Abstract: The invention herein includes a general method for reducing or eliminating a toxic effect of transgenic defensin expression in a host plant. The invention also includes a method of modifying a nucleic acid encoding a defensin, a nucleic acid modified thereby and a modified defensin encoded by the modified nucleic acid sequence. The invention also includes a transgenic plant containing and expressing the modified defensin-coding nucleic acid sequence, the plant exhibiting reduced or eliminated toxic effects of defensin, compared with otherwise comparable transgenic plants expressing an unmodified defensin. The modified defensin is termed a chimeric defensin having a mature defensin domain of a first plant defensin combined with a C-terminal propeptide domain of a second plant defensin or a vacuolar translocation peptide.

Abstract: A multigene expression vehicle (MGEV) consisting essentially of a polynucleotide comprising 2 to 8 domain segments, D, each domain encoding a functional protein, each domain being joined to the next in a linear sequence by a Linker (L) segment encoding a Linker peptide, the D and L segments all being in the same reading frame, and at least one of the domains is not a type two protease inhibitor.

Abstract: The present invention provides amino acid molecules derived from Nicotiana alata. The present invention contemplates the use of nucleic acids encoding such amino acid molecules in the generation of transgenic plants having resistance or at least reduced sensitivity to plant pests including insects, microorganisms, fungi and/or viruses. The transgenic plants provided by the present invention include monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, and particularly include crop plants and ornamental flowering plants.

Abstract: The present invention provides nucleic acid molecules derived from Nicotiana alata, which encode defensin-like molecules. The present invention contemplates the use of such nucleic acid molecules in the generation of transcienic plants having resistance or at least reduced sensitivity to plant pests including insects, microorganisms, fungi and/or viruses. The transcienic plants provided by the present invention include monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants, and particularly include crop plants and ornamental flowering plants.