Expression of Flavin-Containing Monooxygenases in Plants

Inventors: Yunde Zhao, Joanne Chory, Christian Fankhauser, Detlef Weigel and John Cashman
Potential Uses: Plant Biology, Agriculture, Horticulture
A gene to increase plant growth and yield by increasing endogenous auxin levels.

The invention describes the YUCCA gene, a flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) gene from Arabidopsis. Enhanced expression of the YUCCA gene or its homologues leads to a phenotype characterized by increased hypocotyl elongation, increased root thickness, increased root hair development, increased lateral root initiation, increased apical dominance, epinastic leaf growth, increased flowering node formation, increased fruit yield, increased endogenous auxin levels, parthenocarpic fruit production, altered gene expression, altered pathogen resistance, altered pest resistance, and altered herbicide resistance. The invention provides methods to alter these plant traits by transforming a plant with an expression vector encoding the YUCCA FMO or its homologues.