WO2000058453A2 - Plants transformed with thioredoxin - Google Patents

Abstract

Compositions and methods of use are provided herein to make and use transgenic plants with value-added traits.

Description

VALUE-ADDED TRAITS IN GRAIN AND SEED TRANSFORMED WITH THIOREDOXIN

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of application Serial No 60/126,736, filed March 29, 1999, pending, application Serial No 60/127,198, filed March 31 , 1999 pending, application Serial No

60/169,162, filed December 6, 1999, pending, application Serial No 60/177,740 filed January 21 , 2000, pending, and application Serial No 60/177,739, filed January 21 , 2000, pending, all of which are expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

This invention was made with Government support under Grant 9803835 from the U S Department of Agriculture The Government has certain rights to this invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thioredoxins are small (about 12 Da) thermostable proteins with catalytically active disulfide groups

This class of proteins has been found in virtually all organisms, and has been implicated in myriad biochemical pathways (Buchanan ef al , 1994) The active site of thioredoxin t?as two redox-active cysteine residues in a highly conserved ammo acid sequence, when oxidized, these cysteines form a disulfide bridge (-S-S-) that can be reduced to the sulfhydryl (-SH) level through a variety of specific reactions In physiological systems, this reduction may be accomplished by reduced ferredoxin,

NADPH, or other associated thioredoxin-reducing agents The reduced form of thioredoxin is an excellent catalyst for the reduction of even the most intractable disulfide bonds

Generally only one kind of thioredoxin is found in bacterial or animal cells In contrast, photosynthetic organisms have three distinct types of thioredoxin Chloroplasts contain a ferredoxin/thioredoxin system comprised of ferredoxin, ferredoxin-thioredoxm reductase and thioredoxins f and m, which function in the light regulation of photosynthetic enzymes (Buchanan, 1991 , Scheibe, 1991 ) The other thioredoxin enzyme system is analogous to that established for animals and most microorganisms, in which thioredoxin (Λ-type in plants) is reduced by NADPH and NADPH-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) (Johnson et al , 1987a, Florencio ef al , 1988, Suske et al , 1979) The reduction of thioredoxin h by this system can be illustrated by the following equation

NTR NADPH + H⁺ + Thioredoxin h_ox ~~ ► NADP + Thioredoxin /7_red Thioredoxin is a component of two types of enzyme systems in plants Chloroplasts contain a ferredoxin/thioredoxin system comprised of ferredoxin, ferredoxin-thioredoxin reductase and thioredoxins tand m, that are involved in the light regulation of photosynthetic enzymes (Buchanan, 1991 , Scheibe, 1991 ) The other enzyme system, the NADP-thioredoxin system or NTS, is analogous to the system established for animals and most microorganisms, in which thioredoxin (Mype in plants) is reduced by NADPH and NADPH-thioredoxin reductase (NTR) (Johnson et al , 1987a, Florencio et al , 1988, Suske et al , 1979) Thioredoxin h is widely distributed in plant tissues and exists in mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and cytosol (Bodenstein-Lang et al , 1989, Marcus et al , 1991 )

Plant thioredoxin h is involved in a wide variety of biological functions The presence of multiple forms of thioredexoin h protein has also been reported in plant seeds (Bestermann et al , 1983) In wheat, three different thioredoxin have been characterized (Vogt and Follman, 1986) Thioredoxin h functions in the reduction of intramolecular disulfide bridges of a variety of low molecular-weight, cystine-πch proteins, including thionins (Johnson et al , 1987b), protease inhibitors and chloroform/methanol- soluble proteins (CM proteins or alpha-amylase inhibitors) (Kobrehel et al , 1991) It is likely that cytoplasmic thioredoxins participate in developmental processes for example thioredoxin h has been shown to function as a signal to enhance metabolic processes during germination and seedling development (Kobrehel et al , 1992, Lozano et al , 1996, Besse et al , 1996) Thioredoxin h has also been demonstrated to be involved in self-incompatibility in Phalaπs coerulescens (Li et al , 1995) and Brassica napus (Bower et al , 1996) Several functions have been hypothesized for rice thioredoxin h, which is believed to be involved in translocation in sieve tubes (Ishiwatan et al , 1995)

The NTS has been shown to improve dough quality The improvement in dough strength and bread quality properties of poor-quality wheat flour resulting from the addition of thioredoxin (Wong ef al , 1993, Kobrehel ef al , 1994) may be attributable to the thioredoxin-catalyzed reduction of intramolecular disulfide bonds in the flour proteins, specifically the glutenins, resulting in the formation of new intermolecular disulfide bonds (Besse and Buchanan, 1997) Thus, the addition of exogenous thioredcxin promotes the formation of a protein network that produces flour with enhanced baking quality Kobrehel ef al , (1994) have observed that the addition of thioredoxin h to flour of non-glutenous cereals such as rice, maize and sorghum promotes the formation of a dough-like product Hence, the addition of exogenous thioredoxin may be used to produce baking dough from non-glutenous cereals

In addition, it has been shown that reduction of disulfide protein allergens in wheat and milk by thioredoxin decreases their allergenicity (Buchanan et al , 1997, del Val ef al , 1999) Thioredoxin treatment also increases the digestibility of the major allergen of milk (β-lactoglobulin) (del Val ef al , 1999), as well as other disulfide proteins (Lozano et al , 1994, Jiao ef al , 1992) Therefore, the manipulation of the NTS offers considerable promise for production of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products A more detailed discussion of the benefits of adding exogenous thioredoxin to food products is presented in U S Patent No 5,792,506 to Buchanan ef al

cDNA clones encoding thioredoxin h have been isolated from a number of plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana (Rivera-Madrid ef al , 1993, Rivera-Madrid ef al , 1995), Nicotiana tabacum (Marty and Meyer, 1991 , Brugidou ef al , 1993), Oiγza sativa (Ishiwatan ef al , 1995), Brassica napus (Bower ef al , 1996), Glycme max (Shi and Bhattacharyya, 1996), and Tnticum aestivum (Gautier et al , 1998) More recently, two cDNA clones encoding wheat thioredoxin h have been isolated and characterized

(Gautier et al , 1998) The Eshenchia coli NTR gene has been first isolated (Russel and Model, 1988) and the three-dimensional structure of the protein has been analyzed (Kuπyan et al , 1991 ) Some other NTR genes have been isolated and sequenced from bacteria, fungi and mammals Recently, Jacquot et al , (1994) have reported a successful isolation and sequencing of two cDNAs encoding the plant A thaliana NTRs The subsequent expression of the recombinant A thaliana NTR protein in E coli cells (Jacquot ef al , 1994) and its first eukaryotic structure (Dai ef al , 1996) have also been reported

Here we disclose value-added traits in transgenic grains, such as barley (Cho et al , 1999b) , wheat, and sorghum, overexpressmg thioredoxin

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows the thioredoxin h constructs used for transformation

Figure 2 shows the thioredoxin activity profile of various barley grains transformed with wheat thioredoxin gene (vrtrxh)

Figure 3 shows the effects of heat treatment on thioredoxin activity of crude extracts from barley grains

Figure 4A-B shows a western blot analysis of extract from segregating T, barley grain of stable transformants containing vΛrxh Panel A- lanes 1 and 6, control barley extract (cv Golden Promise), lane 2, bread wheat extract (Tnticum aestivum, cv Capitole), lane 3, extract from GPdBhss BarWtrx 22, lane 4, extract from GPdBhssBarWtrx 29, lane 5, extract from GPdBhBarWtrx 2 Panel B lane 1 , GPdBhBaarWtrx 2, lane 2 control barley extract W, wheat, B, barley

Figure 5 shows western blot analysis of extracts of T, T₂ and T₃ barley grain transformed with wtrxh Forty micrograms of soluble proteins extracted from 10-20 grains of each line were fractionated by SDS/PAGE Lane 1 , wheat germ thioredoxin h, lane 2, nontransgenic control of GP4-96, lane 3, null segregant T₂ gram of GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-11-10, lane 4, heterozygous T. grain of GPdBhssBarWtrx- 29, lane 5, homozygous T₂ grain of GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-3, lane 6, homozygous T₂ gram of GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-3-2, lane 7, prestained standards (aprotinin, 9 kDa, lysozyme, 17 8 kDa, soybean trypsin inhibitor, 30 6kDa, carbonic anhydrase, 41 8 kDa, BSA, 71 kDa)

Figure 6 shows the nucleic acid sequence of the B1-hordeιn promoter and the 57 base pair B1-hordeιn signal sequence (underlined)

Figure 7 shows the nucleic acid sequence of the D-hordem promoter and the 63 base pair D-hordein signal sequence (underlined)

Figure 8A-C shows the effect of overexpressed thioredoxin h on pullulanase activity in transgenic barley gram during germination and seedling development A homozygous line, GPdBhssBarWtrx-29- 3, and a null segregant, GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-11-10, were used for the pullulanase assays Panel A

Pullulanase was assayed spectrophotometπcally by measuring the dye released from red pullulan substrate at 534 nm Panel B Pullulanase was separated on native 7 5% polyacrylamide gels containing the red pullulan substrate Activity, identified by comparison with purified barley pullulanase, is seen as clear areas that developed on incubating the gel in 0 2 M succinate buffer, pH 6 0, for 1 hr at 37°C Panel C The gel in Panel B was scanned and analyzed by integration of the activity bands

Figure 9A-D shows the change in the activity and abundance of amylases in transgenic and null segregant barley grains during germination and seedling development based on an activity gel Panel A abundance of alpha-amylases in null segregant based on western blot Panel B Total amylase activity in null segregant Panel C abundance of alpha-amylases in thioredoxin overexpressing grains

Panel D total amylase activity in thioredoxin overexpressed grains

Figure 10 shows the effect of overexpressed thioredoxin h on the activity of the major form of alpha- amylase during germination and seeding development The size of the major alpha-amylase activity band in Figure 9 was estimated by its rate of mobility during electrophoresis

Figure 11 A-B shows the effect of overexpressed thioredoxin h on the abundance of alpha-amylase A and B isozymes during germination and seedling development The figure represents western blots of IEF gels developed for the null segregant and transgenic barley grains Panel A Null segregant Panel B Transgenic with thioredoxin overexpressed

Figure 12 depicts the DNA constructs used for wheat transformation Figure 13 shows the endosperm-specific expression of barley D-hordem promoter sg/ (S65T) in transgenic wheat plants Transgenic endosperm is at the right, transgenic embryo is at the left

Figure 14 shows the PCR analysis of genomic DNA from transgenic wheat plants

Figure 15A-B shows wheat thioredoxin t)-overexpressιng wheat lines screened by western blot analyses Panel A T₀ wheat lines Panel B T₃ homozygous line

Figure 16 shows the effect of thioredoxin reduction on digestion of wheat glutenms by trypsm

Figure 17 shows the effect of thioredoxin reduction on digestion of wheat glutenms by pancreatin

Figure 18 show the effect of NTR on the reduction of proteins in extracts of transgenic wheat overexpressing thioredoxin h verses a null segregant

Figure 19 shows the effect of overexpressed thioredoxin h on allergenicity of proteins from wheat gram

Figure 20 shows the barley thioredoxin h nucleotide and am o acid sequence (SEQ ID NO 25, SEQ ID NO 26, respectively)

Figure 21 shows the effect of overexpressed wheat thioredoxin h on the germination of null segregant and transgenic (homozygous) barley grains

Figure 22 shows the relative redox status of protein fractions in transgenic barley gram overexpressing wheat thioredoxin h in comparison to the null segregant in dry and germination gram

Figure 23 shows the effect of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase on the reduction of proteins in extracts of transgenic wheat gram overexpressing thioredoxin h in the presence of glucose 6- phosphate and Arabidopsis NTR +/- NTR

Figure 24 shows the effect of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase on the reduction of proteins in extracts of extracts of null segregant derived from wheat gram overexpressing thioredoxin h in the presence of glucose 6-phosphate and Arabidopsis NTR +/- NTR

SEQUENCE LISTING The nucleic and ammo acid sequences listed in the accompanying sequence listing are shown using standard letter abbreviations for nucleotide bases, and three letter code for ammo acids Only one strand of each nucleic acid sequence is shown, but it is understood that the complementary strand is included by any reference to the displayed strand SEQ ID NO 1 shows the nucleic acid sequence of the barley B1-hordeιn promoter and signal sequence SEQ ID NO 2 shows the ammo acid sequence of the barley B1-hordeιn signal sequence SEQ ID NO 3 shows the nucleic acid sequence of the barley D-hordem promoter and signal sequence SEQ ID NO 4 shows the ammo acid sequence of the barley D-hordem signal sequence Other sequences are identified below

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides recombinant nucleic acids encoding thioredoxin and methods of use to produce transgenic plants overexpressing thioredoxin Indeed, given the powerful reducing activity of thioredoxin, over-expression of this protein in a plant cell would be anticipated to have a serious detrimental effect on the cell However, the inventors have discovered that thioredoxin can be expressed at a high level in plants, particularly cereal grains, without affecting the viability of the cells in which the proteιn*ιs expressed, or the seeds themselves By way of example, in certain embodiments the inventors have introduced a wheat thioredoxin gene (wtrxh) into wheat Seeds of the transgenic-wheat plants can show an increase thioredoxin specific activity in comparison to non-transgenic-wheat plants

The invention thus provides transgenic plants, wherein at least a part of a plant has an elevated level of thioredoxin protein and/or thioredoxin specific activity compared to the homologous part of non-transgenic plants of the same species The level of thioredoxin specific activity in the parts of the transgenic plants may be at least about two times greater than the parts of non-transgenic plants of that species While the invention is applicable to any plant species, it will be particularly beneficial as applied to the monocotyledons, for example cereal crops including, but not limited to rice, barley, wheat, oat, maize, rye, sorghum, millet, and tnticale and the dicotyledons including, but not limited to soybeans, lima beans, tomato, potato, soybean, cotton, tobacco In a preferred embodiment, thioredoxin specific activity is increased in the seeds of the transgenic plant

Thioredoxin over-expression in a desired part of a plant, for example, a seed, is achieved by use of a seed-specific promoter operably linked to the thioredoxin coding sequence In this example, "seed-specific" indicates that the promoter has enhanced activity in seeds compared to other plant tissues, it does not require that the promoter is solely active in the seeds However, given the nature of the thioredoxin protein, it may be advantageous to select a seed-specific promoter that in some cases causes little or no protein expression in tissues other than seeds In certain embodiments, the seed-specific promoter that is selected is a seed maturation-specific promoter The use of promoters that confer enhanced expression during seed maturation (such as the barley hordem promoters) may result in even higher levels of thioredoxin expression in the maturing seed

In an alternative embodiment, thioredoxin is overexpressed in the root, stem, tuber, fruit, leaf, flower, pollen etc or any one or more parts of a plant at the discretion of the practitioner

In one embodiment of the invention, the provided transgenic plants comprise a recombinant nucleic acid molecule having a structure P-T, wherein P is a seed-specific promoter, and T is an nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide In particular embodiments, the seed-specific promoter is a barley hordein gene promoter, such as a barley B1-hordeιn promoter, a barley D-hordem promoter or a maize embryo specific globulin promoter

In another embodiment of the invention, the transgenic plants comprise a recombinant nucleic acid molecule having a structure P-SS-T, wherein P is a seed-specific promoter, T is an nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide and SS is a nucleic acid molecule that encodes a signal peptide that targets expression of the thioredoxin polypeptide to an intracellular body, and wherein P, SS and T are operably linked Evidence presented herein indicates that the presence of the signal peptide can further enhance the level of thioredoxin expression in the transgenic plants Suitable signal peptides include, but are not limited to, barley B1- and D-hordem signal peptides

Parts of the transgenic plants overexpressing thioredoxin as provided by the invention may be harvested for direct processing into food products For example, the seeds may be ground using conventional means to produce flour Alternatively, the seeds or other plant parts may be used as a source of thioredoxin, which can be extracted from the immature or mature transgenic plant by standard protein extraction methods Alternatively, crudely processed seed material may be used directly as a source of thioredoxin Thus, another aspect of the invention is a method of producing thioredoxin protein, the method comprising harvesting thioredoxin from the seed of a transgenic plant having an elevated level of thioredoxin in its seeds

Accordingly, in another aspect the invention provides an improved edible products for human and animal consumption, for example increased digestibility and/or reduced allergenicity and dough having increased strength and volume in comparison to dough produced from non-transgenic plant of the same species

In yet another aspect, the invention provides of methods of making a transgenic plant having reduced allergenicity, increased digestibility, increased redox state (increased SH SS ratio), in comparison to a non-transgenic plant of the same species

In still yet another aspect, the invention provide a transgenic plant comprising a nucleic acid encoding

A thaliana NTR

These and other aspects of the invention are further illustrated by the following description and Examples

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION I. Definitions Unless otherwise noted, technical terms are used according to conventional usage Definitions of common terms in molecular biology may be found in Lewin, Genes V published by Oxford University Press, 1994 (ISBN 0-19-854287-9), Kendrew et al (eds ), The Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology, published by Blackwell Science Ltd , 1994 (ISBN 0-632-02182-9), and Robert A Meyers (ed ), Molecular Biology and Biotechnology a Comprehensive Desk Reference, published by VCH Publishers, Inc , 1995 (ISBN 1-56081-569-8), Ausubel et al (1987) Current Protocols in Molecular

Biology, Green Publishing, Sambrook et al (1989) Molecular Cloning A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor, New York

In order to facilitate review of the various embodiments of the invention, the following definitions are provided

Thioredoxin protein or Thioredoxin polypeptide: A large number of plant, animal, and microbial thioredoxin proteins or polypeptides have been characterized, and the genes encoding many of these proteins have been cloned and sequenced The present invention is preferably directed to the use of thioredoxin h proteins, although other thioredoxin proteins may also be employed to produce transgenic plants as described herein Among the thioredoxin h proteins from plants that have been described to date are thioredoxin h proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana (Rivera-Madrid ef al , 1993, Rivera-Madrid et al , 1995), Nicotiana tabacum (Marty and Meyer, 1991 , Brugidou et al , 1993), Oryza sativa (Ishiwatan ef al , 1995), Brassica napus (Bower ef al , 1996), Glycme max (Shi and Bhattacharyya, 1996), and Tnticum aestivum (Gautier ef al , 1998) The ammo acid sequences of these and other thioredoxin h proteins, and the nucleotide sequence of cDNAs and/or genes that encode these proteins, are available in the scientific literature and publicly accessible sequence databases For example, a cDNA encoding thioredoxin h from Picea mariana is described in accession number AF051206 (NID g2982246) of GenBank, and located by a search using the Entrez browser/ nucleotide sequence search of the National Center for Biotechnology Information website, www ncbi nlm nih gov The cDNA encoding the Tnticum aestivum thioredoxin h protein used in the Examples described below is described on the same database under accession number X69915 (NID g2995377)

The present invention may be practiced using nucleic acid sequences that encode full length thioredoxin h proteins, as well as thioredoxin h derived proteins that retain thioredoxin h activity Thioredoxin h derived proteins which retain thioredoxin biological activity include fragments of thioredoxin h, generated either by chemical (e g enzymatic) digestion or genetic engineering means, chemically functionahzed protein molecules obtained starting with the exemplified protein or nucleic acid sequences, and protein sequence variants, for example allelic variants and mutational variants, such as those produced by in vitro mutagenesis techniques, such as gene shuffling (Stemmer ef al , 1994a, 1994b) Thus, the term "thioredoxin h protein" encompasses full length thioredoxin h proteins, as well as such thioredoxin h derived proteins that retain thioredoxin h activity

Thioredoxin protein may be quantified in biological samples (such as seeds) either in terms of protein level, or in terms of thioredoxin activity Thioredoxin protein level may be determined using a western blot analysis followed by quantitative scanning of the image as described in detail below Thioredoxin activity may be quantified using a number of different methods known in the art Preferred methods of measuring thioredoxin biological activity attributable to thioredoxin h in plant extracts include NADP/malate dehydrogenase activation (Johnson et al , 1987a,b) and reduction of 2',5'-dιthιobιs(2-nιtrobenzoιc acid) (DTNB) via NADP-thioredoxin reductase (Florencio et al , 1988, U S Patent No 5,792,506) Due to the potential for interference from non-thioredoxm h enzymes that use NADPH, accurate determination of thioredoxin h activity should preferably be made using partially purified plant extracts Standard protein purification methods (e g (NH₄)₂S0₄ extraction or heat) can be used to accomplish this partial purification The activity of thioredoxin h may also be expressed in terms of specific activity, i e , thioredoxin activity per unit of protein present, as described in more detail below

In another embodiment, thioredoxin may be expressed in terms of thioredoxin content, such as, mass/mass tissue (i e , μg/gram tissue) or mass/mass soluble protein (i e , μg/mg soluble protein)

Promoter: A regulatory nucleic acid sequence, typically located upstream (5') of a gene that, in conjunction with various cellular proteins, is responsible for regulating the expression of the gene

Promoters may regulate gene expression in a number of ways For example, the expression may be tissue-specific, meaning that the gene is expressed at enhanced levels in certain tissues, or developmentally regulated, such that the gene is expressed at enhanced levels at certain times during development, or both

In a preferred embodiment, a transgene of the invention is expressed in an edible part of a plant By "edible" herein is meant at least a part of a plant that is suitable for consumption by humans or animals (fish, crustaceans, isopods, decapods, monkeys, cows, goats, pigs, rabbits, horses, birds (chickens, parrots etc) Accordingly, "edible" embraces food for human consumption and feed for animal consumption and includes, for example, dough, bread, cookies, pasta, pastry, beverages, beer, food additives, thickeners, malt, extracts made from an edible part of plants, animals feeds, and the like An edible part of a plant includes for example, a root, a tuber, a seed, grain, a flower, fruit, leaf etc The skilled artisan is aware that expression of the transgene is effected in any tissue, organ or part of a plant by employing a promoter that is active in the selected part of the plant the transgene is to be expressed In a preferred embodiment the transgene is expressed in a seed, preferably under control of a seed- or gram-specific promoter

The expression of a transgene in seeds or grains according to the present invention is preferably accomplished by operably linking a seed-specific or gram-specific promoter to the nucleic acid molecule encoding the transgene protein In this context, "seed-specific" indicates that the promoter has enhanced activity in seeds compared to other plant tissues, it does not require that the promoter is solely active in the seeds Accordingly, "gram-specific" indicates that the promoter has enhanced activity in grains compared to other plant tissues, it does not require that the promoter is solely active in the gram Preferably, the seed- or gram-specific promoter selected will, at the time when the promoter is most active in seeds, produce expression of a protein in the seed of a plant that is at least about two-fold greater than expression of the protein produced by that same promoter in the leaves or roots of the plant However, given the nature of the thioredoxin protein, it may be advantageous to select a seed- or gram-specific promoter that causes little or no protein expression in tissues other than seed or grain In a preferred embodiment, a promoter is specific for seed and grain expression, such that, expression in the seed and grain is enhanced as compared to other plant tissues but does not require that the promoter be solely activity in the gram and seed In a preferred embodiment, the promoter is "specific" for a structure or element of a seed or grain, such as an embryo-specific promoter In accordance with the definitions provided above, an embryo-specific promoter has enhanced activity in an embryo as compared to other parts of a seed or gram or a plant and does not require its activity to be limited to an embryo In a preferred embodiment, the promoter is "maturation-specific" and accordingly has enhanced activity developmentally during the maturation of a part of a plant as compared to other parts of a plant and does not require its activity to be limited to the development of a part of a plant

A seed- or grain-specific promoter may produce expression in various tissues of the seed, including the endosperm, embryo, and aieurone or gram Any seed- or grain-specific promoter may be used for this purpose, although it will be advantageous to select a seed- or grain-specific promoter that produces high level expression of the protein in the plant seed or grain Known seed- or grain-specific promoters include those associated with genes that encode plant seed storage proteins such as genes encoding barley horde s, rice glutelms, oryzins, or prolamines, wheat gliadms or glutenms, maize zems or glutelms, maize embryo-specific promoter, oat glutelms, sorghum kafirms, millet pennisetins, or rye secalms

The barley hordein promoters (described in more detail below) are seed- or gram-specific promoters that were used in the illustrative Examples In certain embodiments, the seed- or grain-specific promoter that is selected is a maturation-specific promoter The use of promoters that confer enhanced expression during seed or gram maturation (such as the barley hordein promoters) may result in even higher levels of thioredoxin expression in the seed

By "seed or grain-maturation" herein refers to the period starting with fertilization in which metabolizable food reserves (e g , proteins, lipids, starch, etc ) are deposited in the developing seed, particularly in storage organs of the seed, including the endosperm, testa, aieurone layer, embryo, and scutellar epithelium, resulting in enlargement and filling of the seed and ending with seed desiccation

Members of the grass family, which include the cereal grains, produce dry, one-seeded fruits This type of fruit, is strictly speaking, a caryopsis but is commonly called a kernel or grain The caryopsis of a fruit coat or pericarp, which surrounds the seed and adhere tightly to a seed coat The seed consists of an embryo or germ and an endosperm enclosed by a nucellar epidermis and a seed coat Accordingly the gram comprises the seed and its coat or pericarp The seed comprises the embryo and the endosperm (R Carl Hoseney in "Principles of Cereal Science and Technology", expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety)

Hordein promoter: A barley promoter that directs transcription of a hordein gene in barley seeds or grains A number of barley hordein genes and associated promoters have been described and characterized, including those for the B-, C-, D-, and Gamma-hordems (Brandt ef al , 1985, Forde ef al , 1985, Rasmussen and Brandt, 1986, Sørensen ef al , 1996) The activities of these promoters in transient expression assays have also been characterized (Entwistle ef al , 1991 , Muiler and Knudesen, 1993, Sørensen et al, 1996) While any hordein promoter may be employed for this invention, the specific Examples provided describe the use of the promoter sequences from the B and D-hordem genes of barley The nucleic acid sequences of the barley B and D-hordem genes are shown in SEQ ID NOs 1 and 3, respectively and in Figures 6 and 7 (the promoter region excludes those nucleotides that encode the hordein signal peptide that is shown underlined) Sørensen ef al , (1996) describes plasmids that comprise the B and D-hordem promoters operably linked to a beta-glucuronidase gene (uidA, gus) and the Agrobacterium tumefaciens nopaline synthase 3' polyadenylation site (nos) These plasmids may be conveniently utilized as sources of both the hordein promoters and the nos polyadenylation site

One of skill in the art will appreciate that the length of the hordein promoter region may also be greater or less than the sequences depicted in Figures 6 and 7 For example, additional 5' sequence from the hordein gene upstream region may be added to the promoter sequence, or bases may be removed from the depicted sequences However, any hordein promoter sequence must be able to direct transcription of an operably linked sequence in plant seed or gram The ability of a barley hordein promoter to direct transcription of a protein in a plant seed may readily be assessed by operably linking the promoter sequence to an open reading frame (ORF) that encodes a readily detectable protein, such as the gus ORF, introducing the resulting construct into plants and then assessing expression of the protein in seeds of the plant (see Sørensen ef al , 1996) A hordein promoter will typically confer seed-specific expression, meaning that expression of the protein encoded by the operably linked ORF will generally be at least about twice as high (assessed on an activity basis) in seeds of the stably transfected plant compared to other tissues such as leaves More usually, the hordein promoter will produce expression in seeds that is at least about 5 times higher than expression in other tissues of the plant

Functional homologs of the barley hordein promoters disclosed herein may be obtained from other plant species, such as from other monocots, including wheat, rice and corn Such homologs may have specified levels of sequence identity with the prototype hordein promoters (e g , at least 40% sequence identity) The functional homologs retain hordein promoter function, i e , retain the ability to confer seed- or grain-specific expression on operably linked ORFs when introduced into plants (Mams ef al ,

1988, Mena et al , 1998) Accordingly, where reference is made herein to a hordein promoter, it will be understood that such reference includes not only nucleic acid molecules having the sequences of the prototypical sequences disclosed herein (or variations on these sequences), but also promoters from hordein gene homologs Also included within the scope of such terms are molecules that differ from the disclosed prototypical molecules by minor variations Such variant sequences may be produced by manipulating the nucleotide sequence of hordein promoter using standard procedures such as site-directed mutagenesis or the polymerase chain reaction Preferably, the seed- or gram-specificity of the promoter is retained Examples of dicot promoters that can be used include for example soybean glycinms and con-glycinms, and kidney bean phaseolm promoters

Signal peptide: As described in the Examples below, the inventors have discovered that the level of expression of thioredoxin in seed or gram can be enhanced by the presence of a signal peptide In one of the Examples described below, the B1 hordein signal peptide was utilized In particular, it was discovered that the expression of thioredoxin protein in seed or grain is enhanced when the ORF encoding the protein is operably linked to both a hordein promoter and a hordein signal sequence encoding the signal peptide (For convenience, the nucleic acid sequence encoding a signal peptide is referred to herein as a signal sequence ) While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is proposed that the hordein signal peptide directs expression of the thioredoxin protein to a protected subcellular location, such as a vacuole or protein body It is further proposed that proteins directed to such vacuoles are protected from proteolysis during certain stages of seed or gram maturation In addition, the sequestration of the thioredoxin protein to such a location may also serve to protect the maturing seeds or gram from detrimental effects associated with thioredoxin over-expression The hordein signal peptide typically comprises about the first 15-25 ammo acids of the hordein gene ORF, more usually about 18-21 am o acids The nucleotide and am o acid sequences of the hordein signal sequence and peptide of the prototypical barley B1- and D-hordem genes are shown in SEQ ID NOS 1-4 and Figures 6 and 7 One of skill in the art will appreciate that while the B1-hordeιn signal sequence and signal peptide are utilized in the examples described below, the invention is not limited to these specific sequences For example, homologous sequences may be used as effectively, as may sequences that differ in exact nucleotide or ammo acid sequences, provided that such sequences result in enhanced levels of the encoded protein in immature seed or grain Typically, "enhanced expression" will be expression that is about twice that observed with an equivalent construct lacking the signal sequence Accordingly, the term "hordein signal sequence" and "hordein signal peptide" includes not only the particular sequences shown herein, but also homologs and variants of these sequences

Furthermore, the invention is not limited to the use of hordein signal peptides Other signal peptides that serve to localize the thioredoxin co-translationally or post-translationally to a selected seed, grain or cell compartment may be employed Other such signal sequences include those associated with storage proteins in maize, rice, wheat, soybeans, beans, and tobacco (see for example Bagga ef al ,

1997, Torrent ef al , 1997, Wu ef a/ , 1998, Zheng ef al , 1995, Gπmwade ef al , 1996, Conrad et al ,

1998, and Takaiwa et al , 1995 )

Starch: A polysacchaπde made up of a chain of glucose units joined by alpha-1 ,4 linkages, either unbranched (amylose) or branched (amylopectin) at alpha-1 ,6-lιnkages

Dextran: Any of a variety of storage polysacchandes, usually branched, made of glucose residues joined by alpha-1 ,6 linkages

Dextrin or Limit Dextrin: Any of a group of small soluble polysacchandes, partial hydrolysis products of starch, usually enriched in alpha-1 ,6-lιnkages

Germination: A resumption of growth of a plant embryo in favorable conditions after seed maturation and drying (dessication), and emergence of young shoot and root from the seed

Allergen: An antigenic substance that induces an allergic reaction in a susceptible host Accordingly, a susceptible host has an immune status (hypersensitivity) that results in an abnormal or harmful immune reaction upon exposure to an allergen In a preferred embodiment, the transgenic grains of the invention have reduced allergenicity in comparison to nontransgenic grains The immune reaction can be immediate or delayed, cell mediated or antibody mediated, or a combination thereof In a preferred embodiment, the allergic reaction is an immediate type hypersensitivity Digestion: By "digestion" herein is meant the conversion of a molecule or compound to one or more of its components Accordingly, "digestibility" relates to the rate and efficiency at which the conversion to one or more of its components occurs In a preferred embodiment a "digestible compound" is, for example, a food, that is converted to its chemical components by chemical or enzymatic means For example, dextran is converted to dextrin, polysacchaπde, monosacchandes, limit dextrin etc, a protein is converted to a polypeptides, oligopeptides, am o acids, ammonia etc , a nucleic acid is converted to oligonucleotides, nucleotides, nucleosides, purme, pyrimidmes, phosphates etc In a preferred embodiment, the transgenic grains of the invention have increased digestibility, i e are more efficiently or rapidly digested in comparison to nontransgenic grain

Sequence identity: The similarity between two nucleic acid sequences, or two ammo acid sequences is expressed in terms of sequence identity (or, for proteins, also in terms of sequence similarity) Sequence identity is frequently measured in terms of percentage identity, the higher the percentage, the more similar the two sequences are As described above, homologs and variants of the thioredoxin nucleic acid molecules, hordein promoters and hordein signal peptides may be used in the present invention Homologs and variants of these nucleic acid molecules will possess a relatively high degree of sequence identity when aligned using standard methods

Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in the art Various programs and alignment algorithms are described in Smith and Waterman (1981); Needleman and Wunsch (1970), Pearson and Lipman (1988), Higgins and Sharp (1988), Higgms and Sharp (1989), Corpet et al , (1988), Huang et al , (1992), and Pearson ef al , (1994) Altschul ef a/ , (1994) presents a detailed consideration of sequence alignment methods and homology calculations

The NCBI Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) (Altschul et al , 1990) is available from several sources, including the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, Bethesda, MD) and on the Internet, for use in connection with the sequence analysis programs blastp, blastn, blastx, tblastn and tblastx It can be accessed at http //www ncbi nlm nih gov/BLAST A description of how to determine sequence identity using this program is available at http //www nchi nlm nih qov/BLAST/blast help html

Homologs of the disclosed protein sequences are typically characterized by possession of at least 40% sequence identity counted over the full length alignment with the ammo acid sequence of the disclosed sequence using the NCBI Blast 2 0, gapped blastp set to default parameters The adjustable parameters are preferably set with the following values overlap span =1 , overlap fraction = 0 125, word threshold (T) = 11 The HSP S and HSP S2 parameters are dynamic values and are established by the program itself depending upon the composition of the particular sequence and composition of the particular database against which the sequence of interest is being searched, however, the values may be adjusted to increase sensitivity Proteins with even greater similarity to the reference sequences will show increasing percentage identities when assessed by this method, such as at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 75%, at least about 80%, at least about 90% or at least about 95% sequence identity

Homologs of the disclosed nucleic acid sequences are typically characterized by possession of at least 40% sequence identity counted over the full length alignment with the am o acid sequence of the disclosed sequence using the NCBI Blast 2 0, gapped blastn set to default parameters A preferred method utilizes the BLASTN module of WU-BLAST-2 (Altschul ef al , 1996), set to the default parameters, with overlap span and overlap fraction set to 1 and 0 125, respectively Nucleic acid sequences with even greater similarity to the reference sequences will show increasing percentage identities when assessed by this method, such as at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 75%, at least about 80%, at least about 90% or at least about 95% sequence identity

The alignment may include the introduction of gaps in the sequences to be aligned In addition, for sequences which contain either more or fewer ammo acids than the protein encoded by the sequences in the figures, it is understood that in one embodiment, the percentage of sequence identity will be determined based on the number of identical am o acids in relation to the total number of ammo acids Thus, for example, sequence identity of sequences shorter than that shown in the figures as discussed below, will be determined using the number of ammo acids in the longer sequence, in one embodiment In percent identity calculations relative weight is not assigned to various manifestations of sequence variation, such as, insertions, deletions, substitutions, etc

In one embodiment, only identities are scored positively (+1) and all forms of sequence variation including gaps are assigned a value of "0", which obviates the need for a weighted scale or parameters as described herein for sequence similarity calculations Percent sequence identity can be calculated, for example, by dividing the number of matching identical residues by the total number of residues of the "shorter" sequence in the aligned region and multiplying by 100 The "longer" sequence is the one having the most actual residues in the aligned region

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the sequences of the present invention may contain sequencing errors That is, there may be incorrect nucleosides, frameshifts, unknown nucleosides, or other types of sequencing errors in any of the sequences, however, the correct sequences will fall within the homology and stringency definitions herein

Vector: A nucleic acid molecule as introduced into a host cell, thereby producing a transformed host cell A vector may include one or more nucleic acid sequences that permit it to replicate in one or more host cells, such as oπgιn(s) of replication A vector may also include one or more selectable marker genes and other genetic elements known in the art

Transformed: A transformed cell is a cell into which has been introduced a nucleic acid molecule by molecular biology techniques As used herein, the term transformation encompasses all techniques by which a nucleic acid molecule might be introduced into such a cell, plant or animal cell, including transfection with viral vectors, transformation by Agrobacterium, with plasmid vectors, and introduction of naked DNA by electroporation, iipofection, and particle gun acceleration and includes transient as well as stable transformants

Isolated: An "isolated" biological component (such as a nucleic acid or protein or organelle) has been substantially separated or purified away from other biological components in the cell or the organism in which the component naturally occurs, i-e , other chromosomal and extra-chromosomal DNA and RNA, proteins and organelles Nucleic acids and proteins that have been "isolated" include nucleic acids and proteins purified by standard purification methods The term embraces nucleic acids including chemically synthesized nucleic acids and also embraces proteins prepared by recombinant expression in vitro or in a host cell and recombinant nucleic acids as defined below

Operably linked: A first nucleic acid sequence is operably linked with a second nucleic acid sequence when the first nucleic acid sequence is placed in a functional relationship with the second nucleic acid sequence For instance, a promoter is operably linked to a coding sequence if the promoter affects the transcription or expression of the coding sequence Generally, operably linked DNA sequences are contiguous and, where necessary, join two protein-coding regions in the same reading frame Wth respect to polypeptides, two polypeptide sequences may be operably linked by covalent linkage, such as through peptide bonds or disulfide bonds

Recombinant: By "recombinant nucleic acid" herein is meant a nucleic acid that has a sequence that is not naturally occurring or has a sequence that is made by an artificial combination of two otherwise separated segments of sequence This artificial combination is often accomplished by chemical synthesis or, more commonly, by the artificial manipulation of of nucleic acids, e g , by genetic engineering techniques, such as by the manipulation of at least one nucleic acid by a restriction enzyme, ligase, recombinase, and/or a polymerase Once introduced into a host cell, a recombinant nucleic acid is replicated by the host cell, however, the recombinant nucleic acid once replicated in the cell remains a recombinant nucleic acid for purposes of this invention By "recombinant protein" herein is meant a protein produced by a method employing a recombinant nucleic acid As outlined above

"recombinant nucleic acids" and "recombinant proteins" also are "isolated", as described above

Complementary DNA (cDNA): A piece of DNA that is synthesized in the laboratory by reverse transcription of an RNA, preferably an RNA extracted from cells cDNA produced from mRNA typically lacks internal, non-coding segments (introns) and regulatory sequences that determine transcription

Open reading frame (ORF): A series of nucleotide triplets (codons) coding for ammo acids without any internal termination codons These sequences are usually translatable into a peptide

Transgenic plant: As used herein, this term refers to a plant that contains recombinant genetic material not normally found in plants of this type and which has been introduced into the plant in question (or into progenitors of the plant) by human manipulation Thus, a plant that is grown from a plant cell into which recombinant DNA is introduced by transformation is a transgenic plant, as are all offspring of that plant that contain the introduced transgene (whether produced sexually or asexually) It is understood that the term transgenic plant encompasses the entire plant and parts of said plant, for instance grains, seeds, flowers, leaves, roots, fruit, pollen, stems etc

The present invention is applicable to both dicotyledonous plants ( e g tomato, potato, soybean, cotton, tobacco, etc ) and monocotyledonous plants, including, but not limited to graminaceous monocots such as wheat (Tnticum spp ), rice (Oryza spp ), barley (Hordeum spp ), oat (Avena spp ), rye (Secale spp ), corn (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum spp ) and millet (Pennisetum spp) For example, the present invention can be employed with barley genotypes including, but not limited to Morex, Harrington , Crystal, Stander, Moravian III, Galena, Salome, Steptoe, Klages, Baronesse, and with wheat genotypes including, but not limited to Yecora Rojo, Bobwhite, Karl and Anza In general, the invention is particularly useful in cereals

Purified: The term purified does not require absolute purity, rather, it is intended as a relative term Thus, for example, a purified barley thioredoxin h protein preparation is one in which the barley thioredoxin h protein is more enriched or more biochemically active or more easily detected than the protein is in its natural environment within a cell or plant tissue Accordingly, "purified" embraces or includes the removal or mactivation of an inhibitor of a molecule of interest In a preferred embodiment, a preparation of barley thioredoxin h protein is purified such that the barley thioredoxin h represents at least 5-10% of the total protein content of the preparation For particular applications, higher protein purity may be desired, such that preparations in which barley thioredoxin h represents at least 50% or at least 75% or at least 90% of the total protein content may be employed

Ortholog: Two nucleotide or ammo acid sequences are orthologs of each other if they share a common ancestral sequence and diverged when a species carrying that ancestral sequence split into two species, sub-species, or cultivars Orthologous sequences are also homologous sequences II. Production of Plants With Elevated Seed Thioredoxin

Standard molecular biology methods and plant transformation techniques can be used to produce transgenic plants that produce seeds having an elevated level of thioredoxin protein The following sections provide general guidance as to the selection of particular constructs and transformation procedures

a Constructs

The present invention utilizes recombinant constructs that are suitable for obtaining elevated expression of thioredoxin in plant seeds relative to non-transformed plant seeds In their most basic form, these constructs may be represented as P-T, wherein P is a seed-specific promoter and T is a nucleic acid sequence encoding thioredoxin In another embodiment, a peptide signal sequence that targets expression of the thioredoxin polypeptide to an intracellular body may be employed Such constructs may be represented as P-SS-T, wherein SS is the signal peptide Nucleic acid molecules that may be used as the source of each of these components are described in the Definitions section above

Each component is operably linked to the next For example, where the construct comprises the hordein D-promoter (P), the hordein D-signal sequence (SS) encoding the hordein signal peptide, and an open reading frame encoding, preferably, the wheat thioredoxin h protein (T), the hordein promoter is linked to the 5' end of the sequence encoding the hordein signal sequence, and the hordein signal sequence is operably linked to the 5' end of the thioredoxin open reading frame, such that C terminus of the signal peptide is joined to the N-terminus of the encoded protein

The construct will also typically include a transcriptional termination region following the 3' end of the encoded protein ORF Illustrative transcriptional termination regions include the nos terminator from Agrobacterium Ti plasmid and the rice alpha-amylase terminator

Standard molecular biology methods, such as the polymerase chain reaction, restriction enzyme digestion, and/or gation may be employed to produce these constructs comprising any nucleic acid molecule or sequence encoding a thioredoxin protein or polypeptide

b General Principles of Plant Transformation

Introduction of the selected construct into plants is typically achieved using standard transformation techniques The basic approach is to (a) clone the construct into a transformation vector, which (b) is then introduced into plant cells by one of a number of techniques (e g , electroporation, microparticle bombardment, Agrobacterium infection), (c) identify the transformed plant cells, (d) regenerate whole plants from the identified plant cells, and (d) select progeny plants containing the introduced construct Preferably all or part of the transformation vector will stably integrate into the genome of the plant cell That part of the transformation vector which integrates into the plant cell and which contains the introduced P-T or P-SS-T sequence (the introduced " thioredoxin transgene") may be referred to as the recombinant expression cassette

Selection of progeny plants containing the introduced transgene may be made based upon the detection of thioredoxin or NTR over-expression in seeds, or upon enhanced resistance to a chemical agent (such as an antibiotic) as a result of the inclusion of a dominant selectable marker gene incorporated into the transformation vector

Successful examples of the modification of plant characteristics by transformation with cloned nucleic acid sequences are replete in the technical and scientific literature Selected examples, which serve to illustrate the knowledge in this field of technology include U S Patent No 5,571 ,706 ("Plant Virus Resistance Gene and Methods"), U S Patent No 5,677,175 ("Plant Pathogen Induced Proteins"),

U S Patent No 5,510,471 ("Chimeπc Gene for the Transformation of Plants"),

U S Patent No 5,750,386 ("Pathogen-Resistant Transgenic Plants"),

U S Patent No 5,597,945 ("Plants Genetically Enhanced for Disease Resistance"),

U S Patent No 5,589,615 ("Process for the Production of Transgenic Plants with Increased Nutritional Value Via the Expression of Modified 2S Storage Albumins"),

U S Patent No 5,750,871 ("Transformation and Foreign Gene Expression in Brassica Species"),

U S Patent No 5,268,526 ("Overexpression of Phytochrome in Transgenic Plants"),

U S Patent No 5,780,708 ("Fertile Transgenic Com Plants"),

U S Patent No 5,538,880 ("Method For Preparing Fertile Transgenic Corn Plants"), U S Patent No 5,773,269 ("Fertile Transgenic Oat Plants"),

U S Patent No 5,736,369 ("Method For Producing Transgenic Cereal Plants"), U S Patent No 5,610,049 ("Methods For Stable Transformation of Wheat")

These examples include descriptions of transformation vector selection, transformation techniques and the construction of constructs designed to exρ^ress an introduced transgene

c Plant Types

The transgene-expressmg constructs of the present invention may be usefully expressed in a wide range of higher plants to obtain seed- or grain-specific expression of selected polypeptides The invention is expected to be particularly applicable to monocotyledonous cereal plants including barley, wheat, rice, rye, maize, tnticale, millet, sorghum, oat, forage, and turf grasses In particular, the transformation methods described herein will enable the invention to be used with genotypes of barley including Morex, Harrington, Crystal, Stander, Moravian III, Galena, Golden Promise, Steptoe, Klages and Baronesse, and commercially important wheat genotypes including Yecora Rojo, Bobwhite, Karl and Anza

The invention may also be applied to dicotyledenous plants, including, but not limited to, soybean, sugar beet, cotton, beans, rape/canola, alfalfa, flax, sunflower, safflower, brassica, cotton, flax, peanut, clover, vegetables such as lettuce, tomato, cucurbits, cassava, potato, carrot, radish, pea, lentils, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peppers, and tree fruits such as citrus, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, and walnuts

d Vector Construction

A number of recombinant vectors suitable for stable transformation of plant cells or for the establishment of transgenic plants have been described including those described in Weissbach and Weissbach, (1989), and Gelvm ef al , (1990) Typically, plant transformation vectors include one or more ORFs under the transcriptional control of 5' and 3' regulatory sequences and a dominant selectable marker with 5' and 3' regulatory sequences The selection of suitable 5' and 3' regulatory sequences for constructs of the present invention is discussed above Dominant selectable marker genes that allow for the ready selection of transformants include those encoding antibiotic resistance genes (e g , resistance to hygromycm, kanamycin, bleomycm, G418, streptomycin or spectinomycin) and herbicide resistance genes (e g, phosphinothπcin acetyltransferase)

e Transformation and Regeneration Techniques

Methods for the transformation and regeneration of both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plant cells are known, and the appropriate transformation technique will be determined by the practitioner The choice of method will vary with the type of plant to be transformed, those skilled in the art will recognize the suitability of particular methods for given plant types Suitable methods may include, but are not limited to electroporation of plant protoplasts, posome-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 mediated transformation Typical procedures for transforming and regenerating plants are described in the patent documents listed at the beginning of this section

f Selection of Transformed Plants

Following transformation, transformants are preferably selected using a dominant selectable marker Typically, such a marker will confer antibiotic or herbicide resistance on the seedlings of transformed plants, and selection of transformants can be accomplished by exposing the seedlings to appropriate concentrations of the antibiotic or herbicide After transformed plants are selected and grown to maturity to allow seed set, the seeds can be harvested and assayed for over-expression of thioredoxin III. Use of Plants. Seeds or Grains Expressing Elevated Levels of Thioredoxin

In one embodiment, the transgene protein, for example thioredoxin expressed in plants, especially seeds or grains, using the methods described herein, is used in the production and synthesis of thioredoxin The thioredoxin transgene expressed by the recombinant nucleic acid of the invention may be harvested at any point after expression of the protein has commenced When harvesting from the seed or gram or other part of a plant for example, it is not necessary for the seed or gram or other part of the plant to have undergone maturation prior to harvesting For example, transgene expression may occur prior to seed or gram maturation or may reach optimal levels prior to seed or grain maturation The transgene protein may be isolated from the seeds or grain, if desired, by conventional protein purification methods For example, the seed or gram can be milled, then extracted with an aqueous or organic extraction medium, followed by purification of the extracted thioredoxin protein Alternatively, depending on the nature of the intended use, the transgene protein may be partially purified, or the seed or gram may be used direcfly without purification of the transgene protein for food processing or other purposes

For example, the addition of thioredoxin promotes the formation of a protein network that produces flour with enhanced baking quality Kobrehel ef al , (1994) have shown that the addition of thioredoxin to flour of non-glutenous cereal such as rice, maize, and sorghum promotes the formation of a doughlike product Accordingly, the addition of thioredoxin expressed in seeds using the methods described herein find use in the production of flour with improved baking quality such as increased strength and/or volume

The enhanced expression of thioredoxin also produces a seed having an altered biochemical composition For example, enhanced thioredoxin expression produces seed with increased enzymatic activity, such as, increased pullulanase and alpha-amylase A Enhanced thioredoxin expression also produces seed with early alpha-amylase B activation Pullulanase ("debranching enzyme") is an enzyme that breaks down branched starch of the endosperm of cereal seeds by hydrolytically cleaving alpha-1 , 6 bonds Alpha-amylases break down starch 1-4 linkages Pullulanase and amylases are enzymes fundamental to the brewing and baking industries Pullulanase and amylases are required to break down starch in malting and in certain baking procedures carried out in the absence of added sugars or other carbohydrates Obtaining adequate activity of these enzymes is problematic especially in the malting industry It has been known for some time that dithiothreitol (DTT, a chemical reductant that reduces and sometimes replaces thioredoxin) activates pullulanase of cereal preparations (e g , barley, oat, and rice flours) A method of adequately increasing the activity of pullulanase and alpha- amylase A and shortening the activation time of alpha-amylase B with a physiologically acceptable system, leads to more rapid malting methods and, owing to increased sugar availability, to alcoholic beverages such as beers with reduced carbohydrate content Accordingly, seeds or grains with enhanced thioredoxin expression provide advantages in the production of malt and beverages produced by a fermentation process Enhanced pullulanase and alpha-amylase A and earlier induction of alpha-amylase B in gram increases the speed and efficiency of germination, important in malting, where malt is produced having increased enzymatic activity resulting in enhanced hydrolysis of starch to fermentable carbohydrates, thereby, improving the efficiency of fermentation in the production of alcoholic beverages, for example, beer and scotch whiskey Early alpha-amylase B activation would reduce the total time for malting by about 20% Enhanced fermentation processes also find use in the production of alcohols that are not intended for human consumption, i e , industrial alcohols

In another embodiment, seed or grains with enhanced thioredoxin expression provide advantages in enhancing the onset and efficiency of germination

The overexpression of thioredoxin in seed or grains results in an increase in the total protein It also promotes the redistribution of proteins to the most soluble albumin/globulin fraction and the production of flour and other food products, feed, and beverages with improved digestibility in comparison to edible products made from non-transformed grains Such edible products find use in amelioration and treatment of food malabsorptive syndromes, for example, sprue or catarrhal dysentery Sprue is a malabsorptive syndrome affecting both children and adults, precipitated by the mgestion of gluten- containing foods Edible products that are more readily digested and readily absorbed avoid or ameliorate the disease symptoms Edible products with improved digestibility also ameliorate or reduce symptoms associated with celiac disease in which storage proteins that are not readily digested in affiicated individuals result in inflammation of the Gl tract

The expression of thioredoxin in seed grains results in the production of foods and other edible products with reduced allergenicity in comparison to edible products made from non-transformed grains Food allergies are a significant health and nutrition problem (Lehrer ef al , 1996) Up to 2% of adults and 8% of children have a food allergy causing serious symptoms including death Wheat protein is one of the principal allergens Food allergies are defined by the American academy of Allergy and Immunology Committee on Adverse Reactions to Food as "an immunological reaction resulting from the mgestion of a food or a food additive" (Fenema, 1996, Lasztity, 1996) Most true allergic responses to food proteins appear to be caused by a type-l imunolobul E (IgE)-medιated hypersensitivity reaction (Sicherer, 1999) These responses may occur within minutes or a few hours after eating the offending food (Furlong-Munoz, 1996) When the offending food is mjested by allergy- sensitive individuals the body releases histammes and other biochemicals, resulting in itchy eyes, rash or hives, runny nose, swelling of the lips, tongue, and face, itching or tightness of the throat, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and shortness of breath Some individuals have severe, anaphylactic reactions, resulting in approximately 135 deaths per year in the United States In the U S over 2,500 emergency rooms visits per year are allergy-related There is no cure for food allergies, only avoidance of the food will prevent symptoms For example, patients with wheat allergy must avoid wheat- or gluten-containing foods wheat gluten is a very common ingredient in many processed foods (Marx et al , 1999)

A feature common to many allergens is the presence of one or more disulfide bonds that contribute to the resistance of allergens to digestion (Astwood ef al , 1996), allowing them to be mostly intact when they react the small intestine where they are presented to mucosal cells that mount an IgE immune response The major allergens were found to be insoluble storage proteins, gliadms and glutenms The soluble storage proteins, albumins and globulins were considerably weaker (Buchanan ef al ,

1997) Allergenicity of these proteins is substantially decreased after thioredoxin treatment and disulfide bond reduction

Edible products, for example, bread, cookies, dough, thickeners, beverages, malt, pasta, food additives, including animal feeds, made using the transgenic plants or parts of a transgenic plant of the invention have decreased allergenicity and accordingly can be used to in the treatment of an allergic response By "treatment" or "alleviating" symptoms herein is meant prevention or decreasing the probability of symptoms

Increased digestibility of seeds or grains also provides wider consumption of grains by man and animals who otherwise can not consume such grains For example, sorghum is the world's fifth leading gram in terms of metric tons after wheat, rice, maize, and barley and third in production in the Untied States after maize and wheat The use of sorghum is constrained in part because of the difficulty associated with the digestibility of its protein and starch compared to other grains This difficulty with the digestibility of sorghum protein and starch has to do with the structure of the seed and the manner in which the proteins are associated with the starch The digestibility of the starch flour from sorghum cultivars is 15-25% lower in digestibility than, for example, maize Perhaps more notable is the fact that, unlike other grains, the indigestibility of unprocessed sorghum flour increases dramatically after boiling in water, a common practice in Africa A study with human subjects showed that protein digestibility in cooked sorghum porridge can be as low as 46%, whereas the percent digestibility for cooked wheat, maize, and rice was 81 %, 73%, and 66% respectively (Mertz ef al 1984, MacLean ef al 1981) Exogenous addition of reducing agents increases the digestibility of the starch (Hamaker et al 1987) However, the efficacy of manipulating the thioredoxin system in vivo in the seed by expressing increased amounts of thioredoxin in a manner which does not adversely affect plant development or morphology had not previously been demonstrated Accordingly, the transgenic plants of the invention provide wider use of seeds or grains as food sources by increasing the digestibility of the starch and/or protein component The transgenic seeds or grains of the present invention also provide the advantage of increasing the digestibility of food products for human and feed for animals made of these grains without the addition of exogenous reducing agents In addition, the increased digestibility results in greater utilization of the food or feed, i e , a human or animal consuming an edible product comprising a transgenic seed or gram of the invention or an extract thereof more efficiently absorbs nutrients and therefore requires to consume less in comparison to a non-transgenic food product In another embodiment the transgenic seed, grain or extracts thereof of the present invention and extracts or food products thereof are used as a food or feed additives For example, an extract or flour or malt produced from a transgenic seed or grain of the invention is added to a non-transgenic food or feed product to improve the digestibility or decrease the allergenicity of the nontransgenic food product or to improve the quality of the total food product, such as, by increasing the strength and/or volume of the food product

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below,

EXAMPLES Example 1

Expression of Wheat thioredoxin h (WTRXh) in Transgenic Barley Four different DNA constructs were produced, each containing a 384-bp wtrxh fragment encoding the 13 5-KDa WTRXh protein The four constructs are illustrated in Figure 1 and described below Each construct comprised the 384-bp wtrxh fragment operably linked to a seed-specific promoter (either the barley endosperm-specific D-hordem or B1 -hordein promoters or the maize embryo-specific globulin promoter) An additional construct comprised the 384-bp wtrxh fragment operably linked to the B1-hordeιn promoter and the B1-hordeιn signal sequence (Figure 6) The transformation vector used included the bar gene, conferring resistance to bialaphos Twenty-eight independent regenerable barley lines were obtained after bialaphos selection and all were PCR-positive for the bar gene The presence of the wtrxh gene was confirmed in the genome of the 28 independent lines by PCR and

DNA hybridization analyses The expression of the WTRXh protein was assessed by western blot analysis, using purified wheat thioredoxin as a control The WTRXh expressed in transgenic barley had a molecular mass that differed from native barley TRXh but was identical to WTRXh The WTRXh was found to be highly expressed in developing and mature seed of transgenic barley plants although levels of expression varied among the transgenic everts On average, higher expression levels were observed in lines transformed with the DNA construct containing the B1 -hordein promoter plus the signal peptide sequence than the same promoter without the signal peptide sequence The WTRXh purified from transgenic barley seed was confirmed to be biochemically active

A. Materials and Methods

Plant Materials for Transformation

A two-rowed spring cultivar of barley, Golden Promise, was grown in growth chambers as described previously (Wan and Lemaux 1994, Lemaux ef al , 1996) Construction of Wheat Thioredoxin h Expression Vectors and DNA Sequencing Expression vectors were constructed containing the wheat thioredoxin h gene (wtrxh) driven by the barley endosperm-specific B1- or D-hordem promoter or the maize embryo-specific globulin promoter The plasmids were constructed as follows (1) pDhWTRXN-2 A 384-bp wtrxh coding region was amplified by PCR from pTaM13 38 (Gautier ef al , 1998) This plasmid contained a cDNA of wtrxh, which was used as a template, creating Xbal and Sad sites with the following primers Wtrxhl (5'-atatctaqaATGGCGGCGTCGGCGGCGA) (SEQ ID NO 5) and Wtrxh2R (5'-ataqaqctcTTACTGGGCCGCGTGTAG) (SEQ ID NO 6), respectively (Figure 1) Small letters in the primer denote a restriction enzyme site for subcloning of the DNA fragment containing the wtrxh gene, underlined letters denote wtrxh sequences The ATG initiation codon for wtrxh expression was included in the Wtrxhl primer PCR reactions were performed on a thermocycler (MJ Research Inc , Watertown, MA) using recombinant Tag DNA polymerase (Promega Madison, WI) in a 100-μl reaction volume The reaction buffer contained 10 mM T s-HCI (pH 9 0), 50 mM KCl, 1 5 mM MgCI₂, 0 1 % Trιton-X-100, and 50 μM of each deoxyπbonucleoside tnphosphate PCR conditions utilized 25 cycles of 94°C for 1 m , 55°C for 1 mm and 72°C for 2 m , with a final extension step at

72°C for 7 mm The wtrxh fragment, which was amplified with the primers Wtrxhl and Wtrxh2R, was purified from a 0 7% agarose gel using a QIAquick^® gel extraction kit (Qiagen Inc , Chatsworth, CA), digested with Xbal and Sacl and gated into Xbal/Sacl-digested pUC19 to generate the pWTRXh-1 plasmid Nucleotide sequences of the PCR-amplified wtrxh coding region fragment were determined by the dideoxynucleotide chain termination method using Sequenase according to manufacturer's instructions (United States Biochemical, Cleveland, OH) with double-stranded plasmid templates and regularly spaced primers

pDhWTRXN-2 was made by replacing the uidA gene in pDhGN-2 (containing barley endosperm-specific D-hordem promoter (Figure 7) and nos 3' terminator) with the Xbal/Sacl fragment containing the wtrxh coding sequence from pWTRXh- 1, which contains the PCR-amplified wtrxh coding sequence in pUC19 To construct pDhGN-2, a 04-kb D-hordem promoter was amplified by PCR from pDII-Hor3 (Sørenson ef al , 1996, Cho ef al , 1999a) This plasmid contained the D-hordem promoter sequence, which was used as a template, creating Sptϊl and Xbal sites with the following primers Dhorl (5'-qqcqcatqcqaattcGAATTCGATATCGATCTTCGA-3') (SEQ ID NO 23) and

Dhor2 (5'-aactctagaCTCGGTGGACTGTCAATG-3') (SEQ ID NO 24), respectively Small letters in the primers contain restriction enzyme sites for subcloning of the DNA fragment containing the D-hordem promtoer, underlined letters denote D-hordem promoter sequences The PCR amplified D-hordem promoter fragment was digested with Sph\ and Xbal and repalced with the cauliflower mosaic 35S (CaMV 35S) promoter in p35SGN-3 to generate the pDhGN-2 plasmid p35SGN-3 was made by ligatmg the 3 0-kb SpΛI-EcoRI fragment containing the CaMV 35S promoter, uidA (beta-glucuronidase, gus) gene and nos into the SpΛI/EcoRI-digested pUC18 (2) pdBhWTRX-1 The construction of pdBhWTRXN-1 started by using pBhWTRXN-1 pBhWTRXN-1 was made by replacing the uidA gene in pBhGN-1 , which contains uidA driven by the barley endosperm-specific B1 -hordein promoter and terminated by the nos 3' terminator, with the Xbal/Sacl fragment from pWTRXh-1 , which contains the wtrxh coding sequence The 120-bp Hιndlll-5' B1 -hordein flanking region was deleted from the pBhWTRXN-1 and re gated to make the pdBhWTRXN-1 construct

(3) pdBhssWTRXN3-8 Primers Bhor7 (5'-GTAAAGCITTAACAACCCACACATTG) (SEQ ID NO 7) and BhorWtrxhl R (5'-CCGACGCCGCTGCAATCGTACTTGTTGCCGCAAT) (SEQ ID NO 8) containing Hindlll and Acyl sites, respectively, were used for amplification of a 0 49-kb B1-hordeιn 5'-regιon, which included the B1-hordeιn signal peptide sequence (Figure 6) A λ2-4/Hιndlll plasmid containing a genomic clone of B1 -hordein (Brandt et al , 1985, Cho and Lemaux, 1997) was used as a template for the amplification The primer BhorWtrxhl R is an overlapping primer, which contains the wtrxh coding sequence (underlined) and a partial signal peptide sequence from the B1 -hordein promoter, but lacks the ATG initiation codon for wtrxh pdBhssWTRXN3-8 was made by replacing the D-hordem promoter

(Figure 7) in pDhWTRXN-2 with the 0 49-kb PCR-amplified Hindlll/Acyl fragment, which contains the B1-hordeιn promoter, its signal peptide sequence and the junction region from the 5' trxh gene Thus, construct pdBhssWTRXN3-8 contains the barley endosperm-specific B1-hordeιn promoter with its signal peptide sequence (Figure 6), wtrxh ,and nos (Figure 1 ) The signal peptide sequence containing the ATG initiation codon was directly combined with the sequence of wtrxh, with no extra ammo acid sequences being introduced between the two This ensures that the WTRXh protein has a precise cleavage site in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) The authenticity of a PCR-amplified fragment from the chimenc product was confirmed by DNA sequencing

(4) pGlb1WTRXN-1 The 1 42-kb Hmdlll/BamHI fragment containing the maize embryo-specific globulin promoter from the ppGlblGUS plasmid (Liu and Kπz, 1996) was ligated into pBluescπpt II KS(+) to create Hindlll and Xbal sites pGlbWTRXN-1 was made by restricting pDhWTRXN-2 with Hindlll and Xbal in order to remove the 0 49-kb Hmdlll/Xbal barley D-hordem promoter from the pDhWTRXN-2 In place of the 0 49-kb Hmdlll/Xbal D-hordem promoter fragment (^"Figure 7), the 1 42-kb Hindlll/.Xbal maize globulin promoter was ligated into the Hmdlll/Xbal digested pDhWTRXN-2 to form the pGlbWTRXN-1 plasmid

Stable Barley Transformation

Stable transgenic lines of barley expressing WTRXh driven by the B1 -hordein promoter with and without the signal peptide sequence (Figure 6), by the D-hordem promoter (Figure 7) and by the maize globulin promoter were obtained following modifications of published protocols (Wan and Lemaux 1994, Lemaux et al , 1996, Cho et al , 1998a-c) Whole immature embryos (lEs) ( 1 0-2 5 mm) were aseptically removed, placed scutellum-side down on DC callus-induction medium containing 2 5 mg/L 2,4-D and 5 μM CuS0₄ (Cho et al , 1998a-c) One day after incubation at 24±1°C in the dark, the lEs were transferred scutellum-side up to DC medium containing equimolar amounts of mannitol and sorbitol to give a final concentration of 04 M Four hours after treatment with the osmoticum, the lEs were used for bombardment Gold particles (1 0 μm) were coated with 25 μg of a 1 1 molar ratio of pAHC20 (Chπstensen and Quail, 1996) and one of the following plasmids, pdBhWTRXN-1 , pdBhssWTRXN3-8, pDhWTRXN-2 and pG1 bWTRXN-1 The microprojectiles were bombarded using a PDS-1000 He biolistic device (Bio-Rad, Inc , Hercules, CA) at 1100 psi Bombarded lEs were selected on DC medium with 5 mg/L bialaphos for 2 to 3 months Bialaphos-resistant callus was transferred onto an intermediate cultuπng medium (DBC2, Cho ef al , 1998a-c), containing 2 5 mg/L 2,4-D, 0 1 mg/L BAP and 5 0 μM CuS04, between the selection [DC medium plus bialaphos (Meiji Seika Katsha,

Ltd , Yokohama, Japan)] and regeneration (FHG medium, Hunter, 1988) steps The culturmg after callus induction and selection on DC medium were carried out under dim light conditions (approximately 10 to 30 μE, 16 h- ght) (Cho ef al , 1998a-c) Regenerated shoots were transferred to Magenta boxes containing rooting medium (callus-induction medium without phytohormones) containing 3 mg/L bialaphos When shoots reached the top of the box, plantlets were transferred to soil in the greenhouse

Cytoloqical Analysis

For cytological analysis of transgenic barley plants healthy root menstems were collected from young plants grown in the greenhouse After pre-treatment at 4°C in saturated 1-bromonaphthalene solution overnight, root menstems were fixed in 1 3 glacial acetic acid ethanol and stored at 4°C Root menstems were hydrolyzed in 1 M HCI at 60° C for 5-7 mm, stained in Feulgen solution and squashed on a glass slide in a drop of 1% aceto-carmme Chromosomes were counted from at least five well-spread cells per plant

Herbicide Application

To determine herbicide sensitivity of T₀ plants and their progeny, a section of leaf blade at the 4- to 5-leaf stage was painted using a cotton swab with 0 25% (v/v) Basta™ solution (starting concentration 200 g/L phophinothricm, Hoechst AG, Frankfurt, Germany) plus 0 1 % Tween 20 Plants were scored 1 week after herbicide application

Polymerase Cham Reaction (PCR) and DNA Blot Hybridization

Total genomic DNA from leaf tissues was purified as described by Dellaporta (1993) To test for the presence of wtrxh in genomic DNA of putatively transformed lines, 250 ng of genomic DNA was amplified by PCR using one of two primer sets

Set 1

Wtrxhl (5'-ATATCTAGAATGGCGGCGTCGGCGGCGA) (SEQ ID NO 5) and Wtrxh2R (5'-ATAGAGCTCTTACTGGGCCGCGTGTAG) (SEQ ID NO 6), or

Set 2

Wtrxh4 (5'-CCAAGAAGTTCCCAGCTGC) (SEQ ID NO 11) and

WtrxhδR (5'-ATAGCTGCGACAACCCTGTCCTT) (SEQ ID NO 19)

The presence of bar was determined using the primer set

BAR5F (5'-CATCGAGACAAGCACGGTCAACTTC3') (SEQ ID NO 13) and

BAR1 R (5'-ATATCCGAGCGCCTCGTGCATGCG) (SEQ ID NO 14) (Lemaux ef al , 1996)

Amplifications were performed with Taq DNA polymerase (Promega, Madison, WI) in a 25-μl reaction (Cho ef al , 1998a-c) Twenty-five microliters of the PCR product with loading dye were subjected to electrophoresis in a 1 0% agarose gel with ethidium bromide and photographed using exposure to UV light Presence of 0 4- and 0 14-kb fragments was consistent with intact and truncated wtrxh fragments, respectively, an internal 0 34-kb fragment was produced from the bar gene with bar primers Homozygous lines for wtrxh were screened by PCR and western blot analysis in T₂ or T₃ plants

For DNA hybridization analysis, 10 μg of total genomic DNA from leaf tissue of each line was digested with Hindlll and Sad, separated on a 1 0% agarose gel, transferred to Zeta-Probe GT membrane

(Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA) and hybridized with a radiolabeled wfrx/7-specιfic probe following the manufacturer's instructions The wfrx/7-contaιnιng 0 4 kb Xbal-Sacl fragment from pDhWTRXN-9 was purified by QIAEX gel extraction kit (QIAGEN, Chatsworth, CA) and labeled with ³²P-dCTP using random primers

Western Blot Analysis

Western blot analysis was performed on seeds from selected transgenic lines as well as from control barley seeds from non-transgenic Golden Promise grown under the same conditions as the transgenic plants and from control wheat seeds of a durum wheat cultivar, cv Monroe, or a bread wheat cultivar cv Capitate Whole seeds were ground to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle under liquid nitrogen

Ten to 20 seeds were used for each sample, the volume of extraction buffer (50 mM Tris HCI or phosphate buffer, pH 7 8, 0 5 mM phenylmethyl sulfonyl fluoride [PMSF], 1 mM EDTA) varied from 2 to 4 ml depending on the number of seeds used and the viscosity of the extract Grinding was continued for an additional minute after buffer addition, the mixture was then centrifuged at 14,000xg for 10 minutes and the supernatant solution was saved as the albumin-globulin fraction that contained the thioredoxin

SDS-PAGE of the albumin-globulin fraction was performed in 12-17% polyacrylamide gradient gels at pH 8 5 (Laemmli, 1970) From each sample equal amounts of protein (~40 μg) quantitated according to Bradford (1976) were diluted 1 2 v/v in Laemmli sample buffer, boiled for 3 minutes, loaded onto gels and subjected to electrophoresis at a constant current of 15 mA Proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose at a constant voltage of 40 V for 4 hours at 4°C using a Hoefer Transphor Transfer Unit (Alameda, CA) Nitrocellulose was blocked with 5% powdered milk in TBS for 2 hours at room temperature (RT), incubated in primary antibody for 4 hours at RT and in secondary antibody for 1 hour at RT Primary antibody was wheat anti-thioredoxin h II Ab (Johnson ef al , 1987b) diluted 1 to 500, secondary antibody was goat anti-rabbit alkaline phosphatase (Bio-Rad, Hercules CA) diluted 1 3000 Blots were developed in NBT/BCIP alkaline phosphatase color reagent (according to Bio-Rad instructions), gels were stained with Coomassie blue to assure transfer Images were scanned using a

Bio-Rad GelDoc 1000 (Hercules, CA) and analyzed using Bio-Rad Multi Analyst, version 1 0 2 All bands were scanned over the same area, using a rectangle of comparable density as background, results were expressed as % of volume scanned The number shown represents the percent of the total volume (pixel density X area of scanned band)

WTRXh Activity Measurements

Preparation of Materials for Extraction

Mature grains from various heterozygous and homozygous transgenic lines served as starting materials for the assay Heterozygous lines with a D-hordem promoter were GPDhBarWtrx-5, GPDhBarWtrx-9-1 , and GPDhBarWtrx-9-2 Heterozygous lines with a B-hordein promoter and no signal sequence were GPdBhBarWtrx-2, -5, -9, -19 and GPdBhBarWtrx-20 Heterozygous lines with a B-hordem promoter plus a signal sequence were GPdBhssBarWtrx-2, -7, GPdBhssBarWtrx-29, GPdBhssBarWtrx-20, GPdBhssBarWtrx-14, GPdBhssBarWtrx-22 Homozygous lines with a signal sequence were GPdBhssBarWtrx-2-17, GPdBhssBarWtrx-2-17-1 , GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-3 and GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-3-2 Control materials included a non-transformed tissue culture derived line,

4-96, a transformed line containing only bar, GPBar-l, and null segregant lines, GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-11 and GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-11-10, derived from line GPdBhssBarWtrx-29

Preparation of (NH_ή) SO_Λ Extracts for Gel Filtration Approximately fifteen grams of barley grains were ground to powder in a coffee grinder and extracted with 80 ml (1 4 w/v) of buffer [(50 mM Tπs-HCI buffer, pH 7 9, 1 mM EDTA, 0 5 mM PMSF (phenylmethysulfonyl fluoride)], 2 mM e-ammo-π caproic acid, 2 mM benzamidine-HCI) by stirring for 3 hrs at 4°C The slurry plus the rinse was subjected to centrifugation at 25,400xg for 20 m , the supernatant solution was decanted through glass wool, pellets were resuspended in a small volume of buffer and then clarified by centrifugation as before The supernatant fractions were combined, an aliquot was removed and the remainder was subjected to acidification by adjusting the pH from 7 83 to 4 80 with 2 N formic acid, denatured proteins were removed by centrifugation as above prior to assay The pH of the acidified supernatant solution was readjusted to 7 91 with 2 N NH₄OH and an aliquot was removed for assay Powdered (NH₄)₂S0₄ was added to a final concentration of 30% and the sample was stirred for 20 mm at 4°C, followed by centrifugation as described above The pellet was discarded Additional (NH₄)₂S0₄ was added to bring the decanted supernatant solution to 90% saturation, the sample was stirred for 16 hrs at 4°C, followed by centrifugation as described above

The supernatant solution was discarded, the 30-90% (NH₄)₂S0₄ pellets were re-suspended in 30 mM T s-HCI, pH 7 9 buffer and then subjected to centrifugation at 40,000xg for 15 mm to clarify The resulting supernatant (30-90% (NH₄)₂S0₄ fraction) was added to dialysis tubing (6,000-8,000 MW cut-off) and exposed to solid sucrose at 4°C to obtain a 10-fold reduction in volume An aliquot (1 ml) of the clarified and concentrated 30-90% (NH₄)₂S0₄) sample was saved and the remaining sample was applied to a pre-equilibrated (30 mM Tns-HCI, pH 7 9, 200 mM NaCl) Sephadex G-50 superfine column (2 5 x 90 cm, ~400 mL bed volume) with a peristaltic pump at a flow rate of 0 5 mL/min Protein was eluted with the same buffer at the same flow rate, one hundred fifty drop-fractions were collected Selected fractions were used to measure absorbance at 280 nm using a Pharmacia Biotech Ultrospec 4000 and to assay for TRX/7 activity following the NADP-MDH activation protocol (see below) Active fractions were pooled, stored at 4°C, and then assayed for total NADP-MDH activation activity

Preparation of Heat-Treated Extracts

Approximately 10 grams of barley grains were ground to powder for about 30 sec in a coffee grinder and extracted by shaking for 1 hr at room temperature in 50 mL buffer as above The slurry plus the rinse was subjected to centrifugation at 27,000xg for 20 m and the supernatant solution decanted through glass wool A 20 mL aliquot of each sample was heated at 65°C until sample temperature reached 60±1 °C (~10 mm) The sample was held at 60°C for 10 additional mm, followed by cooling in an ice/water bath The cooled sample was centrifuged and the supernatant solution was concentrated by sucrose as above and stored at -20°C Frozen samples were thawed and clarified by centrifugation at 14,000 rpm for 10 mm at 4°C Total TRXh activity was estimated on the concentrated, supernatant fractions

NADP-Malate Dehydrogenase Activation Assays Thioredoxin h activity was assayed as previously described (Horencio ef al , 1988, Johnson ef al ,

1987a) Fifty to 120 μl of extract (depending on activity) was preincubated with DTT, and 0 16 to 0 32 μl of the pre-mcubation mixture was used for the NADP-MDH assay Control assays were conducted on identical fractions in the absence of NADP-MDH Western blot analysis was conducted as described above except that 10 to 20 % SDS-polyacrylamide gels were used for electrophoresis and transfer to nitrocellulose paper was for 4 hrs at 40 V

Sequential Extraction of Multiple Protein Fractions

Ten grams of barley grain were sequentially extracted for albumin (H₂0-soluble), globulin (salt-soluble), horde s (alcohol-soluble) and glutelms (Shewry ef al , 1980) Barley powder was stirred with 0 5 M NaCl for 1 h at 25°C to remove salt-soluble proteins Two sequential hordein fractions were extracted from the residue with 50% propanol in the absence (hordeιn-l) and presence (hordein-ll) of 2% (v/v) 2- mercaptoethanol Glutelms were extracted from the residue with 0 05 M borate buffer, pH 10, containing 1 % (v/v) 2-mercaptoethanol and 1 % (v/v) sodium dodecylsulphate

In vitro Monobromobimane (mBBr) Labeling of Proteins

Immature, mature, or germinating seeds from nontransformed and transgenic plants were ground in

100 mM Tns-HCI buffer, pH 7 9 Reactions were carried out following the protocol of Kobrehel ef al , (1992) Seventy microliters of the buffer mixture containing a known amount of protein was either untreated or treated with DTT to a final concentration of 0 5 mM After incubation for 20 mm, 100 nmol of mBBr was added, and the reaction was continued for another 15 mm To stop the reaction and derivatize excess mBBr, 10 μl of 10% SDS and 100 μl of 100 mM 2-mercaptoethanol were added The samples were applied to a 15% SDS-PAGE gel Fluorescence of mBBr was visualized by placing gels on a light box fitted with a UV light source (365 nm) Protein determination was carried out by the

Bradford dye binding method (Bradford 1976) using bovine serum albumin or gamma globulin as standards

Assay of Pullulanase and its Inhibitor To measure pullulanase activity, gram was germinated in a dark chamber and retained for up to 5 days at 25°C as described (Kobrehel ef al , 1992 , Lozano ef al , 1996 ) A set of plates from each line was removed for extract preparation each day Cell-free endosperm extracts were prepared from lots of 10- 20 germinated grains of equivalent root and coleoptile length within a given cohort Endosperm was separated from the embryo and other tissues and added to Tns-HCI buffer (50 mM, pH 7 9) supplemented with 1 mM EDTA and 0 5 mM PMSF (1 3 to 1 6, wt/vol ratio of tissue to buffer depending on developmental stage) After grinding in a mortar on ice, the sample was clarified by centrifugation (10 m at 24,000xg), the supernatant fraction was recovered and stored in 0 5-ml aliquots -80°C for pullulanase spectrophotometric or gel assays

Pullulanase activity was determined spectrophotometπcally at 37°C by measuring dye released after

30 mm at 534 nm using red pullulan (Megazyme, Bray, Ireland) as substrate in 50 mM citrate- phosphate buffer (pH 5 2) (Serre ef al , 1990 ) Pullulanase also was assayed on native activity gels of 7 5% acrylamide, 1 5 mm thickness, containing 1 % red pullulan (Furegon ef al , 1994 ) Gels were scanned using a Bio-Rad Gel Doc 1000 and analyzed using Bio-Rad MULTI ANALYST, version 1 0 2 Pullulanase inhibitor activity was determined on fractions heated to inactivate pullulanase (70°C for 15 mm) by measuring their ability to inhibit added purified barley malt pullulanase Endogenous pullulanase activity was shown to be completely eliminated by this heat-treatment while the inhibitor activity was not affected (Macn ef al , 1993, MacGregor ef al , 1994) Alpha-Amylase Activity in Barley Gram Overexpressing Thioredoxin h Amylase activity from the null segregant and homozygous barley grains was analyzed during germination and early seedling growth by using gels containing starch Native polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels [6% acrylamide, 1 5 mm thick] were prepared and developed according to the method of Laemmli (1970) except that SDS was omitted from all solutions The separating gel contained 0 5% soluble starch (Lintner potato starch, Sigma Chemical Co , St Louis, MO) Lyophilized samples were dissolved in distilled H₂0 and mixed 1 1 with a buffer consisting of 0 25 M Tns-HCI, pH 6 8, 50% glycerol, 0 04% bromophenol blue, and 3 mM CaCI₂ Fifty micrograms of sample protein were loaded in each lane Electrophoresis was carried out at 80 milliamps per gel at 4°C until the dye front was at the edge of the gel (usually 4 to 5 hours) After electrophoresis, the gels were incubated in 100 ml of 0 1 M succinate buffer, pH 6 0, for 1-2 hours at 37°C The gels were then stained for 5 mm in a solution containing 2 5 mM l₂ and 0 5 M Kl Gels were washed in distilled H₂0 Except for the white regions containing amylase activity, gels were stained dark blue

Isoelectπcfocusinq (IEF)

For determination of alpha-amylase isozyme patterns, extracts from both dry and germinating gram of transformed and control (untransformed) barley were separated by electrophoresis at 4°C [1 0 mm thick, pH 3-10 isoelectnc focusing (IEF) polyacrylamide gels, using the X cell II system (NOVEX, San Diego, CA)] Cathode buffer contained 20 mM argmine, and 20 mM lysine, anode buffer was 7 mM phosphoric acid Samples were mixed 1 1 and 2x IEF sample buffer pH 3-10 (NOVEX) After sample application (20 μg/lane) gels were developed at constant voltage [100 V for 1 hr, 200 V for an additional 1 hr, and 500 V for 30 m ] IEF standards (Bio-Rad) were used to determine the pH gradient of the gels

Multiple Antibody Probing of IEF Gels

Western blot analysis of alpha-amylase isozymes was performed using a Mini Trans-Blot Electrophoretic Transfer Cell (Bio-Rad) Seed extracts from the null segregant and homozygous lines overexpressing wheat thioredoxin h were separated by IEF gels as described above Proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose at a constant voltage of 100 V for 1 hr at 4°C using 0 75% acetic acid as blotting buffer Nitrocellulose was blocked with 5% powdered milk in Tris buffer solution (20 mM Tns- HCI, pH 7 5, supplemented with 0 15 M NaCl) for 1 hr at room temperature, incubated with primary antibody for 4 hours at room temperature and then with secondary antibody for 1 hour at room temperature Primary antibody was anti-barley alpha-amylase B diluted 1 1000, secondary antibody was goat anti-rabbit alkaline phosphatase (Bio-Rad) diluted 1 3000 Blots were developed in

NBT/BCIP alkaline phosphatase color reagent (according to Bio-Rad instructions) thereby rendering the cross-reacted alpha-amylase bluish-purple To achieve full identity of isozyme pattern, blots were probed a second time with another primary antibody, anti-alpha-amylase A (diluted 1 1000) and the secondary antibody (as above) This time blots were developed in Naphthol Phosphate/Fast Red alkaline phosphatase color reagent (according to Bio-Rad instructions) which gave a pink stain to the alpha-amylase A The blot shown was subject to this dual probing procedure

B. Results and Discussion

Production of Transgenic Plants

One day after bombardment, the whole embryos were transferred onto DC medium with 5 mg/L bialaphos At transfer to the second selection plate (5 mg/L bialaphos), all material from individual callusing embryos was broken into small pieces (2-4 mm) using forceps and maintained separately During the subsequent two to five selection passages on 5 mg/L bialaphos (at 10- 20 d intervals) callus pieces showing evidence of more vigorous growth were transferred to new selection plates During the second round of selection, some pieces of callus were inhibited in growth and in some cases pieces turned brown In general, transformed tissues were observed after three or more rounds of selection The bialaphos-resistant tissues were transferred onto an intermediate medium, DBC2 or DBC3 (Cho et al , 1998a-c) with bialaphos (5mg/L), and grown for 1 to 2 months before regeneration on FHG medium containing 3 mg/L bialaphos Green plantlets were transferred into Magenta boxes containing 3 mg/L bialaphos Twenty-eight independent putatively transformed, regenerable lines were produced after bialaphos selection (shown in Table 1)

Table 1 Transgenic Barley Lines Transformed with Wheat Thioredoxin h Gene

^*n d not determined Analysis of T_p Plants and their Progeny

PCR analysis was performed using two sets of WTRXh primers and one set of BAR primers (see Figure 1 ) PCR amplification resulted in 0 4-kb intact wtrxh or 0 14kb truncated wtrxh and 0 34-kb internal bar fragments from transgenic lines Of the 28 lines tested, 28 yielded bar fragments from T₀ leaf tissue and 26 produced PCR-amplified fragments for wtrxh, giving a 93% co-transformation frequency Nine lines were transformed with pdBhWTRXN-1 , eleven with pdBhssWTRXN-8, five with pDhWTRXN-2 and one with pG1bWTRXN-1 (see Table 1) Three lines (GPdBhBarWtrx-5, GPdBhssBarWtrx-21 and GPDhBarWtrx-22) were sterile Seeds of T plants and their progeny from selected wfrxft-positive lines were planted in order to screen for homozygous lines Homozygous lines and null segregants were obtained from GPdBhssBarWtrx-2, -29 and GPDfιBarWtrx-9 (see Table 1 )

Cytoloqical Analysis of Transgenic Plants

Chromosomes were counted in root meristem cells of independently transformed T₀ barley plants Out of 28 independent transgenic lines examined 17 lines had the normal diploid chromosome complement (2n=2x=14), while the remaining 11 lines were tetraploid (2n=4x=28) (see Table 1)

Characterization and Content of WTRXh Produced in Transgenic Seed As discussed above, several stably transformed barley lines were obtained that express wheat thioredoxin h As seen in Figure 2, the stable introduction of the wtrxh linked to the B1-hordeιn promoter with the signal peptide sequence resulted in greatly enhanced expression of active WTRXh in transgenic barley seed

Analysis by western blot of soluble protein fractions of the three lines in which the thioredoxin gene was linked to a signal sequence (GPdBhssBarWtrx-22, GPdBhssBarWtrx-29 and GPdBhssBarWtrx-7) showed differences in the level of expression (shown in Table 2) Line GPdBhssBarWtrx-22,

GPdBhssBarWtrx-29 and GPdBhssBarWtrx-7, respectively, showed 22 times, 10 times and 5 5 times more WTRXh protein than nontransformed control seeds The analyses showed that the thioredoxin content of the null segregant (GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-11 ) was approximately half that of the corresponding control The three lines generated from the construct in which the thioredoxin gene was not associated with a signal sequence were also compared to nontransformed control barley seed and they exhibited the following increases in TRXh levels as indicated by the western blot analyses GPDhBarWtrx-9 12 times, GPDhBarWtrx-5 6 3 times, GPdBhBarWtrx-2 6 4 times When probed on Western Blots, the transgenic lines show two bands while the control barley generaly shows only one and in some cases a second minor band Furthermore, the tissues from the transgenic lines were characterized by a band that did not correspond to either of the barley bands but did correspond to wheat thioredoxin h These data indicate that the protein introduced by transformation is wheat thioredoxin h Table 2 Western Blot Analyses of Overexpression of Wheat Thioredoxin h in Barley

The Wheat thioredoxin h in Barley Grams is Biologically Active

Because of interference from other enzymes that oxidize NADPH, the activity of TRXh cannot be accurately assayed in crude extracts, thereby necessitating its partial purification Partially purified extracts of the different transgenic and control lines were prepared from 15 grams of seed using ammonium sulfate fractionation and gel filtration chromatography Activity was measured with an NADP-MDH activation assay Profiles based on these assays show that the activity of TRXh in the transformed seed is much higher than in the nontransformed control (see Figure 2) The activity results are summarized in Table 3

Total WTRXh activity from the seeds of two lines transformed with the B1 -hordein promoter and the signal sequence (GPBhssBarWtrx-3, GPdBhssBarWtrx-29) is about 4- to 10- fold higher, respectively, than that of control, nontransformed seed Total activity from a line transformed with the D-hordem promoter without the signal sequence (BGPDhBbarWtrx-5) is only slightly higher (1 25-fold) than that of the nontransformed control (see Table 3) In the transgenics, the specific activity of thioredoxin is generally about 0 128 A^_n-_m/min/mg protein or about two fold over null segregants Table 3 Summary of Total Buffer-Extracted Protein and Total Thioredoxin Activity from Active Fraction after Gel Filtration

^*Numbers in brackets are fold increase over that of the control

The transformed barley grains analyzed so far appear to have more total buffer-extracted protein than control, nontransformed seed (Table 3)

The transformed grains have a thioredoxin content of at least about 10-15 μg thioredoxin/mg soluble proteιn(about 2-8 μg thioredoxin/mg tissue) or about two-fold higher than the null segregant

Because of the tediousness of the (NH₄)₂S0₄ procedure and the requirement for large quantities of seed, the original extraction procedure was modified to include a heat treatment step This change was based on the fact that E coli WTRXh is stable after treatment at 60°C for 10 mm (Mark and Richardson, 1976) Results on WTRX from two different transgenic barley seeds (GPdBhBarWtrx-3,

GPdBhssBarWtr-29) showed no significant difference in activity between the heat treated and non-heat treated extracts (Figure 3) In addition heat-treatment decreased the endogenous, nonspecific activity in this assay, thereby increasing the reliability of the measurements

Ten different barley lines (transformed and nontransformed) were extracted using the heat-treatment step and assayed with the NADP-MDH assay, the results are summarized in Table 4 In general, total WTRXh activities in seeds from lines transformed with the B-hordem promoter and signal sequence linked to wtrxh are much higher (4- to 35-fold) than in seeds from lines transformed with the same promoter without signal sequence linked to wtrxh or in seeds from the nontransformed control (Table 4) At this point it is not known whether all expressed wheat WTRXh in barley seeds is heat stable Table 4 Relative Total Thioredoxin Activity in Different Transgenic Barley Lines

One hundred percent of (a) total protein, mg, (b) total activity, nmol/mm, and (c) specific activity, nmol/min/mg protein of the non-transgenic control are (a) 116 4, (b) 157 38 (c) 1 52, respectively

Of the stably transformed lines that expressed wheat thioredoxin h, on average, its level was found to be higher in transformants that had the signal peptide-containmg constructs than to those that did not (Table 4) Western blot analysis of soluble protein fractions from heterozygous mixtures of seeds from three of the lines, GPdBhssBarWtrx-7, GPdBhssBarWtrx-29, and GPdBhssBarWtrx-22 showed 5 5 times, 22 times, and 10 times more thioredoxin h, respectively, than nontransformed control grain (Table 2) The thioredoxin content of the null segregant (GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-11-10) was about half that of the corresponding, nontransformed control

Extracts from barley typically showed one immunologically reactive band (identified by B in Figure 4A, lanes 1 and 6) but in some transfers showed a second faint, faster moving band (Figure 4B, lane 2) Tissues from transgenic lines overexpressing wtrxh were characterized by a band that did not correspond to either of the two counterparts in barley, but rather to thioredoxin h from wheat The difference between the overexpressed 13 5-kDa wheat and the endogenous 13 1-kDa barley thioredoxin h is particularly pronounced in the barley line transformed with the nontargeted thioredoxin h gene (Figure 4A, line 5 and Figure 4B, lane 1 ) Repeated analyses of the various transgenic lines by SDS/PAGE led to the conclusion that the band identified in Figures 4A-B by W corresponds to the bread wheat wtrxh introduced by barley Independent biochemical assays with 5,5'-dιthιobιs(2- nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) (Florencio ef al , 1988 ) confirmed the ability of barley NTR to reduce wheat thioredoxin h (data not shown) Because of their value in assessing biochemical attributes of the gram, homozygous wtrxh lines were identified and analyzed by Western blot The two lines identified as homozygous showed both enhanced expression of thioredoxin h relative to that of their heterozygous parents and nontransformed controls Analysis of GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-3 is shown in Figure 5 It is noted that demonstration of the thioredoxin h present in the nontransgenic control and null segregant grains (not apparent in the exposure shown in Figure 4) required conditions that led to overexposure of the enriched transgenic preparations Thioredoxin in the parent heterozygous grain was shown to be biochemically active

Pullulanase and Pullulanase Inhibitor Activity in Barley Gram Overexpressing Thioredoxin h

Pullulanase is an amylolytic enzyme present in cereal gram, which has a disulfide inhibitor protein (Macπ et al , 1993 , MacGregor et al , 1994 ), the activity of which is linked to thioredoxin (Wong ef al , 1995 ) Thioredoxin reduced by NADPH via NTR, reduces the disulfide bonds of the inhibitor, allowing the targeted pullulanase enzyme to be active Because of this relationship, it was of interest to determine the activity of pullulanase in the thioredoxin /7-overexpressιng transformants

Spectrophotometric assays (Figure 8A) of extracts from transformed gram of a homozygous line (GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-3) overexpressing thioredoxin h showed a 3- to 4-fold increase in pullulanase activity on the fifth day after initiation of germination relative to its null segregant Confirmatory results were obtained in a separate experiment with native activity gels The increase in activity was apparent either when gels were viewed directly (Figure 8B) or when the activity on the gels was assessed by scanning and integrating the clarified bands (Figure 8C) A homozygous line isolated from a different, independent transformation event (GPdBssBarWtrx-2-1-15) showed a similar response (data not shown) The transgenic plants expressed an pullulanase activity of about 1-2 Absorbance units at 534 nm/30 mm/mg protein, which is about two-fold higher than null segregants

Pullulanase inhibitor activity was determined on fractions heated to inactivate pullulanase (70°C for 15 mm) by measuring the inhibition of the fractions on added purified barley malt pullulanase The endogenous pullulanase activity was shown to be completely eliminated by this heat treatment whereas inhibitor activity was not affected (Macri ef al , supra, MacGregor ef al , εupra) Analysis of comparable gram extracts revealed that the pullulanase inhibitor was inactive on the fourth and fifth days after water addition in both the transformant and null segregants These results thus demonstrate that the increase in pullulanase activity observed after the third day is not caused by enhanced inactivation of the inhibitor in the transgenic gram It is possible that thioredoxin acts either by increasing the de novo synthesis of pullulanase (Hardie ef al , 1975 ) or by lowering the binding of the mature enzyme to the starchy endosperm There is evidence that some of the pullulanase of the mature endosperm is present in bound form and can be solubilized by reducing conditions (Sissons ef al , 1993 , Sissons ef al , 1994 ) Alpha-Amylase Activity in Barley Gra Overexpressing Thioredoxin h

Alpha-amylase, also an amylolyfic enzyme that is induced by gibberellic acid like pullulanase, has long been considered key to germination The synthesis of the major (B) and minor (A) forms of this enzyme are known to be triggered by the hormone, gibberellic acid (GA) In addition, alpha-amylase activity is increased in vitro by the reductive mactivation of its disulfide inhibitor protein by thioredoxin h (in the presence of NADPH and NADP-thioredoxin reductase) The present results with transformed barley seeds show that, like pullulanase, thioredoxin h expression alters alpha-amylase activity In this case, the appearance of the enzyme during germination is accelerated and its abundance and activity are increased

Figure 9A-D shows the early increase in both the abundance and activity of alpha-amylase (A + B forms) during gemmation and seedling development Based on the antibody response in western blots, alpha-amylase was first detected 3 days after the onset of germination in the transgenic gram Figure 9C) whereas the enzyme did not appear until the fourth day in the null segregant (Figure 9A)

The onset of activity (based on the activity gel) followed a similar pattern (Figure 9B and Figure 9D) The mobility of the enzyme in the activity gel also reflected the early induction of activity in the transgenic gram (Figure 10) That much of this increase in activity seen early on was due to the B (a gibberellic acid-linked form) is supported by Figure 11 Here, one can also see that the level of the minor A form of the enzyme (also gibberellic acid dependent) was increased in grain overexpressing thioredoxin h Again, the appearance of significant levels of the major (B form) alpha-amylase enzyme was advanced by 1 day

Germination of Barley Grains Overexpressing Thioredoxin h All operations were carried out at 25°C (unless otherwise specified below) under conditions described by Kobrehel ef al 1992 and Lozano et al 1996 Grains were surface sterilized by continuous stirring in 0 25% bleach for 30 m Bleach was removed by extensive washing with sterilized distilled water Thirty sterilized null segregant (GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-22-10, in which the transgene was removed by crossing with a self-polmated plant from the same line) and thirty sterilized homozygous (GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-3) seeds were placed in each of a series of plastic Petri dishes (12 5 cm diameter) fitted with three layers of Whatman #1 filter paper moistened with 15 ml sterile distilled water Plates were wrapped with aluminum foil and gram was germinated in a dark chamber at 20°C for up to 7 days One plate was read at each time point shown in Figure 21 Percent germination, in the first day (from the start of incubation up to 24 hours), was determined by observing the emergence of the radicle On the subsequent days, percent germination represents seedling growth as determined by measuring the length of coleoptile and roots of the germinated grains

The results, shown in Figure 21 , indicate that germination in transgenic barley overexpressing wheat thioredoxin h is detected about 16 hours after the onset of incubation in about 25-30% of the seeds In contrast, no germination in the null segregant was detected at 16 hours but is first detected 8 hours later, on Day 1 Therefore, in the transgenic germination is advanced about 8 hours However on Day 1 germination was detected in approximately 70% or about twice the number of transgenic grains in comparison to their null segregant counterparts It is interesting to note that the onset of germination in the transgenics parallels the onset of the detection of alpha amylase as shown in Figure 10

Seguential Extraction of Gram Proteins from Transgenic Barley Grains

Isolated endosperm from 10 dry grains or seedlings (germinated as described above) were ground with mortar and pestle at 4°C with 3 ml Tns-HCI buffer as indicated below The separate mixtures of homozygous GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-3 and null segregant GPdBhssBarWtrx-29-22-10 grains were placed in a 5-ml screw-top centrifuge tube Grains were mechanically shaken for 30 minutes and then centrifuged for 10 mm at 24,000 x g The supernatant fraction (buffer-soluble) was decanted and saved for analysis and the residue was extracted sequentially with the following solvents for the indicated times [1] 0 5 M NaCl (30 m ), [2] water (30 mm), [3] 2 x 50% propanol (2 hr), [4] 2 x 50% propanol +

2% 2-mercaptoethanol (MET) (2 hr), and [5] 0 5 M borate buffer, pH 10, containing 1 % SDS and 2% 2-mercaptoethanol (2 hr) Supernatant fractions of all extracts were determined for volume and protein content (by Coomassie dye binding method), then were stored at -20°C until use By convention, the fractions are designated [1] albumin/globulin (buffer/salt/water), [2] Hordein I (propanol), [3] Hordein II (propanol + MET), and [4] glutelm (Borate/SDS/MET) (Shewry ef al , 1980) These fractions were used to determine, protein content, the distribution of proteins between the water soluble and insoluble fractions, the total extractable protein, and reduction with NADPH

To determine the in vivo redox status of protein from transgenic barley gram during germination and seedling development, the extraction procedure was repeated except that 2 mM mBBr was included in the Tns grinding buffer and the grinding was under liquid nitrogen The mBBr derivatized proteins were electrophoresed on SDS-polyacrylamide gels (1 5 mm thickness, 10 - 20% gels, pH 8 5 (Laemmli, 1970) Gels were developed for 16 hr at a constant current of 8 mA Following electrophoresis, gels were placed in 12% (w/v) tπchloroacetic acid and soaked for 4 to 6 hr with one change of solution to fix the proteins, gels were then transferred to a solution of 40% methanol/10% acetic acid for 8 to 10 hr with agitation to remove residual mBBr The fluorescence of mBBr (both free and protein bound mBBr), was visualized by placing gels on a light box fitted with an ultraviolet light source (365 nm) Following removal of the excess (free) mBBr, images of gels were captured by Gel Doc 1000 (Bio-Rad)

To ascertain the equivalent protein amount of loaded extracts, SDS-gels were stained with Coomassie

Brilliant Blue G-250 in 10% acetic acid for 30 mm, and destamed in 10% acetic acid for 30 mm with the aid of a microwave oven Protein stained gels were captured by Gel Doc 1000 as above The quantification of fluorescence (pixel x mm x mm) and protein (optical density x mm x mm) on gels were carried out by a software program for image analysis - Multi-Analyst, version 1 0 (Bio-Rad) Relative reduction was expressed as the ratio of fluorescence to protein

The results of two experiments shown in Table 5, Table 6, and Table 7 demonstrate an increase in the total protein on a percent gram and a percent weight basis in the transgenic barley as compared to the null segregant The transgenic have a thioredoxin content that is at least two-fold higher (10-15 μg/mg soluble protein, 2-8μg/gram tissue) than the null segregant The data indicate that this increase in total extractable protein is the result in redistribution of the protein to the most soluble albumin/globulin fraction The redistribution of the protein to the soluble fraction increase in the transgenics is at least 5% higher than the controls

Table 5 Protein Content of Various Fractions in Transgenic Barley Gram Overexpressing Wheat Thioredoxin h

^*Weιght per 10 seeds is 0 377 and 0402 full null segregant and homozygous line of transgenic barley

Table 6 Protein Content of Various Fractions in Transgenic Barley Gram Overexpressing Wheat Thioredoxin h

^*Weιght per 10 seeds is 0 377 and 0 402 for null segregant and homozygous line of transgenic barley

Table 7 Percent Increase of Extractable Protein in Homozygous Line

Analysis of the relative redox status (SH SS) of protein fractions in transgenic and null segregant barley grains during germination and as dry grains are shown in Figure 22 In dry transgenic gram, the greatest increase in reduction relative to the null segregant was observed in the hordein I fraction This increase was paralleled by decreases in the relative redox status in the hordein II and glutelm fractions while the relative redox status of the albumin/globulin fraction was unchanged The relative redox status of the transgenic in comparison to the null segregant is at least 5 1

During germination, the albumin/globulin fraction progressively increases, reaching a relative redox ratio of about 1 5 on Day 4 The relative redox status of the hordein II and glutelm fractions also increased during germination but only reached parity with the null segregant In contrast the relative redox status of the hordein I fraction was highly variable

According to the above example, other types of plants, are transformed in a similar manner to produce transgenic plants overexpressing thioredoxin, such as transgenic wheat, described below, rice, maize, oat, rye sorghum (described below), millet, tnticale, forage grass, turf grass, soybeans, lima beans, tomato, potato, soybean, cotton, tobacco etc Further, it is understood that thioredoxins other than wheat thioredoxin or thioredoxin h can be used in the context of the invention Such examples include spinach h, chloroplast thioredoxin m and f bacterial thioredoxins (e g , E coli ) yeast, and animal and the like

Example 2

Transgenic Wheat Gram Overexpressing Thioredoxin h and Arabidopsis NTR A. Materials and Methods Plant Materials

Spring cultivar of wheat, Bobwhite, Anza and Yecora Rojo, were grown in the greenhouse as described previously (Wan and Lemaux 1994, Lemaux ef al 1996) Ten- to 14-day-old germinating plants of a winter - wheat cultivar, Karl, were incubated at 4°C for 45 to 60 days in the dark for vernalization treatment

Wheat Expression Vectors For wheat transformation, synthetic green fluorescent protein gene [stgp(S65T)], wheat thioredoxin h

(wtrxh) or Arabidopsis ntr expression vectors driven by barley endosperm-specific B_n- or D-hordem were constructed as follows

(1 ) pDhSSsGFPN3-4 the chimeπc DNA construct containing the D-hordem promoter-signal sequence-sgtp(S65T)-/?os was obtained using a modified method of site-directed mutagenesis by PCR (Cho and Lemaux 1997) The three-primer strategy was used A shorter fragment of 0 5-kb DHORSS was produced by PCR in the first reaction using primers, Dhor4

(5'-agaaagcttggtaccCTTCGAGTGCCCGCCGAT-3', SEQ ID NO 9) and DhorSSsGFPI R (5'-GAACAGCTCCTCGCCCTTGCTCACAGCGGTGGTGAGAGCCACGAGGGC-3'. SEQ ID NO 10), with the template pHor3-1 containing a genomic clone of D hordein (Sørensen ef al , 1996), and this first PCR product (megaprimer) was diluted 50 times DhorSSsGFPI R is an overlapping primer which contain the sgfp(S65T) coding sequence and a partial signal peptide sequence (underlined) from the D-hordem promoter For the second PCR reaction, five μl of the diluted megaprimer (DHORSS), twenty ng of template (pActl lsGFP-1 , Cho ef al , 2000) and 40 pmol of external primers [Dhor4 and Nosl R (5'-cggaattcGATCTAGTAACATAGATGACA-3' SEQ ID NO 17)] were mixed to a final volume of 100 μl in 1X PCR buffer, pAct1 lsGFP-1 contains synthetic gfp gene [sgrp(S65T)] (Chiu et al , 1996) controlled by the rice actin 1 promoter and its intron and terminated by nos The resulting chimeric PCR product was digested with Hmdll and EcoRI and ligated into the H/ndll/EcoRI-digested pBluescnpt II KS(+) vector, further confirmed by DNA sequencing of the PCR-amplified fragment [D-hordein promoter with its signal peptide sequence plus the junction region with the 5' sgfp(S65T)], and used for stable transformation of wheat

(2) pDhWTRXhN-2 the 384-bp wtrxh coding region was amplified by PCR utilizing the plasmid pTaM13 38 (Gautier ef al , 1998) containing cDNA clone of wtrxh gene as a template to create Xbal and Sac\ sites with primers Wtrxhl (5'-atatctaqaATGGCGGCGTCGGCGGCGA-3', SEQ ID NO 5) and Wtrxh2R (5'-ataαagctcTTACTGGGCCGCGTGTAG-3', SEQ ID NO 6), respectively (Fig 12), small letters contain a restriction enzyme site for subcloning of the DNA construct containing the wtrxh gene and underlined letters indicate the wtrxh sequences The ATG initiation codon for wtrxh expression was included in the Wtrxhl primer PCR reactions were performed on a thermocycler (MJ Research Inc , Watertown, MA) using recombinant Tag DNA polymerase (Promega, Madison, WI) in a 100-μl reaction volume The reaction buffer contained 10 mM Tns-HCI (pH 9 0), 50 mM KCl, 1 5 mM MgCI₂, 0 1 % Trιton-X-100, and 50 μM of each deoxynbonucleoside tnphosphate PCR conditions were 25 cycles of 94°C for 1 mm, 55°C for 1 mm and 72°C for 2 m , with a final extension step at 72°C for 7 mm The wtrxh fragment amplified with primers Wtrxhl and Wtrxh2R was purified from a 0 7% agarose gel using QIAquick® gel extraction kit (Qiagen Inc , Chatsworth, CA), digested with Xbal and

Sacl and ligated into Xbal/Sacl digested pUC19 to generate the pWTRXh-1 plasmid Nucleotide sequences of the PCR-amplified tvfrxt? coding region were determined by dideoxynucleotide chain termination method using Sequenase according to manufacturer's instructions (United States Biochemical, Cleveland, OH) with double-stranded plasmid templates and regularly spaced primers pDhWTRXN-2 was made by replacing the uidA gene in pDhGN-2 (containing barley endosperm- specific D-hordem promoter and nos 3' terminator, M -J Cho, unpublished) with the Xbal/Sacl fragment containing wtrxh coding sequence from the pWTRXh 1

(3) pdBhssWTRXhN3-8 primers Bhor7 (5'-GTAAAGCTπAACAACCCACACATTG-3', SEQ ID NO 7) and BhorWtrxhl R (5'-CCGACGCCGCTGCAATCGTACTTGTTGCCGCAAT-3'. SEQ ID NO 8) containing Hindlll and Acyl sites, respectively, were used for amplification of 0 49-kb B.-hordein 5' region including the B^hordem signal peptide sequence using the K2-4/Hιnd\\l plasmid containing genomic clone of B_rhordeιn (Brands ef al , 1985, Cho ef al , 1997) as a template The primer BhorWtrxhlR is an overlapping primer containing the wtrxh coding sequence (underlined) and a partial signal peptide sequence from the B hordein promoter without the ATG initiation codon for wtrxh pdBhssWTRXhN3-8 was made by replacing the D-hordem promoter in pDhWTRXN-2 with the 0 49-kb

PCR-amplified /-//Ddlll/Acyl fragment containing B hordein promoter with its signal peptide sequence plus the junction region with the 5' wtrxh Thus, construct pdBhWTRXN3-8 contains the barley endosperm-specific B^hordein promoter with its signal peptide sequence, wtrxh and nos (Fig 12) The signal peptide sequence containing the ATG initiation codon was directly combined with the sequence of the wtrxh gene (Gautier ef al , 1998), without having extra ammo acid sequences between the t o, in order to make WTRXh, protein provide a precise cleavage site in the lumen of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) The PCR-amplified fragment of the chimeric product was confirmed by DNA sequencing

(4) pKBhssWTRXN-2 pBhor-1 was digested with Sphl and Sacl in order to obtain the 0 55-kb 5'-flankιng region of B barley hordein promoter The 0 55-kb Sphl/Sacl fragment was ligated into pSPORT 1 (GIBCO BRL, Gaithersburg, MD) to make pSPBhor-4 pdBhssWTRN3-8 was digested with H/ndlll/EcoRI and the H/ndlll/EcoRI fragment containing the 0 43-kb barley endosperm-specific B,-hordein promoter plus its signal peptide sequence, wrxh and nos was ligated into the H/ndlll/EcoRI- digested pSPBhor-4 to generate the pSPBhssWTRXN-4 plasmid In order to remove ampicillm resistance gene, the 1 3-kb Sphl/EcoRI fragment of pSPBhssWTRXN-4 was ligated into Sphl/EcoRl- digested pJKKmf(-) containing kanamycin resistance gene to form pKBhssWTRXN-2 Thus, the kanamycιn^r-backbone construct, pKBhssWTRXN-2, contains the 0 55-kb 5'-flankιng region of the B_rbarley hordein promoter plus its signal peptide sequence, wrxh and nos (Fig 12)

(5) pDhAtNTR-4 pDhAtNTR-4 was made by replacing the wtrxh gene in pDhWTRXN-2 (described above) with the PCR-amplified Xbal/Sacl fragment containing Arabidopsis ntr coding sequence from pAtNTR (a gift from Dr S Y Lee) Primers, AtNTRI (5'- ggtctagaATGGAAACTCACAAAACC-3', SEQ ID NO 18) and A.NTR2R (5'- gggagctcTCAATCACTCTTACCCTC-3', SEQ ID NO 20), were used for amplification of the 1 009-Kb

Xbal/Sacl fragment containing 0 993-Kb Arabidopsis ntr coding sequence, small letters contain a restriction enzyme site for subcloning of the DNA construct containing Arabidopsis ntr gene and underlined letters indicate the Arabidopsis ntr sequences The Arabidopsis ntr fragment was purified from a 0 7% agarose gel using QIAquick® gel extraction kit, digested with Xbal and Sacl and ligated into Xbal/Sacl - digested pDhWTRXN-2 to generate the pDhAtNTR-4 plasmid Nucleotide sequences of the PCR-amplified Arabidopsis ntr coding region were determined by DNA sequencing

Stable Wheat Transformation

Stable transgenic lines of wheat transformed with pDhSSsGFPN3-4, pdBhssWTRXhN3-8, pKBhssWTRXN-2 or pDhAtNTR4 were obtained using highly regenerative, green tissues as transformation targets Highly regenerative tissues have a high percentage of totipotent cells capable of sustained cell division and competent for regeneration over long period In order to induce highly regenerative green tissues, whole immature embryos (lEs, 1 0-2 5 mm) were aseptically removed, placed scutellum side down on DBC3 medium (callus-induction medium containing 1 0 mg/L 2,4-dιchlorophenoxyacetιc acid, 0 5 mg/L BAP and 5 0 μM CuS0₄, Cho ef al , 1998a-c) Five to 7 days after initiation, germinating shoots and roots were removed by manual excision After 3 weeks of incubation at 24±1 °C under dim light conditions (approximately 10 to 30 μE, 16 h-light), highest quality tissues from the scutellum was selected and maintained on DBC3 medium Alternatively, highly regenerative, green tissues were obtained from daughter tissues, oval-shaped tissues with highly embryogenic structures which were emerged at the base of germinating shoots or from the outside layer of the tissues near the base of germinating shoots Seven to 14 days after initiation, daughter tissues (2-4 mm in length) were isolated from germinating lEs by manual excision and transferred to fresh DBC3 medium After an additional 3- to 4-week incubation, the tissues were selected again, broken into 2 to 4 pieces of about 3 to 5 mm in size and transferred onto fresh medium The tissues were maintained on fresh medium, subculturmg at 3- to 4-week intervals

Only good quality tissues were selected for bombardment The highly regenerative tissues (preferably about 3 to 4 mm in size) were transferred for osmotic pretreatment to DBC3 medium containing equimolar amounts of mannitol and sorbitol to give a final concentration of 0 4 M Four hours after treatment with the osmoticum, the tissues were bombarded as previously described (Wan and Lemaux 1994, Lemaux ef al 1996) Gold particles (1 0 μm) were coated with 25 μg of a 1 1 or 1 2 molar ratio of a mixture of pActl IHPT-4 (or pUbιlNPTII-1) and and one of 4 plasmids, pDhSSsGFPN3-4, pdBhssWTRXhN3-8, pKBhssWTRXN-2 or pDhAtNTR-4, followed by bombardment using a PDS-1000

He biolistic device (BioRad, Inc , Hercules, CA) at 600 or 900 psi The plasmid pActl IHPT-4 contains the hygromycm phosphotransferase (bpt) coding sequence under control of the rice actinl promoter (Acf ), its intron and the nos 3' terminator (Cho et al , 1998a-c) pUbιlNPTII-1 contains the neomycm phosphotransferase (nptll) gene under control of the maize ubiquitm promoter and first intron and terminated by nos Sixteen to 18 hr after bombardment, the bombarded tissues were placed to DBC3 medium without osmoticum and grown at 24 ±1°C under dim light

Following the initial 10- to 14-day cultuπng period, each regenerative tissue was broken into 1 to 3 pieces depending on tissue size and transferred to DBC3 medium supplemented with 20-25 mg/L hygromycm B (Boehπnger Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany) for selection for hpt or 30 mg/L G418

(Sigma, Saint Louis, MO) for nptll Three weeks after the first round of selection, the cultures were transferred to fresh DBC3 medium containing 30 mg/L hygromycm B or 40 mg/L G418 From the third round selection, the tissues were subcultured and maintained on DBC3 medium containing 30 mg/L hygromycm B or 40 mg/L G418 at 3- to 4-week intervals After the fourth or fifth round of selection, surviving tissues were transferred to DBC3 medium without selective agent Following the identification of green tissues with sufficient regenerative structures on DBC3, the tissues were plated on solid regeneration medium without selective agent and exposed to higher intensity light (approximately 45-55 μE) After four weeks on regeneration medium (callus-induction medium without phytohormones), the regenerated shoots were transferred to Magenta boxes containing the same medium without selective agent When the shoots reached the top of the box plantlets were transferred

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and DNA Hybridization

Total genomic DNA from leaf tissues was purified as described (Dellaporta, 1993) To test tor the presence of wtrxh in genomic DNA of putatively transformed lines, 500 ng of genomic DNA was amplified by PCR using either of two primer sets, Wtrxhl (5'- ATATCTAGAATGGCGGCGTCGGCGGCGA-3', SEQ ID NO 5) and Wtrxh2R (5'- ATAGAGCTCTTACTGGGCCGCGTGTAG-3', SEQ ID NO 6) or Wtrxh4 (5'- CCAAGAAGTTCCCAGCTGC-3', SEQ ID NO 11 ) and WtrxhδR (5'- ATAGCTGCGACAACCCTGTCCTT-3', SEQ ID NO 19) The presence of hpt and nptll was tested by using each of the primer sets, HPT6F (5'-AAGCCTGAACTCACCGCGACG-3', SEQ ID NO 21 ) plus HPT5R (5'-AAGACCAATGCGGAGCATATAC-3', SEQ ID NO 22) (Cho et al , 1998a-c) and NPT1 F (5'-CAAGATGGATTGCACGCAGGTTCT-3', SEQ ID NO 15) plus NPT2R (5'- ATAGAAGGCGATGCGCTGCGAAT-3', SEQ ID NO 16) Amplifications were performed with Tag DNA polymerase (Promega, Madison, WI) in a 25-μl reaction (Cho et al , 1998a-c) Twenty-five μl of the PCR product with loading dye was electrophoresed on a 1 0% agarose gel with ethidium bromide and photographed using exposure to UV light Presence of 0 4- and 0 14kb fragments was consistent with an intact and truncated wtrxh fragments, repectively, 0 81-kb hpt and 0 76-kb nptll fragments for the pActl IHPT-4 and pUbιlNPTII-1 plasmids, were produced with bpf and nptll primers, respectively Homozygous lines for wtrxh were screened using T., T₂ or T₃ plants by PCR anlaysis

GFP Expression Detection by Fluorescence Microscopy GPF expression was monitored at higher magnification using a Nikon Mιcrophot-5A fluorescent microscope equipped with a Nikon B-2A filter block containing a 450-490 excitation filter and a BAS20 emission barrier filter (Cho ef al , 2000)

Western Blot Analysis Western blot analysis was performed on seeds from selected transgenic wheat lines as well as from control counterparts grown under the same conditions Thioredoxin h purified from seeds of a bread wheat cultivar, cv Capitole, was used as a reference Whole seeds were ground to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle under liquid nitrogen Ten seeds were used for each sample, the volume of extraction buffer [50 mM Tns HCI or phosphate buffer, pH 7 8, 0 5 mM phenylmethyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), 1 mM EDTA] varied from 2 to 4 ml depending on the number of seeds used and the viscosity of the extract Grinding was continued for an additional m after buffer addition, the preparation was centrifuged at 14,000 x g for 10 mm and the supernatant solution was saved as the soluble (albumin-globulin) fraction SDS-PAGE of the soluble fraction was performed in 12-17% polyacrylamide gradient gels at pH 8 5 (Laemmli, 1970) Equal amounts of protein (40 μg) of each sample quantitated according to Bradford (1976) were diluted 1 2 v/v in Laemmli sample buffer, boiled for 3 minutes, loaded onto gels and subjected to electrophoresis at a constant current of 15 mA Proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose at a constant voltage of 40 V for 4 hours at 4°C using a Hoefer Transphor Transfer Unit (Alameda, CA) (all at 25°C) Nitrocellulose was blocked with 5% powdered milk in TBS for 2 hours, incubated in primary antibody for 4 hours and in secondary antibody for 1 hour The primary antibody was wheat anti-thioredoxin h II (Johnson ef al , 1987b) diluted 1 to

500, secondary antibody was goat anti-rabbit alkaline phosphatase (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA) diluted 1 3000 Blots were developed in NBT/BCIP alkaline phosphatase color reagent (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA) Images were scanned using a Bio-Rad GelDoc 1000 (Hercules, CA) and analyzed using Bio-Rad Multi Analyst, version 1 0 2

B. Results and Discussion

Construction of Expression Vectors

To overexpress sGFP(S65T), WTRXh and AtNTR in wheat seed, five expression constructs containing wtrxh driven by endosperm-specific hordein promoters, pDhSSsGFPN3-4, pDhWTRXN-2, pdBhssWTRXhN3-8, pKBhssWTRXN-2 or pDhAtNTR-4, were made Out of five constructs, four (pDhSSsGFPN3-4, pdBhssWTRXhN3-8, pKBhssWTRXN-2 or pDhAtNTR-4, Fig 12) were used for stable transformation of wheat

Production of Transgenic Plants

Highly regenerative tissues (at least 1 tissue, preferably 50, and most preferably 500 of 3-4 mm in length) were bombarded and cultured on DBC3 medium for the first 10 to 14 days in the absence of selection For the second transfer (1st round selection), selection was on DBC3 medium supplemented with 25-30 mg/L hygromycm B for hpt selection or 30 mg/L G418 for nptll selection At the second round selection, DBC3 medium with 30 mg/L hygromycm B or 40 mg/L G418 was used From the 4th transfer (3rd round selection) onward, the selection pressure was maintained at the same level In general, hygromycm- or G418-resιstant tissues with some green sectors were observed at the third round selection Putative transgenic calli with green sectors were maintained and proliferated on the same medium without selective agent from after the fourth or fifth round of selection, until the green sectors formed fully developed regenerative structures Green regenerative tissues were regenerated on regeneration medium and the plantlets transferred to soil approximately 3 to 4 weeks after growth on the same medium of the Magenta boxes To date using this transformation protocol, we obtained two independent Bobwhite lines, four transgenic Anza lines, two transgenic Yecora Rojo lines transformed with pdBhssWTRXhN3-8, one Bobwhite line transformed with pKBhssWTRXN-2 and one

Yecora Rojo line transformed with pDhAtNTR-4 (Table 8) We also obtained two independent Bobwhite lines transformed with pDhSSsGFPN3-4 (data not shown)

Endosperm-Specific Expression of Barley Hordein Promoter in Transgenic Wheat Expression of GFP driven by barley D-hordem promoter was found specifically in the endosperm tissue of developing wheat grains, GFP expression was not observed in immature embryo tissues (Fig 13)

Analysis of T_n Plants and their Progeny

PCR analysis was performed using two sets of WTRXh primers and one set of AtNTR primers PCR amplification resulted in 0 4-kb intact wtrxh or 0 14-kb truncated wtrxh (Fig 14) and 0 5-kb internal

Afnfr fragments from transgenic lines Seeds of T, and their progeny from some wfrx -positive lines were planted in order to screen homozygous lines Homozygous lines and null segregants were obtained from AZHptWTR-1 , AZHptWTR-21 and YRHptWTR-1 (Table 8) Other lines are currently being screened for homozygous lines

Characterization of Wheat Thioredoxin h Produced in Transgenic Grain

Of the stably transformed lines that expressed wheat thioredoxin h, on average, its level was found to be higher in transformants Western blot analysis of soluble protein fractions from heterozygous mixtures of seeds from three of these lines, AZHptWTR-1 , AZHptWTR-21 and YRHptWTR-1 , showed approximately 5 times, 20 times, and 30 times more thioredoxin h, respectively, than nontransformed control gram (Fig 15A) The thioredoxin content of the null segregant (YRHptWTR-1-2-1 to -3) was similar to that of the corresponding, nontransformed control (Fig 15A and B)

Table 8 Summary of Transformation Experiments for Three Wheat Cultivars Bobwhite, Anza and Yecora Rojo

BW, AZ and YR represent Bobwhite, Anza, Yocora Rojo, respectively n d not determined

Example 3 Effect of Thioredoxin Reduction on Digestion of Wheat Glutenms by Trypsin and Pancreatm

Seguential Extraction of Grain Proteins from Transgenic Wheat Grains

Transgenic gram (YRHptWTR-1-1) and null segregant (YRHptWTR-1-2) grain were ground with a coffee grinder at room temperature Ground powder from 10 grams of each line was placed in a 250-ml screw-top centrifuge bottle and 60 ml of each extraction solution indicated below was added The mixture was shaken mechanically and then centrifuged for 30 mm at 5,000 x g The supernatant fraction was decanted and saved for analysis, and the residue was mixed with the next solution The powdered gram was extracted sequentially with the following solvents for the indicated times [1] 2 x 0 5 M NaC1 (30 mm), [2] 2 x 70% ethanol (2 hr), [3] 2 x 0 1 M acetic acid (2 hr) Supernatant fractions of all extracts were analyzed for protein by the Coomassie dye binding method (Bradford, 1976) and then were stored at -20°C until use By convention, the fractions are designated [1] albumin/globulin (water/salt-water), [2] gliadm (ethanol), and [3] glutenm (acetic acid) (Kruger et al , 1988, Shewry ef al , 1986) These fractions were used for digestion and skin tests in Example 5, below

Digestion of Glutenms

For reduction of glutenms extracted as above from non-transgenic green house plants, 4 2 μg NTR, 2 4 μg thioredoxin (both from E coli), and 1 mM NADPH were added to 240 μg of target protein and incubated in a 37°C water bath for 45 minutes NTS (NTR/thioredoxm/NADPH) treated and untreated glutenms were incubated in 100 μl of simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) (Board of Trustees (ed ), 1995, Simulated Gastric Fluid, TS , pp 2053, The United States Pharmacopeia, 23, The National Formulary

18, United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Inc , Rockville, MD) as described below SIF contained 5 μg trypsin (or 20 μg pancreatm), 48 9 mM monobasic potassium phosphate, and 38 mM sodium hydroxide After addition of the enzyme, the pH was brought to 7 5 with 0 2 M sodium hydroxide Digests were incubated in a 37°C water bath for 0, 20, 60, or 80 minutes To stop the reaction, 100 mM PMSF and leupeptm (1 μg/ml) was added for trypsin digests and 1 N HCI for pancreatm digests

SDS-PAGE analysis of the digested samples was performed in 8-16% gradient gels as described by Laemmli (1970) Gels of 1 5 mm thickness were developed for 16 hr at a constant current of 7 mA SDS gels were stained with Coomassie brilliant blue R-250 in 10% acetic acid for 30 mm, and destamed in 10% acetic acid for 30 m with the aid of a microwave oven Protein stained gels were captured by Gel Doc 1000 The quantification of protein (optical density x mm x mm) on the gels was carried out with a software program for image analysis-Multi-Analyst, version 1 0 (Bio-Rad) Relative digestion was expressed as the percentage of zero time undigested protein

The results shown in Figures 16 and 17 demonstrate that thioredoxin reduction results in enhanced susceptibility of glutenms to protease digestion by trypsin and pancreatm, respectively The most pronounced effects were observed with trypsin where about 55% of protein remained at 60 minutes post-digestion in the NTS treated sample in comparison to about 90-95% of the starting protein remained in the non-NTS treated sample In the trypsin digestions, proteolysis progressed for 60 minutes and apparently plateaued In the pancreatm digests, proteolysis progressed less rapidly At 80 minutes post-pancreatin treatment, about 60% of the starting proteins remained in the NTS treated sample in comparison to 95% protein remaining in the non-NTS sample Thus the transgenic grains of the present invention are more susceptible to digestion and are hyperdigestible The increase in the digestibility is at least 5% in the transgenic plants in comparison to the non-transgenic grains Example 4 Effect of NTR on the Reduction of Proteins in Extracts of Wheat Grains Overexpressing Thioredoxin h

In vitro Reduction of Proteins by NADPH or NTR or NADPH & NTR

Aliquots of the albumin/globulin fraction from the homozygous lines overexpressing thioredoxin h as described in Example 2 and null segregant lines were used The reaction was carried out in 30 mM Tns-HCI buffer, pH 7 9 As indicated the treatments were (i) control, (n) 1 25 mM NADPH, (in) 3 0 μg Arabidopsis NTR, (iv) NADPH & NTR combined, and (v) 5 mM dithiothreitol (DTT) The above reagents were added to 70 micro ters of this buffer containing 60 μg of protein Total reduction by dithiothreitol (DTT) was achieved by boiling for 5 mm After incubation for 60 mm at 37°C, 100 nmoles of mBBr were added and the reaction was continued for another 15 m at room temperature To stop the reaction and derivatize, excess mBBr, 10, μl of 100 mM MET was added The reduced samples, after adding 25 μl of 4x Laemmli sample buffer, were analyzed as described by mBBr/SDS-PAGE (Kobrehel, K et al 1992)

The results shown in Figure 18 indicate that the albumin/globulin proteins in the homozygous transgenics overexpressing thioredoxin h are more efficiently reduced than the albumin/globulin fraction of gram from their null segregant counterparts

Example 5

Effect of Overexpressed Thioredoxin h on Allergenicity of Proteins From Wheat Gram

The following protocol was approved by the appropriate committees at both the University of Califomia-

Davis (Animal Use and Care Administrative Advisory Committee, effective 01/21/99 - 01/21/00) and the University of California-Berkeley (Animal Care and Use Committee, effective 05/1/99 - 04/30/00)

Dogs from the UC-Davis sensitized Dog Colony (Ermel ef al 1997) that were sensitized to commercial whole wheat gram extract (Bayer), were selected as strong reactors from two groups 1) 2 year-old, designated "young dogs," and 2) 7 year-old, "old dogs " Before starting the skin tests, each animal received an intravenous injection of 5 ml sterile saline solution containing 0 5% Evans Blue (0 2 ml/kg)

After 5 mm, skin tests were performed by 100 μl mtradermal injections of log dilutions of each wheat protein fraction in PBS buffer on the ventral abdominal skin The quantity of protein injected ranged from 33 pg to 10 μg The fractions tested were 1) salt water-soluble (albumins and globulins), 2) ethanol-soluble (gliadins), acid acetic-soluble (glutenms) After 20 mm, length and width of wheal areas were measured by a blinded reader The total area was calculated as an ellipse (π/4 x L x W) Protein allergenicity of the null segregant (control) and the homozygous wheat lines was obtained by comparison of the total wheal area generated by the different dilutions of each extract The responses of the animals are shown in Figure 19 and indicate that the proteins obtained from the transgenic wheat are less allergenic that the protein obtained from the null segregant For each fraction tested, both young and old animals were less responsive to proteins from transgenic wheat The allergenicity with the transgenics were decreased at least 5% in comparison to nontransgenic controls The allergencity in the young dogs was more substantially reduced, ranging from 20 to 32% decrease In contrast, the allergenicity in older animals was reduced by 8 to 23%

To demonstrate the hypoallergenicity of malt produced from the transgenic wheat gram, malt is produced according to standard protocols known in the art from the transgenic seeds Extracts of the malt are produced according to the above procedure Young and old sensitized dogs, as described above, are injected intravenously with about 5 ml sterile saline solution containing 0 5% Evans Blue (0 2 ml/kg) After about 5 mm, skin tests are performed by 100 μl intradermal injections of log dilutions of each malt protein fraction in PBS buffer on the ventral abdominal skin The quantity of protein injected is about 33 pg to 10 μg The fractions are as described above After about 20 m , the length and width of the wheal areas are measured by a blinded reader and the total area is calculated as an ellipse Malt protein allergenicity of malt produced from a null segregant (control) and malt from homozygous wheat lines are obtained by comparison of the total wheal area as described above The allergenicity in the young dogs is more substantially reduced, and range from about 20-30% decrease The older animals allergenicity is reduced by about 5-20%

Accordingly, a food product such as beer produced from the hypoallergenic malt also is hypoallergenic

Example 6 Transgenic Sorghum Expressing Barley Thioredoxin h

A. Seed Digestibility

Seeds from ten major cultivars of Sorghum vulgare are screened for a thioredoxm-dependent increase in digestibility of constituent proteins using simulated gastric (pepsin), and intestinal (pancreatm) fluids The cultivars are representative of those grown in the United States, Australia and different parts of Africa

Albumin, globulin, kafinn and glutelm protein fractions are isolated according to their differential solubilities Seed, 3 g, is ground in a coffee grinder, extracted sequentially with 30 ml of [1] 0 5 M NaCl, [2] 60% (v/v) 2-propanol, and [3] 0 1 M sodium borate buffer, pH 10, on a shaker at 25°C for 30 mm, 4 hours, and 4 hours, respectively The extracted fractions correspond, respectively, to [1] albumin plus globulin [2] kafinn, and [3] glutelm Total kafinns or cross-linked kafirms are extracted with 60% 2 propanol plus 1 % 2-mercaptoethanol (Shull ef al , 1992) Each suspension is clarified by centrifugation at 10,000xg for 20 mm at 4°C, three successive extractions are performed with the salt solution followed by two water washes The remaining extractions are repeated twice Resulting supernatant solutions are pooled and the digestibility of each fraction is tested on the same day as isolation

Aliquots of individual sorghum protein fractions are reduced either with the NADP/thioredoxm or the

NADP/glutathione system prior to digestion and the results compared with untreated control preparations Alternatively, total protein extracted with sodium mynstate, a nonreducing detergent that solubilize wheat gliadins and glutenms in a biochemically active form (Kobrehel and Buchuk, 1978) can be tested for digestibility Reduction of the disulfide bonds of proteins is performed using mBBr/SDS-PAGE as previously described (del Val et al , 1999) in a volume of 100 μl with either (i) the

NADP/thioredoxm system, consisting of 5 μl of 25 mM NADPH, 8 μl of 0 3 mg/ml E coli thioredoxin and 7μl of 0 3 mg/ml E coli NTR, or (n) the NADP/glutathione system composed 5 μl of 25 mM NADPH, 10 μl of 30 mM glutathione and 15 μl of 0 1 mg/ml glutathione reductase Reactions are carried out in a 30 mM physiological buffered saline (PBS) solution containing 50 μg of each protein The reaction mixtures are incubated at 4°C overnight or at 37°C and 55°C for 15 m (Kobrehel et al ,

1992, del Val ef al , 1999) The temperature found to work best is used for subsequent experiments For complete reduction, samples are incubated in PBS with 5 μl 100 mM DTT and boiled 5 mm Protein fractions (albumin-globulin, kafinn, glutelm 240 μg protein) is subjected to simulated digestion, either untreated or reduced with NADP/thioredoxm or NADP/glutathione, by pepsin (gastric simulation) or trypsin/chymotrypsm/carboxypeptidase (pancreatm intestinal simulation)

Pepsin Assay

Each fraction, 500 μg of protein, is added to 100 μl of simulated gastric fluid [0 32% pepsin (w/v) and 30 mM NaCl adjusted to pH 1 2 with HCI] (Astwood ef al , 1996) The reaction mixture is incubated for up to 60 mm at 37°C and stopped with 0 375-fold volume of 160 mM Na₂C0₃ to give neutral pH The protein mixture is subjected to SDS-PAGE and stained for protein with Coomassie blue as described below

Pancreatm Assay Each fraction, 500 μg protein, is added to 100 μl of simulated intestinal fluid (1% porcine pancreatm

(w/v), 48 9 mM monobasic potassium phosphate and 38 mM NaOH adjusted to pH 7 5 with NaOH) (see United States Pharmacopeai, 1995) The reaction mixture is incubated for up to 60 mm at 37°C and stopped with 1/10 volume of 100 mM phenylmethyl sulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) plus 1 μg/ml leupeptin The protein mixture is subjected to SDS-PAGE and stained with Coomassie blue as described below

Two widely grown cultivar showing the most improved susceptibility to proteolytic and starch digestion after reduction by the thioredoxin system are used for the transformation work B. Isolation and Digestibility of Starch

Starch Granule Isolation

Starch granules from dry mature sorghum gram are extracted as described (Sun and Henson 1990) Sorghum gram is washed with distilled water and steeped for 48 h in 20 mM Na-acetate buffer, pH 6 5, containing 0 02% NaAzide Softened kernels are ground first with a motar and pestle and then with a

VirTis homogenizer for 6 mm at 80% full speed and the grist passed through two sieves (250 and 75 μm) Crude starch that passes through both sieves is purified by centrifugation (60xg for 2 5 m ) through a layer of 65% (w/v) sucrose Pelleted starch granules are recentnfuged one or two times under the same conditions and resuspended in 20 mM sodium acetate buffer, pH 6 5 containing 0 02% sodium azide

Starch Digestion

Starch digestibility is measured based on enzymatic hydrolysis using porcine pancreatic alpha- amylase (Type Vl-B, Sigma Chemical Co , St Louis, MO) Incubation mixtures containing 2% (w/v) starch, 0 5% (w/v) BSA, 0 02% (w/v) azide, 25 mM NaCl, 5 mM CaCI₂, and 10 units of alpha-amylase in 10 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6 9, are incubated 37°C Aliquots (50 to 100 μl) of reaction mixture is periodically removed for determination of glucose and total reducing sugars released from starch granules Reducing sugar concentration is measured by the dmitrosalicylic acid method (Bemfeld, 1955) and total starch content by the enzymatic procedure of McClear ef al (1994)

Reduction of Protein on Starch Granules

Aliquots of the isolated 2% (w/v) starch are incubated with the NTS system to reduce the proteins on the surface of the granule as described above (Examples 3 and 4) Following reduction, the starch granules are tested for digestibility by alpha-amylase (McCleary ef a/ 1994) and stimulated intestinal fluid (Board of Trustees 1995)

C. Production of Stably Transformed Sorghum Lines and T. Plants Containing Barley trxh

Using a cDNA library from scutellum tissues of barley (constructed by R Schuunnk, UCB), a full-length gene for thioredoxin h (trxh, Figure 20) was isolated and characterized (Calliau, del Val, Cho, Lemeaux, Buchanan, unpublished) The full-length cDNA clone has been placed into expression vectors with the hordein promoters plus the targeting sequence as described (Cho et al , unpublished) is used for sorghum transformation This vector, pdBhssBTRXN-2, contains the 0 43-kb B_rhordeιn promoter plus its signal sequence, barley trxh (btrxh) and nos

Sorghum is transformed by the methods of Cho ef al , (1998b, 1999b, 1999c, 1999d, 2000) to give rise to highly regenerative green tissues These tissues contain multiple, light-green, shoot meπstem-like structures, which were characterized as such in barley because they expressed a gene associated with maintenance of the shoot meristematic state, a knotted I homoiogue (Zhang ef al , 1998) Target tissues such as these highly regnerative tissues, which a high percentage of totipotent cells capable of sustained cell division and competent for regeneration over long period, represent a high-quality target tissue for transformation They can be maintained for more than a year with minimal loss in regenerabi ty (Cho ef al , 1998b, 1999b, 1999c, 1999d, 2000, Kim ef a/ , 1999, Ha ef al , 2000) In addition, the result from genomic DNA methylation analyses (Zhang et al 1999b) showed that barley plants regenerated from these highly regnerative tissues were less variable in terms of methylation pattern polymorphism and agronomic performance than those regenerated from callus maintained in the embryogenic state

Media developed for the other cereals and grasses are utilized for optimizing the response of the sorghum variety, TX430, to produce high quality, green regenerative tissues with sorghum similar to those observed with other cereals and grasses Such tissues have been used successfully for stable transformation with all varieties tested Briefly, this method, the development of green, regenerative tissues, involves the initiation of embryogenic cultures from immature embryos of cultivar TX430 The medium giving the highest quality tissue is D'BC2 and DBC3 (Cho ef al , 1998a-c, 1999d) Such media, containing copper, maltose, and cytokinms have been found to improve the quality and long- term regenerabihty of tissue from other cereal and grasses Tissue developed on this medium is used as transformation targets using bombardment

The desired DNA construct(s) containing barley trxh are introduced into target cells via bombardment

Selection to identify transformants is via bialaphos, kanamycin, or other appropriate selection agents according to published procedures (Cho ef al , 1998a-c, Lemaux ef al 1999) Small portion of putatively transformed cal are analyzed by PCR (Cho ef al , 1998a-c) for barley trxh and transformed tissue is manipulated to regenerate plants (Cho ef al , 1998a-c) Leaf tissue is tested for resistance to the selective agent, if possible, and as appropriate is analyzed by PCR for the transgene(s) Plants are grown to maturity to obtain T, seeds and homozygous T₂ plants

D. Determination of Amounts and Activity of TRXh in Stably Transformed Sorghum

The activity of the barley thioredoxin h from the different production systems (targeted vs nontargeted, i e, with or without the signal sequence, respectively) and obtained with different fractionation procedures, as described above, is assayed using the DTNB [2',5'-dιthιobιs (2-nιtrobenzoιc acid)] method (Florencio ef al , 1988) as described (Cho ef al , 1999e) The NTR and thioredoxin controls are prepared from wheat grains as described by Johnson ef al (1987a, b)

Western Blot Analysis

Western blots are performed on extracts from selected transgenic lines as well as control seeds Lots of 10 to 20 intact seeds are processed and analyzed for content of TRXh and NTR by SDS-PAGE and western blot procedures (Cho ef al , 1999e) Preparation of Seed Extract, Heat Treatment and Column Chromatography

Extracts are prepared, heat treated, and fractionated by column chromatography as described by Cho ef a/ , (1999e)

Measurement of Thioredoxin h Activity

Thioredoxin h is assayed by the chloroplast NADP-malate dehydrogenase procedure as adapted for barley (Cho ef al , 1999)

Protein Determination Protein is determined or measured according to Bradford (1976) using the Coomassie blue method with gamma-globulin as a standard Protein content is confirmed by measuring total nitrogen in an automated gas analyzer or by standard micro-kjeldahl procedure

E. Measurements in Changes in Abundance and Redox State of Endosperm Proteins Transgenic sorghum seeds overexpressing barley thioredoxin h are the staring material used to demonstrate that increased levels of this protein cause altered digestibility Preliminary mBBr measurements are also made with the genetically engineered grain Changes in the redox state of endosperm protein are determined using the mBBr/SDS-PAGE procedure (Krobehel et al , 1992) As the major indigenous storage proteins in sorghum are known to be insoluble, propanol as well as the different aqueous endosperm extracts are monitored in the gram Residues are extracted sequentially, as described above (A Seed Digestibility) for the various protein fractions Supernatant fractions of each extract is analyzed for protein and fluorescence by the mBBr/SDS-PAGE technique

Dry gram, 1 g, from transgenic and null segregant lines are ground with a mortar and pestle in liquid nitrogen When the liquid nitrogen evaporates, 3-6 ml of 30 mM Tns-HCI, pH 7 9 buffer containing 1 mM EDTA and 1 mM mBBr is added and mixed for 1 mm After thawing the extract is incubated 15 mm, centrifuged (10 mm at 12,000xg), extracted sequentially with salt, propanol, and borate solutions as described above (A Seed Digestibility). Sixty μg protein samples are loaded onto a 10-20% SDS- polyacrylamide gradient gel as described above Following electrophoresis (1 h, constant current of 30 mA), gels are soaked for 2 h in 12% (w/v) t chloroacetic acid and transferred to a solution containing

40% methanol and 10% acetic acid for 12 h to remove excess mBBr Gels are scanned for fluorescence with a UV light source (365 nm) and stained for protein with Coomassie blue

F. Measurements of Change in Digestibility and Solubility of Endosperm Proteins in T. Heterozygous and T₂ Homozygous Sorghum Grain

In parallel with the in vitro experiments (On ef al , 1995), the extent that m vivo thioredoxin-mediated reduction contributes to the digestibility and solubility of sorghum endosperm proteins is determined The extent of solubi zation of protein is measured using the ratio of the soluble to the insoluble protein in the transgenic, relative to a null segregant Extracts are prepared in parallel without mBBr labeling and tested for susceptibility to digestion by simulated gastric and intestinal fluids are described above (Example 3) The proteins from the different transgenic gram also are reduced with thioredoxin and glutathione as described above (A Seed Digestibility)

G. Measurements of Change in Digestibility of Starch in T, Heterozygous and T₂ Homozygous Sorghum Grain

As in the case of the kafinn storage proteins, the ability of the overexpressed thioredoxin h to enhance the digestibility of starch with alpha-amylase is determined The starch is isolated from both transgenic and null segregant lines and its digestibility tested in vitro with alpha-amylase as described above (B

Isolation and Digestibility of Starch) Because of their association with starch granules, an increase in the digestibility of the kafinn proteins is accompanied by an increase in the digestibility of the starch

H. Thioredoxin h Overexpressed in Sorghum to Improve Digestibility of Grain Protein The above-noted digestibility of the different protein fractions (albumin/globulin, kafinn, glutelm) is tested with simulated gastric and intestinal fluids The results from the transgenic gram overexpressing barley TRXb is compared to those with the null segregant to demonstrate improvement in digestibility in the transgenic gram

Example 7

Improvement of Dough Quality In United States Application No 08/211 ,673 (expressly incorporated by reference), dough quality was improved by reducing the flour proteins using the NADP/thioredoxm system Wthout being bound by theory, reduced thioredoxin specifically breaks intramolecular sulfur-sulfur bonds that cross-link different parts of a protein and stabilize its shape When these cross-links are broken the protein can unfold and supposedly link with other proteins in dough, creating an interlocking lattice that forms an elastic network The dough rises because the network helps trap carbon dioxide produced by yeast during the fermentation process It was proposed that the reduced thioredoxin reduced the gliadins and glutenms in flour letting them recombine in a way that strengthened the dough Reduced thioredoxin facilitated their forming a protein network during dough making Treatment of intermediate or poor quality wheat flour (Apollo cultivar) with E coli thioredoxin, NADP-thioredoxin reductase, and NADPH showed dough strengthening (higher faπnograph measurements) and improved loaf volume and viscoelasticity in comparison with untreated flour Higher fannograph measurements of dough correspond to improved dough strength and improved baked good characteristics such as better crumb quality, improved texture and higher loaf volume

Wheat Bread Baking Studies and Fannograph Measurements

The baking tests are carried out by using a computer operated PANASONIC bread maker to demonstrate improved quality of dough made using flour prepared from the transgenic seeds of the present invention

Composition of bread Control

Flour^* 200 gm (dry)

Water 70% hydratation

Salt (NaCl) 5 3 g

Yeast 4 8 g (S cerevisiae) (dry yeast powder)

^*Flour samples are obtained from transgenic and non-transgenic wheat (cv Thesee, Apollo, Arbon, and other animal feed grade and other grades having from poor to good baking quality), sorghum, corn, and rice

Experimental conditions

Flour and salt are weighed and mixed

The volume of water needed to reach a hydration of 70% was put into the bread maker The mixture of flour and salt is added to the water and the baking program is started by the computer The complete program lasts about 3 hrs 9 mm and 7 sees - Yeast is added automatically after mixing for 20 mm and 3 sees

The program operating the Panasonic apparatus is

Mixing

Seqments Duration Conditions Heatmq

Mixing 00 00 03 T1 off

Mixing 00 05 00 T2 off

Mixing 00 05 00 T1 off

Rest 00 10 00 TO off

Mixing 00 17 00 T2 off

Mixing 00 07 00 T1 off

Rest 00 30 00 TO to reach 32°C

Mixing 00 00 04 T1 32°C

Rest 01 15 00 TO 32°C

Baking 00 14 00 TO to reach 180°C

Baking 0026 00 TO 180°C

Mixing Conditions TO = no mixing (motor at rest) T1 = normal mixing T2 = alternately 3 second mixing, 3 second rest

After the dough is formed, fannograph readings are taken as described in U S Application No 08/211 ,673 Bread loaf volume is measured at the end of the baking, when bread loaves reach room temperature Fannograph readings of dough produced from flour made from transgenic wheat seeds of the invention are at least about 10-20% higher and are maintained about 40% longer than dough produced from flour made from non-transgenic seeds Bread produced from flour made from transgenic seeds of the invention has at least about 5% and up to about 20% increased volume in comparison to bread produced from flour made from non-transgenic seeds Bread-like products made from transgenic flour of cereals that normally produce a nonglutenous flour, for example, rice, hold together and hold gas better than products produced from the flour of their nontransgenic counterparts They also show at least a 3% increase in loaf volume when compared to their nontransgenic counterparts

Example 8

Effect of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehvdrogenase on Reduction of Proteins in Exacts of Homozygous vs

Null Segregant Wheat Gram Overexpressing Thioredoxin h Samples were from the salt-soluble fractions (albumin and globulin) of the trasngeic and null segregant wheat gram overexpressing wheat thioredoxin h Reactions were carried out in 30 mM Tns-HCI buffer, pH 7 9, in a final volume of 100 μl The complete reaction mixture contained 10 μmol glucose-6- phosphate, 0 25 μmol NADP, 2 units glucose-6-phoshate dehydrogenase (Bakers Yeast, Type XV, Sigma, St Louis, MO), plus or minus 1 5 μg NTR (Arabidopsis), and 80 μg protein Other treatments, where omission of one or two component(s) of the NADPH generating system, were as indicated The negative control was the extracted protein alone As a positive control NADPH was used in place of NADP/glucose-6-phoshate/glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase

After incubation at 37°C for 60 mm, 100 nmol mBBr was added tot he reaction mixture, and the reaction was continued for 15 m Ten μl of 100 mM 2-mercaptoethanol was added to stop the reaction and derivatize excess mBBr An appropriate amount of 4x Laemmeli sample buffer was added and the samples were applied onto 10-20% polyacrylamide gel in the presence of SDS

Electrophoresis was carried out at room temperature at 7 mA/gel for 16 hours Flourescence of sulfhydryl containing proteins on gels was captured by Gel Doc 1000 (Bio-Rad), protein was stained by 0 025% Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 in 10% acetic acid

For visualizing the effect of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (Figure 23) in the presence of NTR, comparison of lanes 2 vs 4 (-NADP) and lanes 5 vs 7 (+NADP) (+NTR gel on the left), in the absence of NTR, compare lanes 1 vs 3 (-NADP) and lanes 2 vs 4 (+NADP) (-NTR gel on the right) The maximal increase in reduction effected by glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was observed in the presence of NTR, without NADP (lane 2 vs lane 4, gel on the left) Note also the greater reduction of NTR in lane 4 vs lane 2

With the null segregant (Figure 24), note the greater reduction of NTR in the presence of glucose-6- phosphate dehydrogenase (lane 4 vs lane 2) but a lower extent of the reduction of the smaller target proteins (lane 4) compared to the corresponding treatment (lane 4) with the transgenic extract (Figure 23)

This invention has been detailed both by example and by description It should be apparent that one having ordinary skill in the relevant art would be able to surmise equivalents to the invention as described in the claims which follow but which would be within the spirit of the foregoing description and examples It should be realized that those equivalents and various modifications as may be apparent to those of skill in the art to which the invention pertains also fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims All herein cited patents, patent applications, publications, references, and references cited therein are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety

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All references, patents, patent applications, publications, and references cited therein are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety

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Claims

We claim1 A transgenic plant, wherein at least a part of said plant has an increased specific activity of thioredoxin in comparison to the same part of a non-transgenic plant of the same species2 The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein said thioredoxin specific activity is at least twice the specific activity of thioredoxin in said non-transgenic plant of the same species3 The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein said thioredoxin specific activity is at least five times the specific activity of thioredoxin in said non-transgenic plant of the same species4 The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein said thioredoxin specific activity is at least ten times the specific activity of thioredoxin in said non-transgenic plant of the same species5 The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein said thioredoxin is thioredoxin h6 The transgenic plant of claim 6, wherein said thioredoxin h is is barley, wheat, Arabidopsis, tobacco, rice, Brassica, Picea, or soy bean thioredoxin h7 The transgenic plant of claim 1 , wherein said specific activity of thioredoxin is at least 0 128A3 0nm /mιn/mg protein8 A transgenic plant, wherein at least a part of said plant has increased thioredoxin protein content in comparison to the thioredoxin protein in the same part of a non-transgenic plant of the same species9 The transgenic plant of claim 8, wherein said thioredoxin protein is thioredoxin h protein10 The transgenic plant of claim 8, wherein said thioredoxin h protein is barley, wheat, Arabidopsis, tobacco, rice, Brassica, Picea, or soy bean thioredoxin h11 The transgenic plant of claim 8, wherein said thioredoxin protein content is at least 10 μg/ mg soluble protein12 A transgenic plant, wherein at least part of said plant has an increased SH SS ratio in comparison to the same part of a non-transgenic plant of the same species13 The transgenic plant of claim 12 wherein said SH SS ratio is at least 5 1. The transgenic plant of claims 1 , 8, or 12 wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of rice, barley, maize, wheat, oat, rye, sorghum, millet, tnticale, and forage and turf grassA transgenic plant, wherein at least part of said plant has reduced allergenicity in comparison to the same part of a non-transgenic plant of the same speciesThe transgenic plant of claim 15 wherein said allergenicity is hypersensitivity, wherein said hypersensitivity is reduced by at least 5%A transgenic plant, wherein at least part of said plant has an increased digestibility in comparison to the same part of a non-transgenic plant of the same speciesThe transgenic plant of claim 17 wherein said digestibility is increased by at least 5%.The transgenic plant of claim 15 or 17, wherein said transgenic plant is selected from the group consisting of rice, barley, maize, wheat, oat, rye, sorghum, millet, tnticale, and forage and turf grassA transgenic plant, wherein at least part of said plant has an earlier onset and/or an increased expression of a gibberellic acid inducible enzyme in comparison to the same part of a nontransgenic plant of the same speciesThe transgenic plant of claim 20 wherein said enzyme is pullulanaseThe transgenic plant of claim 21 wherein said pullulanase has a specific activity of at least 1-2 absorbance units at 534 nm/30 min/mg proteinThe transgenic plant of claim 20 wherein said enzyme is alpha-amylaseThe transgenic plant of claim 23, wherein said alpha-amylase is expressed in said plant is at least 8 hours before expression in said non-transgenic plant of the same speciesThe transgenic plant of claim 23 wherein said alpha-amylase is alpha-amylase AThe transgenic plant of claim 23 wherein said alpha-amylase is alpha-amylase BThe transgenic plant of claim 20, wherein said transgenic plant is barley The transgenic plant of claims 1 , 8, 12, 15, 17, or 20 wherein said part is an edible partThe transgenic plant of claim 28, wherein said edible part is a gramThe transgenic plant of claim 28, wherein said edible part is a seedThe transgenic plant of claims 1 , 8, 12, 15, 17, or 20 wherein said part of said transgenic plant comprises a recombinant nucleic acid expressing a thioredoxin polypeptideA transgenic plant wherein at least part of said plant comprises a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a promoter active in said part operably linked to a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptideThe transgenic plant of claim 32 wherein said part is a seedThe transgenic plant of claim 32 wherein said part is a gramThe transgenic plant of claim 32 wherein said promoter is a seed or grain maturation-specific promoterThe transgenic plant of claim 35 wherein said promoter is selected from the group consisting of rice glutelms, rice oryzms, rice prolamines, barley hordems, wheat gliadins, wheat glutelms, maize zems, maize glutelms, oat glutelms, sorghum kasinns, millet pennisetms, rye secahns, and a maize embryo-specific globulin promoterThe transgenic plant of claim 36 wherein said barley hordein promoter is selected from the group consisting of B1 hordein and D hordein promotersThe transgenic plant of claim 32 wherein said plant is selected from the group consisting of rice, barley, maize, wheat, oat, rye, sorghum, millet, tnticale, turf grass and forage grassThe transgenic plant of claim 32 wherein said thioredoxin is thioredoxin hThe transgenic plant of claim 39 wherein said thioredoxin h is barley, wheat, tobacco, rice, Brassica, Arabidopsis, Picea, or soy bean thioredoxin hThe transgenic plant of claim 32 wherein said recombinant nucleic acid further comprises a nucleic acid molecule encoding a signal peptide operably linked to said promoter and said nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin proteinThe transgenic plant of claim 41 wherein said signal peptide targets expression of the thioredoxin polypeptide to an intracellular bodyThe transgenic plant of claim 42 wherein said signal peptide is selected from the group consisting of barley B1 hordein and D hordein signal peptidesA transgenic seed or gram comprising an increased specific activity of thioredoxin in comparison to a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 44, wherein said specific activity of thioredoxin is at least twice the specific activity of thioredoxin in said non-transgenic seed or gram of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or grain of claim 44, wherein said specific activity of thioredoxin is at least five times the specific activity of thioredoxin in said non-transgenic seed or grain of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 44, wherein said specific activity of thioredoxin is at least ten times the activity of thioredoxin in said non-transgenic seed or grain of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 44, wherein said thioredoxin is thioredoxin hThe transgenic seed or grain of claim 48, wherein said thioredoxin h is barley, wheat, tobacco, soy bean, Arabidopsis, Picea, or Brassica thioredoxin hThe transgenic seed or grain of claim 44, wherein said specific activity of thioredoxin is at least 0 128 proteinA transgenic seed or gram comprising increased content of thioredoxin polypeptide in comparison to a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 51 wherein said content of thioredoxin polypeptide is at least 10 μg/ mg soluble proteinThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 51 , wherein said thioredoxin polypeptide is thioredoxin h polypeptide The transgenic seed or grain of claim 53, wherein said thioredoxin h polypeptide is barley, wheat, tobacco, rice, Brassica, Picea, soy bean, or Arabidopsis thioredoxin h proteinA transgenic seed or gram comprising an increased SH SS ratio in comparison to a non- transgenic seed or grain of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or grain of claim 55, wherein said SH SS ratio is at least 5 1The transgenic seed or gram of claims 44, 51 , or 55 wherein said seed or gram is selected from the group consisting of rice, barley, maize, wheat, oat, rye, sorghum, millet, tnticale, forage grass and turf grassA transgenic seed or gram comprising reduced allergenicity in comparison to a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or grain of claim 58 wherein said allergenicity is hypersensitivity, wherein said hypersensitivity is reduced by at least 5%A transgenic seed or gram comprising increased digestibility in comparison to a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 60 wherein said digestibility is increased by at least 5%The transgenic seed or gram of claim 58 or 60, wherein said transgenic seed or gram is wheat, barley, rice, maize, oat, rye sorghum, millet, tnticale, forage grass or turf grass seed or grainA transgenic seed or gram overexpressing a thioredoxin protein comprising an earlier onset and/or an increased expression of a gibberellic inducible enzyme in comparison to a nontransgenic seed of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 63, wherein said seed or gram is germinated and wherein said enzyme is pullulanaseThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 64 wherein said pullulanase has a specific activity of at least 1-2 absorbance units at 534 nm/30 mm/mg proteinThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 63 wherein said enzyme is alpha-amylase The transgenic seed or gram of claim 66 wherein said alpha-amylase is expressed in said seed or gram at least 8 hours before expression in said non-transgenic plant of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 66 wherein said alpha-amylase is alpha-amylase AThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 66 wherein said alpha-amylase is alpha-amylase BA transgenic seed or gram having an increased germination rate in comparison to a nontransgenic seed or gram of the same speciesA transgenic seed or gram having an onset of germination that occurs at least 8 hours prior to the onset of germination of a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same speciesA transgenic seed or grain, wherein said seed or gram germinates 5% more efficiently than a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or grain of claim 63, 70, 71 , or 72 wherein said transgenic seed or grain is a barley seedA transgenic seed or gram overexpressing a thioredoxin, wherein protein of said seed or gram are redistributed at least 5% greater to the soluble fraction in comparison to a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same speciesThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 74, wherein said transgenic seed or gram is a wheat, barley, rice, maize, oat, rye, sorghum, millet, tnticale, forage grass or turf grass seed or grainThe transgenic seed or gram of claim 44, 51 , 55, 58, 60, 63, 70, 71 , 27, or 74 wherein said transgenic seed or grain comprises a recombinant nucleic acid expressing a thioredoxin polypeptideA transgenic seed or gram comprising a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a promoter active in said seed or gram operably linked to a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptideThe transgenic seed or grain of claim 77 wherein said promoter is a seed or grain maturation- specific promoterThe transgenic seed or grain of claim 78 wherein said promoter is selected from the group consisting of rice glutelms, rice oryzms, rice prolamines, barley hordems, wheat gliadins, wheat glutelms, maize zems, maize glutelms, oat glutelms, sorghum kasiπns, millet pennisetins, rye secalms, and a maize embryo-specific globulin80 The transgenic seed or gram of claim 79 wherein said barley hordein promoter is selected from the group consisting of B1 hordein and D hordein promoters81 The transgenic seed or gram of claim 80 wherein said seed or gram is selected from the group consisting of rice, barley, maize, wheat, oat, rye, sorghum, millet, and tnticale seed or gram82 The transgenic seed or gram of claim 77 wherein said thioredoxin polypeptide is thioredoxin h83 The transgenic seed or gram of claim 82 wherein said thioredoxin h is barley, wheat, tobacco, rice, soy bean, Brassica, Picea, or Arabidopsis thioredoxin h84 The transgenic seed or gram of claim 77 wherein said recombinant nucleic acid further comprises a nucleic acid molecule encoding a signal peptide operably linked to said promoter and said nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin protein85 The transgenic seed or grain of claim 84 wherein said signal peptide targets expression of the thioredoxin polypeptide to an intracellular body86 The transgenic seed or grain of claim 85 wherein said signal peptide is selected from the group consisting of barley B1 hordein and D hordein signal peptides87 A food, feed or beverage product made from the transgenic seed or gram according to claim 44, 51, 55, 58, 60, 63, 70, 71 , 77, or 8488 The food, feed, or beverage product of claim 87 wherein said product is flour, dough, bread, pasta, cookies, cake, thickener, beer, malted beverage, or a food additive89 The food, feed, or beer product of claim 87 wherein said product has reduced allergenicity90 The food, feed, or beverage product of claim 89 wherein said product has increased digestibility91 The food product of claim 88 wherein said dough has increased strength and volume in comparison to a dough made from a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same species 92 The food product of claim 91 wherein said dough has an increased volume of at least 3% in comparison to a dough made from a non-transgenic seed or gram of the same species93 A transgenic plant produced from the seed or grain according to claim 44, 51 , 55, 58, 60, 63, 70, 71 , 77, or 8494 A method of making a transgenic plant comprising cultivating the transgenic seed or gram according to claim 44, 51, 55, 58, 60, 63, 70, 71, 77, or 8495 A method of making a transgenic plant, wherein at least a part of said plant has an increased thioredoxin specific activity in comparison to a non-transgenic plant of the same species, comprising expressing in said part a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide operably linked to transcription regulatory elements active in said part96 A method of making a transgenic plant, wherein at least a part of said plant has increased thioredoxin protein content in comparison to a non-transgenic plant of the same species, comprising expressing in said part a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide operably linked to transcription regulatory elements active in said part97 A method of making a transgenic plant, wherein at least a part of said plant has an increased SH SS ratio in comparison to a non-transgenic plant of the same species, comprising expressing in said part a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide operably linked to transcription regulatory elements active in said part98 A method of making a transgenic plant, wherein at least a part of said plant is less allergenic in comparison to a non-transgenic plant of the same species, comprising expressing in said part a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide operably linked to transcription regulatory elements active in said part99 A method of making a transgenic plant, wherein at least a part of said plant has an increased digestibility in comparison to a non-transgenic plant of the same species, comprising expressing in said part a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide operably linked to transcription regulatory elements active in said part100 A method of making a transgenic plant, wherein at least a part of said plant has an altered expression of a gibberellic acid inducible enzyme in comparison to a non-transgenic plant of the same species, comprising expressing in said part a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide operably linked to transcription regulatory elements active in said partThe method according to any one of claims 95-100, wherein said part is a seed or grainA method of altering the germination characteristics of a seed or grain comprising germinating a seed comprising a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a nucleic acid molecule encoding a thioredoxin polypeptide operably linked to transcription regulatory elements active in said seed or gramA method of alleviating or preventing a malabsorption syndrome or an allergy comprising feeding a patient having said syndrome or allergy a food product made from the transgenic seed or gram according to claim 44, 51 , 55, 58, 60, 63, 70, 71 , 77, or 84A method of producing alcohol comprising fermenting the transgenic seed or gram according to claim 44, 51 , 55, 58, 60, 63, 70, 71 , 77, or 84A method of producing malt comprising germinating the transgenic seed or gram according to claim 44, 51 , 55, 58, 60, 63, 70, 71 , 77, or 84 under conditions whereby malt is producedA method of purifying thioredoxin comprising heating an extract of a transgenic plant, wherein said plant has increased thioredoxin protein in comparison to a non-transgenic plant of the same species, whereby NADPH oxidation of said extract is substantially decreased and said thioredoxin is purifiedThe method of claim 106 wherein said thioredoxin protein is active thioredoxin proteinA food, feed, or beverage comprising a part of a transgenic plant or an extract of said part wherein said part comprises a recombinant nucleic acid comprising a sequence encoding a thioredoxin operably linked to transcription regulatory sequence operable in said partThe food, feed, or beverage of claim 108 wherein said food, feed, or beverage has hyperdigestible proteinThe food, feed, or beverage of claim 108 wherein said food, feed, or beverage has hyperdigestible starch

1. The food, feed, or beverage of claim 108 wherein said food, feed, or beverage is hypoallergenic.