US 12,144,299 B2
Mobilisation of transposable elements to enhance genetic and epigenetic variability in a population
Etienne Bucher, Beaucouze (CH); and Michael Thieme, Zollikon (CH)
Assigned to UNIVERSITAT BASEL, Basel (CH)
Appl. No. 15/780,636
Filed by UNIVERSITAT BASEL, Basel (CH)
PCT Filed Nov. 30, 2016, PCT No. PCT/EP2016/079276
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 1, 2018,
PCT Pub. No. WO2017/093317, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 8, 2017.
Claims priority of application No. 15197663 (EP), filed on Dec. 2, 2015.
Prior Publication US 2018/0352764 A1, Dec. 13, 2018
Int. Cl. A01H 3/04 (2006.01); A01H 1/06 (2006.01); C12N 15/01 (2006.01); C12N 15/82 (2006.01)
CPC A01H 1/06 (2013.01) [A01H 3/04 (2013.01); C12N 15/01 (2013.01); C12N 15/8201 (2013.01); C12N 15/8216 (2013.01)] 4 Claims
 
1. A method for increasing resistance to an abiotic stress in a plant population by mobilizing transposable elements in a plant cell comprising:
providing plant cells,
contacting said plant cells with
an inhibitor of DNA methylation, wherein the inhibitor of DNA methylation is zebularine, and
an inhibitor of RNA Polymerase II, wherein the inhibitor of RNA Polymerase II is alpha-amanitin,
exposing said plant cells to an abiotic stress,
propagating plants from said plant cells while exposing said plants to the abiotic stress, and
selecting those propagated plants with increased resistance to the abiotic stress in comparison to plants propagated from cells that were not contacted with the inhibitor of DNA methylation and the inhibitor of RNA Polymerase II, and
wherein the plant cells are wheat plant cells and the abiotic stress is cold or salinity;
wherein the plant cells are rice plant cells and the abiotic stress is heat or drought; or
wherein the plant cells are Arabidopsis plant cells and the abiotic stress is heat.