PLANTS PRODUCING SEEDS WHICH REMOVE CHLOROPHYL DURING MATURATION UNDER STRESS CONDITIONS

摘要

A method for inducing in a plant the ability to produce seeds which remove chlorophyll under stress conditions. The method comprises modulating activity or expression in seeds of the plant the transcription factor ABA Insensitive 3 (ABI3) and/or chlorophyll degradation proteins Staygreen 1 (SGR1) or Staygreen 2 (SGR2), or a polypeptide having ABI3, SGR1 or SGR2 activity. Also provided are isolated nucleic acid constructs, and their stable inclusion in transgenic plants. The transgenic plants have shown desirable phenotypic characteristics when compared to control plants, in particular, the ability to produce seeds which remove chlorophyll under stress conditions, such as cold temperatures or other environmental stresses.