This disclosure concerns compositions and methods for promoting transcription of a nucleotide sequence in a plant or plant cell, employing a promoter from a Glycine max egg cell gene. Some embodiments relate to a promoter or a 5′ UTR from a Glycine max egg cell gene that functions in plants to promote transcription of operably linked nucleotide sequences. Other embodiments relate to a 3′ UTR or a terminator from a Glycine max egg cell gene that functions in plants to promote transcription of operably linked nucleotide sequences.

The present invention pertains to genetically modified plants, particularly maize, sorghum and rice, with an all pistillate or all staminate phenotype and methods of the same. The survival of functional pistils in maize requires the action of the sk1 gene. SK1 encodes a glycosyltransferase (GT) that protects pistils from tasselseed-mediated cell death. sk1-dependent pistil protection at a developing floret gives rise to stamen arrest at the same floret, and so determines the pistillate floral fate. This is the first single gain-of-function gene known to control sexuality. The present invention further provides a direct strategy to extend hybrid technologies to related cereals such as sorghum and rice. Tasselseed and silkless genes represent major sex determination genes in maize, a pathway that permits the efficient production of hybrid seed and the associated benefits of heterosis-increased yield, resistance to pathogens, etc. Except for maize, current hybrid systems in cereals are fraught with genetic and environmental limitations. Genotype-independent hybrid cereal technology could potentially increase crop yields as much as 20-40% without placing additional land under agricultural production. This has profound implications for food security and the environmental impact of agriculture in some of the poorest regions of the world.

This invention is directed to methods of inducing apomixis in a sexual eukaryote or inducing sexual reproduction in an apomictic eukaryote. More particularly, this invention provides methods of switching from meiosis to apomeiosis and from syngamy to parthenogenesis in a plant. The invention also provides methods of producing an apomictic eukaryote from a sexual eukaryote and a sexual eukaryote from an apomictic eukaryote.

The invention provides methods and compositions for identifying transgenic seed that contain a transgene of interest, but lack a marker gene. Use of an identification sequence that results in a detectable phenotype increases the efficiency of screening for seed and plants in which transgene sequences not linked to a gene of interest have segregated from the sequence encoding a gene of interest.

A Solanaceous plant exhibiting a facultative parthenocarpy is provided. The plant comprises a loss-of-function mutation in a SlAGL6 gene and alternatively or additionally characterized by an average fruit weight/plant at least about the same as that of a non-parthenocarpic tomato of the same genetic background under fertilization permissive conditions of the non-parthenocarpic tomato. Also provided are methods of producing such plants and processed products produced from same.

Disclosed are rice environmental conditional-lethal mutant gene osesl1, an encoding protein and use thereof The gene osesl1 has a nucleotide sequence shown as SEQ ID NO: 1 in the Sequence Listing. The encoding protein thereof has an amino acid sequence shown as SEQ ID NO: 2. After heading of osesl1 mutant rice, seed embryo lethal phenotype appears at 12 days after pollination, exhibiting darkening at the junction between embryo and endosperm. When an average temperature is below 22 C., a seed embryo is normal; when the average temperature is above 28 C., the seed embryo is lethal; when the temperature is between 22 C. and 28 C., the seed embryo is lethal under long daylight conditions (>13 h) and normal under short daylight conditions (<13 h). Use of the gene osesl1 in controlling seed embryo development of rice is further provided.

This invention provides methods for producing a non-natural hybrid seed. Also disclosed are specific miRNAs and miRNA recognition sites useful for conferring inducible sterility on a crop plant, and recombinant DNA construct including such exogenous miRNA recognition sites.

The present invention is directed to seedless fruit producing plants. The present invention also comprises methods for production of said plants and the use of nucleic acids encoding cyclin SDS like proteins for the production of seedless fruits.

Plants of the Cucurbitaceae family and seeds of such plants with an androecious phenotype, whereas this sexual type is not natural in the plants, and the use of the plants and of the plant seeds of the invention. Moreover, the nucleic acid sequence responsible for androecy in the plants of the invention and on the polypeptide encoded by the nucleic acid sequence. Finally, methods of identifying the plants and the seeds.

Plants of the Cucurbitaceae family and seeds of such plants with an androecious phenotype, whereas this sexual type is not natural in the plants, and the use of the plants and of the plant seeds of the invention. Moreover, the nucleic acid sequence responsible for androecy in the plants of the invention and on the polypeptide encoded by the nucleic acid sequence. Finally, methods of identifying the plants and the seeds.