The present disclosure relates to tobacco plants, tobacco seeds, compositions, and methods related to the identification and introgression of the Pale Yellow locus in tobacco. It also relates to generating novel mutations within the PY locus in tobacco.

Provided herein are methods for improving various traits in plants, such as in Vanilla sp. plants, by genetically-modifying the genome of plants, introducing heterologous sequences into the plants, or breeding plants with selected alleles. Such traits that can be improved by the methods and compositions of the present invention include an increase in levels of vanillin or one or more precursors thereof, reducing dehiscence, reducing the size of a rostellum or eliminating its presence, and increasing fungal resistance. Also disclosed herein are genetically-modified plants, extract from such plants or plant parts thereof, and methods of producing such plants or progeny thereof.

This invention relates to crop plants of which the fruit dehiscence properties are modulated. More specifically the invention relates to improved methods and means for reducing seed shattering, or delaying seed shattering until after harvest, in plants, while maintaining at the same time an agronomically relevant threshability of the pods.

The disclosure relates to novel soybean plants and seeds with pest and pathogen resistance and related compositions. The disclosure further relates to use of the soybean plants and seeds in breeding, seed production, and commodity product production.

Compositions and methods are provided where a plant comprising an avenic acid transporter is planted in a field with a target plant in need of increased iron uptake. The plant comprising the avenic acid transporter in an embodiment further comprises one or more constructs comprising nucleic acid molecules expressing heavy and light chains forming an antibody specific to the avenic acid transporter or functional small peptide and may also include a sequence targeting the apoplast. The antibody or functional small peptide is operably linked to a floral promoter or inducible natural or synthetic promoter. Upon expression regulated by the floral promoter or exposure to the inducing conditions, or both, the plant increases its production of avenic acid transporter antibodies, enters senescence and eventually dies. As a result, the plant is not harvested with the target plant, provides a cover crop, and does not continue to use nutrients, and other resources that benefit the targeted plant. Increased avenic acid is produced by the plant prior to dying in response to Fe.sup.3+ starvation induced by inactivation of the Fe.sup.+3/phytosiderophore transporter.

The present invention provides novel compositions for use to enhance crop performance. Specifically, the present invention provides for delayed senescence and/or improved yield enhancement in various crops. The present invention also provides for combinations of compositions and methods that provide for delayed senescence and/or improved yield.

A method of introducing naked dsRNA into a seed is provided. The method comprising contacting the seed with the naked dsRNA under conditions which allow penetration of the dsRNA into the seed, thereby introducing the dsRNA into the seed.

The present invention concerns methods and approaches for modifying guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) homeostasis in photosynthetic eukaryotes, in particular plants or algae, in order to modulate senescence for the remobilisation of nitrogen and other nutrients from the chloroplast, and modified photosynthetic eukaryotes thus produced.

The invention relates to methods of producing a plant with delayed senescence comprising inducing at least one nucleotide deletion, insertion or substitution into at least one copy of a gene encoding deoxyhypusine synthase (DHS) in the plant, wherein the nucleotide deletion, insertion or substitution decreases the activity of DHS encoded by the gene in the plant. The invention also relates to plants produced by the methods and progeny thereof.

The present invention relates to a method for targeted inactivation of transcription factor using an artificial small interfering peptide and a use thereof. According to the present invention, an artificial small interfering peptide (a-siPEP) as a truncated from of the transcription factor for regulating transcription by dimerization was produced. It was also confirmed that, as a-siPEP forms a heterodimer with a transcription factor, DNA binding and transport into a nucleus of the transcription factor are inhibited, so that inactivation of the transcription factor is achieved at protein level. The method for inhibiting transcription factor activity using a-siPEP can replace a gene knock-out method and it allows protein-level inhibition of a transcription factor. Also, it is a transcription regulation method with high precision and high efficiency that can be applied for both monocot and dicot plants.