGCGAATGTTCTCTACTTTTTTTTTGTTTACATTAAAAATGCAAAT
    TTTATAACATTTTACATCGCGTAAATATTCCTGTTTTATCTATAATTAATGAAAG
    CTACTGAAAAAAAACATCCAGGTCAGGTACATGTATTTCACCTCAACTTAGTAAA
    TAACCAGTAAAATCCAAAGTAATTACCTTTTCTCTGGAAATTTTCCTCAGTAGTT
    TATACCAGTCAAATTAAAACCTCAAATCTGAATGTTGAAAATTTGATATCCAAGA
    AATTTTCTCATTGGAATAAAAGTTCAATCTGAAAATAGATATTTCTCTACCTCTG
    TTTTTTTTTTTCTCCACCAACTTTCCCCTACTTATCACTATCAATAATCGACATT
    ATCCATCTTTTTTATTGTCTTGAACTTTGCAATTTAATTGCATACTAGTTTCTTG
    TTTTACATAAAAGAAGTTTGGTGGTAGCAAATATATATGTCTGAAATTGATTATT
    TAAAAACAAAAAAAGATAAATCGGTTCACCAACCCCCTCCCTAATATAAATCAAA
    GTCTCCACCACATATATCTAGAAGAATTCTACAAGTGAATTCGATTTACACTTTT
    TTTTGTCCTTTTTTATTAATAAATCACTGACCCGAAAATAAAAATAGAAGCAAAA
    CTTC
    SEQ ID NO: 58
    Polynucleotide sequence PATCCR1_PATIRX4
    AAAATTGTGTCTAAGAATGTGGAACCGAGTAGTTCTCCAGAAGTCAGGTATGAA
    AGTATATAAGAATTCTAGTTTTAGTTGTTTGAAAGTTTGATCCGTGAGTGAATT
    AGTTCACAATTATGGATGTAGATCCTCTATGCAAACAATGAAGAAGAAAGACTC
    TGTAACAGACTCCATTAAGCAAACAAAAAGAACCAAAGGTGCACTGAAGGCTGT
    AAGCAATGAACCAGAAAGCACTACAGGGAAAAATCTTAAATCCTTGAAAAAGCT
    GAATGGTGAACCTGATAAAACAAGAGGCAGAACTGGCAAAAAGCAGAAGGTGAC
    TCAAGCTATGCACCGGAAAATCGAAAAAGATTGTGATGAGCAGGAAGACCTCGA
    AACCAAAGATGAAGAAGACAGTCTGAAATTGGGGAAAGAATCAGATGCAGAGCC
    TGATCGTATGGAAGATCACCAAGAATTGCCTGAAAATCACAATGTAGAAACCAA
    AACTGATGGAGAAGAGCAGGAGGCAGCGAAAGAGCCAACGGCAGAGTCTAAAAC
    TAATGGAGAGGAGCCAAATGCAGAACCCGAAACTGATGGAAAAGAGCATAAATC
    ATTGAAGGAGCCAAATGCAGAGCCCAAATCTGATGGAGAAGAGCAGGAGGCAGC
    AAAAGAGCCAAATGCTGAGCTCAAAACTGATGGAGAAAATCAGGAGGCAGCAAA
    AGAGCTAACTGCAGAACGCAAAACTGATGAGGAAGAGCACAAGGTAGCTGATGA
    GGTAGAGCAAAAGTCACAGAAAGAGACAAATGTAGAACCGGAAGCTGAGGGAGA
    AGAGCAAAAGTCAGTGGAAGAGCCAAATGCAGAACCCAAGACCAAGGTAGAAGA
    GAAAGAGTCAGCAAAAGAGCAAACTGCAGACACAAAATTGATTGAGAAGGAGGA
    TATGTCTAAGACAAAGGGAGAAGAGATTGATAAAGAAACATATTCAAGCATCCC
    TGAGACTGGTAAAGTAGGAAACGAAGCTGAAGAAGATGATCAGAGAGTGATTAA
    GGAACTGGAAGAAGAGTCTGACAAGGCAGAAGTCAGTACTACGGTGCTTGAGGT
    TGATCCATGAATGAAGGATTGTTAGGTAAATGTTAATCCAGGAAAAAAAGATTG
    GTTCTTGTGGTTTAGGTAACTTATGTATTAAGTGAAGCTGCTTGTTTAGAGACT
    AATGGTGTGTTTTATGAGTAGATTCTTCTGACCTATGTCTCGTTATGGAACTAG
    TTTGATCTTATGTCACCTTGCTAGCAGCAGATATTGATATTTATATATTTAAGA
    GACATGCGCATGAGAATGAGGGTATGGAAAAGTCCATATCAGATGACACAAACA
    ATGATCGTATGTGTAGTCACTTGTGCATTTCCAGTTTTGGACATAAAATTCTGA
    TATTGCATAGAAATGTTTTTAAATAACACTAATCCAAACCTAAATAAAATATCT
    CTATACATCATCTAGAAATGTATGGCTTGATCAAGAATTGTAGATAATAATACC
    CTGAGTTAAATGATTGTAGGTATTATTTCAGTTTTCAAAATTGTCCAAATTTAT
    GAGCTATATTAAAGATAATATTTTCAATAAGGTGTGTAGTTCTAAATGTTTCTT
    CTTCTTCCACCAACCCCTCTTTCTATATGTATGTTCTTTTTTCTAAAATAATTG
    TTTGTTCTTTTTTAGATATATCAAATTAAATATAAAAAATATTGACAAAACTTA
    TTTACCATTGTTAGGTGAACTTGGCAAGTGTGTAAATATAAAGATAACATTCCT
    TTTCGTTCTTTATATATACGAAACGTACCACAAATTTCTAACTAAAGCATTCAT
    AGTCTCTCGAAAGCCTCTTTTCAGAACCGAAGCTCTTTACTTTCGTCCACCGGG
    AAAT
    SEQ ID NO: 59
    Polynucleotide sequence PATF5H
    AAATTTTTGTATGAAATATTTCTTTAACGAAAATAAATTAAATAAAATTTAAAA
    TTTATATTTGGAGTTCTATTTTTAATTTAGAGTTTTTATTGTTACCACATTTTT
    TGAATTATTCTAATATTAATTTGTGATATTATTACAAAAAGTAAAAATATGATA
    TTTTAGAATACTATTATCGATATTTGATATTATTGACCTTAGCTTTGTTTGGGT
    GGAGACATGTGATTATCTTATTACCTTTTTATTCCATGAAACTACAGAGTTCGC
    CAGGTACCATACATGCACACACCCTCGTGAAACGAGCGTGACTTAATATGATCT
    AGAACTTAAATAGTACTACTAATTGTGTCATTTGAACTTTCTCCTATGTCGGTT
    TCACTTCATGTATCGCAGAACAGGTGGAATACAGTGTCCTTGAGTTTCACCCAA
    ATCGGTCCAATTTTGTGATATATATTGCGATACAGACATACAGCCTACAGAGTT
    TTGTCTTAGCCCACTGGTTGGCAAACGAAATTGTCTTTATTTTTTTATGTTTTG
    TTGTCAATGTGTCTTTGTTTTTAACTAGATTGAGGTTTAATTTTAATACATTTG
    TTAGTTTACAGATTATGCAGTGTAATCTGATAATGTAAGTTGAACTGCGTTGGT
    CAAAGTCTTGTGTAACGCACTGTATCTAAATTGTGAGTAACGACAAAATAATTA
    AAATTAAAGGGACCTTCAAGTATTATTAGTATCTCTGTCTAAGATGCACAGGTA
    TTCAGTAATAGTAATAAATAATTACTTGTATAATTAATATCTAATTAGTAAACC
    TTGTGTCTAAACCTAAATGAGCATAAATCCAAAAGCAAAAATCTAAACCTAACT
    GAAAAAGTCATTACGAAAAAAAGAAAAAAAAAAGAGAAAAAACTACCTGAAAAG
    TCATGCACAACGTTCATCTTGGCTAAATTTATTTAGTTTATTAAATACAAAAAT
    GGCGAGTTTCTGGAGTTTGTTGAAAATATATTTGTTTAGCCACTTTAGAATTTC
    TTGTTTTAATTTGTTATTAAGATATATCGAGATAATGCGTTTATATCACCAATA
    TTTTTGCCAAACTAGTCCTATACAGTCATTTTTCAACAGCTATGTTCACTAATT
    TAAAACCCACTGAAAGTCAATCATGATTCGTCATATTTATATGCTCGAATTCAG
    TAAAATCCGTTTGGTATACTATTTATTTCGTATAAGTATGTAATTCCACTAGAT
    TTCCTTAAACTAAATTATATATTTACATAATTGTTTTCTTTAAAAGTCTACAAC
    AGTTATTAAGTTATAGGAAATTATTTCTTTTATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTAGGAAAT
    TATTTCTTTTGCAACACATTTGTCGTTTGCAAACTTTTAAAAGAAAATAAATGA
    TTGTTATAATTGATTACATTTCAGTTTATGACAGATTTTTTTTATCTAACCTTT
    AATGTTTGTTTCCTGTTTTTAGGAAAATCATACCAAAATATATTTGTGATCACA
    GTAAATCACGGAATAGTTATGACCAAGATITTCAAAGTAATACTTAGAATCCTA
    TTAAATAAACGAAATTTTAGGAAGAAATAATCAAGATTTTAGGAAACGATTTGA
    GCAAGGATTTAGAAGATTTGAATCTTTAATTAAATATTTTCATTCCTAAATAAT
    TAATGCTAGTGGCATAATATTGTAAATAAGTTCAAGTACATGATTAATTTGTTA
    AAATGGTTGAAAAATATATATATGTAGATTTTTTCAAAAGGTATACTAATTATT
    TTCATATTTTCAAGAAAATATAAGAAATGGTGTGTACATATATGGATGAAGAAA
    TTTAAGTAGATAATACAAAAATGTCAAAAAAAGGGACCACACAATTTGATTATA
    AAACCTACCTCTCTAATCACATCCCAAAATGGAGAACTTTGCCTCCTGACAACA
    TTTCAGAAAATAATCGAATCCAAAAAAAACACTCAAT
    SEQ ID NO: 60
    Polynucleotide sequence PATLAC4
    CAATTATATTTGGTTTCGATTGAAATTCAATCTAATGTGGTTAGATGAGTCCTA
    TATTACCATGTCATTGTTAATACCCATTGCCAAAAATAAAAGTGAAGCAGAAGG
    AGAAATTGTTTTTGTATACCCGAAGGAATTAAGATGTACGATCTTAAAATAGAC
    ATTTCGGCCATCTATCAAAATAAATGTCTAAAAGTTTTGTGGTCGTCTTAAATA
    CTACTTCGAGTTCAGACGTATACGTCTCACCAAAGTAATGCACATACTTGATGT
    TAAGTTTATCTCTTTTTACTATTTCAAATTTCGCGTTTGACAACACTTTAAGTC
    TACATTATCCATAGAGAATATAACATAAAGATCATGAACTTCTCATGAATGTAT
    AAGACAAATCAAGCTTATATATGAGATCTATTTAGTAATTTGATATGTATGTAA
    TATATGATAAATCTTTGATGCAATATTTTATTATGATTATTAGATATACACTAG
    TCAACTTTAACTTTAGAAGATTAATCATTCCGTCGCAAACCATACCATAAATTA
    GCAAGGGATCGACTTAATATCTCCGATCCGCTATATATTTAAGAAGCATTTAGA
    TTGTTTATAATACATGTCATGATTTTATAATTATGTATATATAAATACTAATTG
    ATGTATGAAGTACGTAGATAATGTTACGATCTATTAATCTATTTACATTAACTT
    TTAATTAGTGTTGAGTAGGGAAAATTAACATATAAACCTTTAGCAGTTGGTTGT
    ATTATTAAAAATAATTTGAACTTAAAATCCACCTTCGAAAAGATAAATCAAACA
    AGTATAAAAAATGCTATAAATCCAGAATATTTACCTAAGGTTTTTATTCTTCTA
    CTTAATAATGTAAGATAAAACCGGCACAATACTTGTTACGTATGCATGGTAGGT
    ACCGCAATTGTGTAAGCAAATCGGCACAATACTAAGGTTACATATACTAACTAA
    ATAAAACAATCTGATTTCAGTGACACCGTATATCTAACCTTTATTCAAATCCAA
    GGGAACATGACTTGACTTCTTCTGTTGGAACTAACTCGATCCCTCAACCATCTC
    CAGGGATAGAAGAGTTAGTAAAATCAAACTTGAAGTGAGGAAGTAAGCAGTTTA
    ACGACTCCATATGACTACAGTTATATACAAAGTTGGGCACAAAGTACAAGTACT
    AAATACTCAAAGTCAGATAATAATTTTAATAAGTACAAACTATATATATGCAGT
    ACAATTATTGAGTATATATAAACGAGACTGGTGATTTGGGGCATTGTCCACCAG
    GGTGTTATATCCCAATTGAAATTTGAAAATTTAAGTGTGTGAGTGTTACGACAA
    AAAAAAGTGTGTGAATTGTAGGCGCGGTGAAAAGGTAAATTAAGATTGGAACTA
    GAAAAATAGTTGAATATCCTTTACTAAAAGTTGTCAATTCCGGTTTTAGTAAAA
    AAAAATTTTAAAATAGAAATTTTATCCAAAAGACTTCAAACACACATATTCGCA
    TATATAACATAAGATATCATTTTTTGTAAACAGTTAAAAAGAAAAACACATGTT
    TTTTTITTTAATTTAGAAAAAAACATGTTATTATACAAAACAGAGTTTTGCCCA
    CTTTTAATATGTTATGAAAAGAAAAATGATTTTCTTGGGTTTGGTCAGAGAGAT
    TGGTTGTGGTAAGAATGGGAATCTTAATTACAAAGAATTGGATTTTGGGTCGAC
    CTACCACCTAAAACGACGTCGCCTCCATCTCTGGTTTCCAAATCTCTTTCTCCT
    CTCCCTTTATAAGCTTGCGTTGGCCAGTCGCTCATCTCGAAAACAGAGAGAAAA
    AGACTAAAAACACAGTTTAAGAAGAAGGAGAGATAGAGAGAGAAGAGAAAGATA
    GAGAGGGAG
    SEQ ID NO: 61
    Polynucleotide sequence PATLAC17
    TAAGTTTAAGTCCAATAATTTCATTTTACTAGTAAAGATCACAATGTCATTTACC
    GCATTCACTTAATAATTGCTGAATTCACATAGTGCCTGTAAATTAAGACTAATTT
    TAGGTTTCAAATAATTTTTCTTTTTTACATAACTTACGATCGATATTTTAAATGG
    TATTGGTAAGTTTAAGGTATATAGATAGTGTGTCTAAACTAGAGTTCGTTGAAAT
    TGGTCTGAGGTATAAATACCTAAAAGGTTATATATGTTTTTAGTTTAATGTAATT
    CGATAAATTTTAGTCGAAACCGTTAAGAGATATCAGAATTTCGTTTTCAAATAAT
    ATGGGATATAATTACCCGGGATTAACCGTACCTGATAAAATATAGCTCTCGTACG
    TGTCACATGCCTAATGCCTAGTTAAACTTAAAACGAATATCTATATTTACTGTTA
    TTGATTGTGAGTTACCAACTAAAATATTGTTAAAAGACATTGTAAAACTACAAAT
    GGTTCGAACTGTATACTAATGATGTAAACTCGTGTTTCATCGTTATGTCCGATAT
    TTTTTTCATTCAACCATTATTCAATTTCAAGATTTCTTTATTGTCTTTTTTTCTT
    TCTAGAAAGCCTATATATTTAATTACCCACTTTGCATATTCAGAGGATAAGTTGA
    TACGTACTTGTTAGCAACCTGTCTAGATCATCTTTTGATTGTAGATTTGACTTTA
    AATTTCTCACAATTATAAATATGAAAAATAACAAGCAAAGAATTTACAAATGTAT
    ATAATTATATACACGCATTGATGAATAAACATATTTAGAAAATAATGTGTTCTAA
    GGAAATTTTGTGGCATTTTTTAAAAAATAATTAAACAAATAAGAATAGTGTAAAG
    TTGTTTAAATATGTATGTATAAGTGGCATGCCTTTGAGGATACGAACTTAAAAGG
    GAGTTAGGTAACTTGCTTGGGAAATAAAATAGCCAACCTTAATTTGAGGTTTCCT
    CAATGTTCTTATCAAAAAGAATAAAAATTTCGGAAATTCCCTTCATGGATTTTGA
    TATCTAACCCTAATCGTGACCTTCTTTGATAGCTACAATCTCCCTCTCTTTGCTT
    ATTCCCCAAGCAATTTTAGCTTACGAATGTTTTGACTAACTCCACATCGGTTTAT
    CTCTTAAGTTCCCCACCTACAAATATACAAAAAAAGAAGTAAAATAAAAATAATT
    ATTAACAAACCGATGAAGTACTTATCATTTATAAACATGCTTATGAAATGTATTT
    TCTAAAACATAACCGCTAACCAGAGAAGTTTCCTAGAGTTCTGCTTCAGACTCTT
    TTGGTCGATCAAGAAGTCTCCAAGAGTTGTTTTTGTTGGGTCTAAACAAAACTTG
    GCCAGGGAACAAATCAAACTATATTATTAATCTTCTACATCTGGTCCTAAGTTCC
    TTACTATCTCATGTTAAAATTTGAAGTCTAATATACTCAAAGCTGTCAAAGAAGC
    AGAACATGGAAGAGGAACTGTCATATCTGAGAAACCAAAATTGGCAATCTTGCAT
    TTCATATTTAGAATCTACGCCATAGTATTGAGATGGAAACAAAGAGTTTTCGAAG
    AGGGTCAAAGAGTTTGACTTATCTTTGACACCACTCATACATTAGCTGTTCATAT
    AATCTAACAACTAGTCAATATCAAGTGTCTCCAAATTACGGAGAGTACTTCTCTA
    CCAATTATCTTTTTGTTTTTCATAAACATTTTACTAATTGTTTTTTCTATATCTC
    CTGCTCAAGCAAACACCTAACTCTCCTTTCCTATATATACACTAAAGGTTGAAAA
    CAATGAATCCACAATCTACAGCAAAACATAAGCGAGGCAGAGTCTTCAGAAAACT
    TACCTGCTCTAAACAACGCCTCCGTGTCCAAGCTCACTTCA
  • TABLE I
    In-vitro HCHL enzyme activities in
    stems of five-week-old wild type (WT) and
    IRX5:HCHL plants. Values are means of three
    biological replicates.
    Enzyme activity ± SE
    Plant line (pkat vanillin μg−1 protein)
    WT nda
    IRX5:HCHL (1) 0.112 ± 0.026
    IRX5:HCHL (2) 0.075 ± 0.022
    IRX5:HCHL (3) 0.042 ± 0.006
    IRX5:HCHL (4) 0.160 ± 0.038
    IRX5:HCHL (5) 0.025 ± 0.002
    and, not detected.
  • TABLE II
    Height of the main inflorescence stem and total stem
    dry weight of senesced wild type (WT) and IRX5:HCHL
    plants. n, number of plants analyzed. Asterisks indicate
    significant differences from the wild-type (*, P < 0.05, **,
    P < 0.01, ***, P < 0.001).
    Height (cm) Dry weight (mg)
    Plant line Mean ± SE Mean ± SE n
    WT 62.4 ± 4.6 477.7 ± 51.3 16
    IRX5:HCHL (1) 60.3 ± 5.0 501.6 ± 62.8 14
    IRX5:HCHL (2) 56.0 ± 4.6 435.3 ± 62.5 12
    IRX5:HCHL (4) 48.3 ± 4.4*** 335.7 ± 63.4*** 15
    IRX5:HCHL (5) 54.1 ± 7.6** 399.1 ± 61.1* 16
  • TABLE III
    Quantitative analysis of soluble phenolics in stems from five-week-old wild type (WT) and
    IRX5:HCHL plants. Values are means of four biological replicates.
    Mean ± SE (μg g−1 fresh weight)
    Plant line HBAld 3,4-DHBAld HBA HBAGlc HBAGE
    WT nda nda nda 2.32 ± 0.20  1.34 ± 0.41
    IRX5:HCHL (1) 1.02 ± 0.07 0.33 ± 0.02 5.53 ± 0.36 544.87 ± 157.79 1653.74 ± 504.38
    IRX5:HCHL (2) 0.62 ± 0.08 0.23 ± 0.02 4.77 ± 0.41 569.23 ± 138.73 1046.97 ± 439.35
    IRX5:HCHL (4) 0.83 ± 0.18 0.29 ± 0.03 4.64 ± 0.57 484.06 ± 74.23   959.79 ± 189.25
    IRX5:HCHL (5) 1.04 ± 0.09 0.34 ± 0.02 5.59 ± 0.27 531.29 ± 51.13  1360.03 ± 178.03
    and, not detected
  • TABLE IV
    Quantitative analysis of acid-hydrolyzed soluble phenolics in stems from five-week-old
    wild type (WT) and IRX5:HCHL plants. Values are means of four biological replicates.
    Mean ± SE (μg g−1 fresh weight)
    3,4- 3,4-
    Plant line HBAld DHBAld Van 5OH-Van SyrAld HBA DHBA VA 5OH-VA SyrA
    WT 0.6 ± 0.1  0.1 ± 0.0 nda nda nda 14.0 ± 2.8 10.2 ± 2.7  5.0 ± 0.9 nda nda
    IRX5:HCHL 11.8 ± 2.1  14.3 ± 2.0 11.9 ± 3.8  24.3 ± 2.0 1.7 ± 0.0 2492.4 ± 534.9 17.3 ± 2.4 226.9 ± 32.6 8.1 ± 0.7 44.7 ± 7.6
    (1)
    IRX5:HCHL 5.7 ± 1.5 10.4 ± 2.6 3.9 ± 1.28 12.4 ± 6.1 1.6 ± 0.1 1726.1 ± 706.7 13.7 ± 3.4 175.9 ± 37.1 6.2 ± 1.5  45.9 ± 10.9
    (2)
    IRX5:HCHL 7.2 ± 0.8  9.9 ± 0.6 6.4 ± 1.26 10.7 ± 1.7 1.7 ± 0.1 1588.3 ± 181.1 15.4 ± 1.7 183.6 ± 19.0 5.8 ± 0.3 31.3 ± 2.4
    (4)
    IRX5:HCHL 9.9 ± 1.2 12.8 ± 0.7 8.0 ± 1.73 16.9 ± 2.5 1.9 ± 0.1 2061.3 ± 336.2 16.4 ± 1.2 202.3 ± 9.2  7.0 ± 0.5 39.5 ± 3.2
    (5)
    and, not detected.
  • TABLE V
    Quantitative analysis of cell wall-bound phenolics in stems from extract-free senesced mature
    dried wild type (WT) and IRX5:HCHL plants. Values are means of four biological replicates.
    Mean ± SE (μg g−1 dry weight)
    3,4- 3,4-
    Plant line HBAld DHBAld Van 5OH-Van SyrAld HBA DHBA VA 5OH-VA SyrA
    WT 5.8 ± 0.6 1.1 ± 0.0 59.4 ± 6.5 nda 17.8 ± 1.0  6.2 ± 0.9 nda 24.2 ± 2.0 nda 10.6 ± 0.3
    IRX5:HCHL 11.1 ± 0.4  0.6 ± 0.0 36.9 ± 2.7 0.8 ± 0.1 107.8 ± 6.4  486.4 ± 28.2 nda 42.2 ± 3.2 nda 47.5 ± 2.3
    (1)
    IRX5:HCHL 8.9 ± 0.4 0.6 ± 0.0 25.7 ± 5.9 0.6 ± 0.1 99.9 ± 4.6 427.9 ± 49.3 nda 39.6 ± 1.9 nda 43.3 ± 0.9
    (2)
    IRX5:HCHL 9.1 ± 0.9 0.7 ± 0.0 29.9 ± 2.7 0.8 ± 0.1 122.2 ± 14.8 421.8 ± 28.2 nda 36.8 ± 1.4 nda 54.1 ± 6.1
    (4)
    IRX5:HCHL 9.1 ± 0.7 0.7 ± 0.0 45.6 ± 6.2 0.7 ± 0.0 122.4 ± 5.9  349.6 ± 27.6 nda 47.7 ± 3.0 nda 59.3 ± 3.1
    (5)
    and, not detected.
  • TABLE VI
    Chemical composition of total and hemicellulosic cell wall sugars in senesced
    mature dried stems from wild type (WT) and line IRX5:HCHL (2). Values are
    means ± SE of three biological replicates. Asterisks indicate significant
    differences from the wild type (P < 0.001).
    Mean ± SE (mg g−1 CWR)
    Total Sugars Hemicellulosic Sugars
    Sugar WT IRX5:HCHL WT IRX5:HCHL
    Fucose  2.23 ± 0.08  2.21 ± 0.05  1.44 ± 0.03  1.49 ± 0.05
    Rhamnose 10.83 ± 0.35 11.71 ± 0.19  9.12 ± 0.23  9.76 ± 0.26
    Arabinose 16.01 ± 0.56  18.58 ± 0.54* 10.15 ± 0.30  12.40 ± 0.38*
    Galactose 23.06 ± 0.66 22.69 ± 0.82 15.34 ± 0.33 16.49 ± 0.50
    Glucose 442.76 ± 7.09  388.66 ± 7.58* 10.09 ± 0.34 11.25 ± 0.33
    Xylose 201.63 ± 1.71  245.20 ± 3.31* 114.39 ± 0.97  141.16 ± 4.20*
    Galacturonic acid 93.74 ± 2.56 99.96 ± 1.52 37.13 ± 1.86 40.58 ± 1.12
    Glucuronic acid  4.10 ± 0.16  4.60 ± 0.39  2.66 ± 0.17  3.12 ± 0.09
    Total 794.36 ± 13.17 793.61 ± 14.85 191.32 ± 4.23  236.25 ± 6.93*
  • TABLE VII
    Lignin content and main H, G and S lignin-derived monomers obtained by thioacidolysis
    of extract-free senesced mature dried stems from wild-type (WT) and line
    IRX5:HCHL (2). Values are means ± SE from duplicate analyses.
    Total yield
    Klason lignin (H + G + S)
    Plant line KL % of CWR μmol g−1 KL % H % G % S S/G
    Culture
    1 WT 20.42 ± 0.14 1356 ± 40 0.98 ± 0.00 73.2 ± 0.3 25.9 ± 0.3 0.35 ± 0.01
    IRX5:HCHL 20.12 ± 0.15 1014 ± 5  1.48 ± 0.04 73.7 ± 0.5 25.2 ± 0.3 0.34 ± 0.01
    Culture 2 WT 20.32 ± 0.25 1238 ± 13 1.09 ± 0.00 73.8 ± 0.3 25.2 ± 0.3 0.34 ± 0.01
    IRX5:HCHL 21.29 ± 0.14 1041 ± 7  1.47 ± 0.00 72.7 ± 0.1 25.9 ± 0.1 0.36 ± 0.00
  • TABLE VIII
    Minor monomers obtained by thioacidolysis of extract-free mature senesced dried stems from wild-type
    (WT) and line IRX5:HCHL (2). Values are means ± SE of duplicate analyses. Values are expressed in μmol
    g−1 KL and as a relative percentage of the total main H, G and S monomers released by thioacidolysis.
    Vanalc Syralc Van Syrald Cald VA SyrA
    μmol g−1 KL μmol g−1 KL μmol g−1 KL μmol g−1 KL μmol g−1 KL μmol g−1 KL μmol g−1 KL
    Plant line (% H + G + S) (% H + G + S) (% H + G + S) (% H + G + S) (% H + G + S) (% H + G + S) (% H + G + S)
    Culture 1 WT nd* nd* 4.3 ± 1  0.9 ± 0.3 7.2 ± 0.6 6.7 ± 0.2 1.4 ± 0.0
    IRX5:HCHL 5.0 ± 0.1 2.6 ± 0.2 (0.31) (0.06) (0.53) (0.49) (0.10)
    (0.49) (0.25) 6.5 ± 1.4 18.7 ± 3.5 7.9 ± 0.3 6.8 ± 0.2 2.2 ± 0.0
    (0.64) (1.84) (0.77) (0.67) (0.21)
    Culture 2 WT nd* nd* 4.6 ± 0.7  0.8 ± 0.3 6.9 ± 0.1 6.2 ± 0.2 1.2 ± 0.0
    IRX5:HCHL 5.3 ± 0.1 2.9 ± 0.1 (0.37) (0.06) (0.55) (0.50) (0.09)
    (0.50) (0.28) 6.3 ± 0.7 16.7 ± 1.9 6.8 ± 0.1 7.0 ± 0.0 2.1 ± 0.0
    (0.60) (1.60) (0.66) (0.65) (0.20)
    *nd, not detected.
  • TABLE IX
    Comparative transcriptomics of IRX5:HCHL stems and WT. Positive and negative ratios are indicative of
    upregulation and downregulation of the gene in plants expressing HCHL.
    AGI Gene ID Annotated Function log2 ratio P value
    MONOOXYGENASES
    AT1G62570 flavin-containing monooxygenase family protein 0.00E+0
    AT3G28740 cytochrome P450 family protein 0.00E+0
    AT4G15760 monooxygenase, putative (MO1) 0.86
    AT4G37370 CYP81D8 0.72 1.20E−7
    AT3G28740 cytochrome P450 family protein 0.70 5.58E−7
    AT2G12190 cytochrome P450, putative 0.65 8.60E−6
    AT1G69500 CYP704B1 0.58 7.38E−4
    AT3G14610 CYP72A7 0.51 2.96E−2
    DEHYDROGENASES/REDUCTASES
    AT4G13180 short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family protein 0.00E+0
    AT2G37770 aldo/keto reductase family protein, Transcript variant 1 0.00E+0
    AT2G37770 aldo/keto reductase family protein, Transcript variant 2 0.96 0.00E+0
    AT2G29350 SAG13 (Senescence-associated gene 13); short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family protein 0.83
    AT1G14130 2-oxoglutarate and Fe(II)-dependent oxygenese superfamily protein 0.72 9.59E−8
    AT1G72680 cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase, putative 0.90 0.00E+0
    AT1G60730 aldo/keto reductase family protein 0.65 8.30E−6
    AT1G18020 FMN-linked oxidoreductases superfamily protein, Transcript variant 1 0.62 7.14E−5
    AT1G18020 FMN-linked oxidoreductases superfamily protein; Transcript variant 2 0.59 4.38E−4
    AT2G47130 short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family protein, Transcript variant 1 0.58 7.60E−4
    AT2G47130 short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family protein, Transcript variant 2 0.58 8.36E−4
    AT1G18020 FMN-linked oxidoreductases superfamily protein, Transcript variant 3 0.54 6.80E−3
    AT5G14780 FDH (FORMATE DEHYDROGENASE); NAD binding/oxidoreductase, acting the CH—OH group of donors 0.53 1.24E−2
    AT1G54100 ALDH7B4 (ALDEHYDE DEHYDROGENASE 7B4); 3-chloroallyl aldehyde dehydrogenase 0.51 3.00E−2
    UDP-GLUCOSYLTRANSFERASES
    AT1G05560 UGT75B1 0.00E+0
    AT2G15490 UGT73B4 0.00E+0
    AT4G34138 UGT73B1 0.00E+0
    AT2G30140 UGTB7A2 0.79
    AT4G34131 UGT73B3 0.58 8.09E−4
    AT3G11340 UGT76B1 0.58 8.97E−4
    AT4G01070 UGT72B1 0.52 2.00E−2
    TRANSPORTERS
    AT3G23560 ALF5 (ABERRANT LATERAL ROOT FORMATION 5), antiporter/transporter 0.00E+0
    AT2G36380 PDR6 (PLEIOTROPIC DRUG RESISTANCE 6) ATPase, coupled to transmembrane movement of substances 0.00E+0
    AT3G51860 CAX3 (cation exchanger 3); cation; cation antiporter 0.00E+0
    AT5G65380 Multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) efflux family protein 0.92 0.00E+0
    AT1G79410 ATOCT5 (organic cation/carnitine transporter 5) 0.89 0.00E+0
    AT5G13750 ZIFL1 (ZINC INDUCED FACILITOR-LIKE 1); tetracycline:hydrogen antiporter/transporter 0.78
    AT1G76520 auxin efflux carrier family protein 0.70 4.27E−7
    AT1G76530 auxin efflux carrier family protein 0.69 8.91E−7
    AT4G18197 AT4G18200/PUP7 (purine permease 7); purine transporter 0.64 1.62E−5
    AT4G28390 AAC3 (ADP/ATP CARRIER 3); ATP:ADP antiporter/binding 0.62 6.57E−5
    AT5G45380 DUR3 (DEGRADATION OF UREA 3); sodium:solute:symporter family protein 0.61 1.05E−4
    AT3G18830 PLT5 (POLYOL TRANSPORTER 5) 0.57 1.56E−3
    AT2G17500 auxin efflux carrier family protein 0.55 3.26E−3
    DETOXIFICATION
    AT1G17170 ATGSTU24 (Glutathione S-transferase (class tau) 24) 0.00E+0
    AT2G29420 ATGSTU7 (GLUTATHIONE S-TRANSFERASE 25) 0.00E+0
    AT2G47730 ATGSTF8 (GLUTATHIONE S-TRANSFERASE 8) 0.00E+0
    AT4G02520 ATGSTF2 (Glutathione S-transferase (class phi) 2) 0.78
    AT3G09270 ATGSTU8 (Glutathione S-transferase (class tau) 8) 0.65 1.43E−5
    AT2G29490 ATGSTU1 (GLUTATHIONE S-TRANSFERASE 19) 0.54 7.21E−3
    AT4G19880 unknown protein, Glutathione S-transferase family protein 0.76
    AT5G39050 ATPMaT1 (phenolic glucoside malonyltransferase 1); transferase family protein 0.77
    AT5G39090 ATPMaT1-like; transferase family protein 0.52 2.13E−2
    JASMONIC ACID METABOLISM
    AT1G76680 OPR1 (12-oxophytodienoate reductase 1) 0.00E+0
    AT5G54206 12-oxophytodienoate reductase-related 0.99 0.00E+0
    STRESS INDUCIBLE/DEFENSE/SENESCENCE
    AT5G49480 ATCP1 (CA2+-BINDING PROTEIN 1); calcium ion binding, NaCl stress inducible 0.00E+0
    AT1G35260 Bet v I allergen family protein, defense response 0.88 0.00E+0
    AT3G62550 universal stress protein (USP) family protein, Adenine nucleotide alpha-like protein 0.87 0.00E+0
    AT1G73500 ATMKK9 (Arabidopsis thaliana MAP kinase kinase 9) 0.80
    AT4G02380 SAG21 (SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED GENE 21) 0.77
    AT3G04720 PR4 (PATHOGENESIS-RELATED 4), similar to the antifungal chitin-binding protein hevein 0.64 2.04E−5
    AT1G75270 DHAR2; glutathione dehydrogenase (ascorbate) 0.61 1.17E−4
    AT1G70530 CRK3 (CYSTEINE-RICH RLK (RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEIN KINASE) 3), protein kinase family protein 0.60 2.36E−4
    AT3G50970 LTI3O/XERO2 (LOW TEMPERATURE-INDUCED 30); dehydrin stress-related 0.58 8.28E−4
    AT5G27760 hypoxia-responsive family protein 0.54 6.87E−3
    AT3G56710 SIB1 (SIGMA FACTOR BINDING PROTEIN 1); binding 0.51 2.30E−2
    MISCELLANEOUS
    Transcription factor
    AT5G63790 ANAC102 (Arabidopsis NAC domain containing protein 102); transcription factor. Transcript variant 1 0.00E+0
    AT1G77450 ANAC032 (Arabidopsis NAC domain containing protein 32); transcription factor 0.00E−0
    AT5G63790 ANAC102 (Arabidopsis NAC domain containing protein 102); transcription factor, Transcript variant 2 0.65 1.26E−5
    AT1G01720 ATAF1 (Arabidopsis NAC domain containing protein 2); transcription factor 0.54 7.23E−3
    Glycine-rich protein
    AT2G05380 GRP3S (GLYCINE-RICH PROTEIN 3 SHORT ISOFORM) Transcript variant 1 0.00E+0
    AT2G05380 GRP3S (GLYCINE-RICH PROTEIN 3 SHORT ISOFORM) Transcript variant 2 0.00E+0
    AT2G05530 glycine-rich protein 0.96 0.00E+0
    AT2G05540 glycine-rich protein 0.90 0.00E+0
    Auxin metabolism
    AT3G44300 NIT2 (NITRILASE 2) 0.00E+0
    AT3G44310 NIT1 (NITRILASE 1) 0.51 3.32E−2
    Other
    AT5G30870 transposable element gene; pseudogene, hypothetical protein 0.00E+0
    AT3G14990 4-methyl-5(b-hydroxyethyl)-thiazole monophosphate biosynthesis protein, putative 0.00E+0
    AT1G65280 heat shock protein binding/unfolded protein binding 0.00E+0
    AT4G16190 cysteine proteinase, putative 0.89 0.00E+0
    AT1G02850 glycosyl hydrolase family 1 protein BGLU11 0.86
    AT1G17860 trypsin and protease inhibitor family protein/Kunitz family protein 0.86
    AT3G49780 ATPSK4 (PHYTOSULFOKINE 4 PRECURSOR); growth factor 0.82
    AT2G41380 embryo-abundant protein-related, methyltransferase activity 0.82
    AT3G24420 hydrolase, alpha/beta fold family protein 0.79
    AT5G52810 ornithine cyclodeaminase/mu-crystallin family protein 0.67 2.65E−6
    AT5G17380 pyruvate decarboxylase family protein 0.64 1.84E−5
    AT1G23890 NHL repeat-containing protein 0.59 3.35E−4
    AT4G28380 leucine-rich repeat family protein, zinc ion binding 0.59 3.52E−4
    AT4G01870 tolB protein-related 0.59 4.41E−4
    AT1G37130 NIA2 (NITRATE REDUCTASE 2) 0.62 6.75E−5
    AT1G24610 SET domain-containing protein, unknown protein 0.58 9.14E−4
    AT4G11600 ATGPX6 (GLUTATHIONE PEROXIDASE 6); glutathione peroxidase 0.52 1.83E−2
    UNKNOWN
    AT5G61820 unknown protein 0.00E+0
    AT1G76600 unknown protein 0.00E+0
    AT1G76960 unknown protein 0.71 2.01E−7
    AT4G17840 unknown protein 0.67 2.77E−6
    AT1G21680 unknown protein 0.61 1.38E−4
    AT5G40960 unknown protein, DUF3339 0.59 5.08E−4
    AT4G08555 unknown protein 0.58 8.16E−4
    AT2G30690 unknown protein, DUF593 0.53 8.86E−3
    AT5G66052 unknown protein 0.50 4.05E−2
    CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM
    AT2G06850 EXGT-A1 (ENDO-XYLOGLUCAN TRANSFERASE); hydrolase, acting on glycosyl bonds −0.51 2.51E−2
    AT3G52840 BGAL2 (beta-galactosidase 2), Glycoside hydrolase family 35, putative lactase −0.52 1.83E−2
    AT3G01345 Glycoside hydrolase family 35, beta-galactosidase putative −0.53 1.13E−2
    AT3G53190 pectate lyase family protein −0.56 1.69E−3
    AT5G03350 legume lectin family protein, carbohydrate binding −0.57 1.28E−3
    AT1G26810 GALT1 (galactosyltransferase 1), Glycoside transferase family 31 −0.61 1.02E−4
    AT1G19600 pfkB-type carbohydrate kinase family protein −0.63 3.41E−5
    AT4G28250 ATEXPB3 (ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA EXPANSIN B3) −0.79
    AT3G30720 unknown protein, QUA-QUINE STARCH (QQS) −1.08 0.00E+0
    MISCELLANEOUS
    AT4G27440 PORB (PROTOCHLOROPHYLLIDE OXIDOREDUCTASE B); protochlorophyllide reductase −0.50 4.45E−2
    AT5G02890 HXXXD-type acyl-transferase family protein −0.50 3.86E−2
    AT1G18950 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase family −0.51 3.29E−2
    AT5G47330 palmitoyl protein thioesterase family protein −0.53 1.07E−2
    AT1G03870 FLA9 (FLA9) −0.54 4.82E−3
    AT1G20530 unknown protein, DUF630 and DUF632 −0.55 4.67E−3
    ATCG00470 ATP SYNTHASE EPSILON CHAIN, rotational mechanism −0.55 3.12E−3
    AT5G51720 unknown protein, 2 iron, 2 sulfur cluster binding −0.56 2.02E−3
    ATCG00330 RPS14, CHLOROPLAST RIBOSOMAL PROTEIN S14 −0.58 8.70E−4
    ATCG00340 D1 subunit of photosystem I and II reaction centers, Transcript variant 1 −0.62 5.42E−5
    AT2G38870 serine-type endopeptidase inhibitor activity, pathogenesis-related peptide of the PR-6 proteinase inhibitor family −0.64 1.54E−5
    ATCG00340 D1 subunit of photosystem I and II reaction centers, Transcript variant 2 −0.71 2.75E−7

Claims (25)

1. An engineered plant comprising a heterologous hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) operably linked to a promoter.
2. The engineered plant of claim 1, wherein the promoter is a secondary cell wall-specific promoter.
3. The engineered plant of claim 2, wherein the secondary cell wall-specific promoter is an IRX5 promoter.
4. The engineered plant of claim 1 wherein the HCHL is Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL.
5. (canceled)
6. The engineered plant of claim 1, wherein the plant is a dicot.
7. The engineered plant of claim 1 wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of Arabidopsis, poplar, eucalyptus, rice, corn, switchgrass, sorghum, millet, miscanthus, sugarcane, pine, alfalfa, wheat, soy, barley, turfgrass, tobacco, hemp, bamboo, rape, sunflower, willow, and Brachypodium.
8. (canceled)
9. A part of the plant of claim 1.
10. (canceled)
11. Biomass comprising the plant, or part of the plant, of claim 1.
12. An isolated expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide sequence encoding a hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) and a heterologous promoter, the promoter operably linked to the polynucleotide sequence, wherein the promoter is a secondary cell wall-specific promoter.
13. The expression cassette of claim 12, wherein the HCHL is Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL.
14. The expression cassette of claim 12, wherein the promoter is an IRX5 promoter.
15. A plant cell comprising the expression cassette of claim 12.
16. A method for engineering a plant having reduced lignification, the method comprising:
(1) introducing a polynucleotide encoding a hydroxycinnamoyl-CoA hydratase-lyase (HCHL) into a plant, wherein the polynucleotide in the plant is operably linked to a promoter; and
(2) culturing the plant under conditions in which the HCHL is expressed, thereby reducing lignification in the plant.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the promoter is heterologous to the plant.
18. (canceled)
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the promoter is a secondary cell wall-specific promoter.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the secondary cell wall-specific promoter is an IRX5 promoter.
21. The method of claim 16, wherein the HCHL is Pseudomonas fluorescens HCHL.
22. (canceled)
23. The method of claim 16, wherein the plant is a dicot.
24. The method of claim 16, wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of Arabidopsis, poplar, eucalyptus, rice, corn, switchgrass, sorghum, millet, miscanthus, sugarcane, pine, alfalfa, wheat, soy, barley, turfgrass, tobacco, hemp, bamboo, rape, sunflower, willow, and Brachypodium.
25. A method of obtaining soluble sugars, the method comprising incubating the biomass of claim 11 in a saccharification reaction.
US14/232,018 2011-07-13 2012-07-13 Lignification reduction in plants Abandoned US20150013033A1 (en)

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Cited By (2)

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US10253324B2 (en) 2015-09-30 2019-04-09 The United States Of America, As Represented By The Secretary Of Agriculture Genetically altered alfalfa producing clovamide and/or related hydroxycinnamoyl amides
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