Abstract: The present invention provides a method for selecting genomic DNA fragments which are useful for providing a plant with an agriculturally advantageous improvement. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of: 1) preparing genomic DNA from a plant, which is then cloned into a cloning vector to form a genomic DNA library; 2) introducing a genomic fragment from each of the genomic clones constituting the genomic DNA library separately into a plant to produce transgenic plants; 3) cultivating the transgenic plants or progeny thereof to select a plant exhibiting an agriculturally advantageous phenotypic variation; and 4) selecting the genomic DNA fragment, which was introduced in step (2) into the plant selected in step (3), as a purposed genomic DNA fragment.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to screen and identify a novel antimicrobial protein which can inhibit the growth of plant pathogenic microorganisms at a relatively low concentration such as Pyricularia oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani causative of two major diseases causing damage to rice crops and, further, to clone the gene of this protein. According to the present invention, an antimicrobial protein which can be obtained from a fraction of an aqueous extract of Lyophyllum shimeji precipitated by the ammonium sulfate precipitation method, has an antimicrobial activity at least against Rhizoctonia solani or Pyricularia oryzae, and shows the presence of components of about 70 kDa and/or about 65 kDa in molecular weight in the SDS-PAGE method. A gene encoding this protein and a method of using the same are provided.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a novel DNA sequence having a flower organ-specific promoter activity which makes it possible to express a foreign gene specifically in pistil or lodicule, this enabling genetic manipulation. The present invention provides a DNA fragment comprising the sequence of positions 1 to 5369 in the nucleotide sequence represented by SEQ ID NO:3 in Sequence Listing, the sequence of positions 3335 to 5108 therein, a part of these sequences or a sequence derived from these sequences by deletion, substitution, insertion or addition of one or more nucleotides and having a promoter activity; and a flower organ-specific promoter sequence which can be identified from among sequences obtained by screening a genomic library of rice or other plants by using as a probe the nucleotide sequence as described above or a part thereof.

Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide the rice restorer gene to the rice BT type cytoplasmic male sterility. The gene of the present invention comprises a nucleic acid encoding the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO.75, or an amino acid sequence which is identical to at least 70% of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO.75, and which functions to restore fertility. Preferably, the gene of the present invention has the base sequence of SEQ ID NOS:69-74, 80-85 or the bases 43907-46279 of SEQ ID NO:27.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to screen and identify a novel antimicrobial protein which can inhibit the growth of plant pathogenic microorganisms at a relatively low concentration such as Pyricularia oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani causative of two major diseases causing damage to rice crops and, further, to clone the gene of this protein. According to the present invention, an antimicrobial protein which can be obtained from a fraction of an aqueous extract of Lyophyllum shimeji precipitated by the ammonium sulfate precipitation method, has an antimicrobial activity at least against Rhizoctonia solani or Pyricularia oryzae, and shows the presence of components of about 70 kDa and/or about 65 kDa in molecular weight in the SDS-PAGE method. A gene encoding this protein and a method of using the same are provided.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to search and identify novel antifungal proteins capable of inhibiting the growth of plant pathogenic microorganisms including Magnaporthe grisea and Rhizoctonia solani causing two major rice diseases at relatively low concentrations, and further to clone a gene for said protein. The present invention provides an antifungal protein which can be obtained from fraction(s) precipitated by ammonium sulfate precipitation using an aqueous extract from Pleurotus cornucopiae, wherein said protein has an antifungal activity against at least rice blast, and exhibits existence of a component having a molecular weight of about 15 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE method; a gene encoding said protein and uses thereof.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to screen and identify a novel antimicrobial protein which can inhibit the growth of plant pathogenic microorganisms at a relatively low concentration such as Pyricularia oryzae and Rhizoctonia solani causative of two major diseases causing damage to rice crops and, further, to clone the gene of this protein. According to the present invention, an antimicrobial protein which can be obtained from a fraction of an aqueous extract of Lyophyllum shimeji precipitated by the ammonium sulfate precipitation method, has an antimicrobial activity at least against Rhizoctonia solani or Pyricularia oryzae, and shows the presence of components of about 70 kDa and/or about 65 kDa in molecular weight in the SDS-PAGE method. A gene encoding this protein and a method of using the same are provided.

Abstract: It is the object of the present invention to provide disease-resistant plants which have been transformed to cause an effective defense reaction, and methods for producing the same.

Abstract: A novel DNA fragment capable of enhancing the expression level of a gene. The DNA fragment according to the present invention contains a nucleotide sequence from one of the nucleotides at around positions 1- to 152 to one of the nucleotides at around positions 259 to 374 in the sequence represented by SEQ ID NO:1 and is capable of enhancing the expression level of a gene.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a novel DNA sequence having a flower organ-specific promoter activity which makes it possible to express a foreign gene specifically in pistil or lodicule, this enabling genetic manipulation. The present invention provides a DNA fragment comprising the sequence of positions 1 to 5369 in the nucleotide sequence represented by SEQ ID NO:3 in Sequence Listing, the sequence of positions 3335 to 5108 therein, a part of these sequences or a sequence derived from these sequences by deletion, substitution, insertion or addition of one or more nucleotides and having a promoter activity; and a flower organ-specific promoter sequence which can be identified from among sequences obtained by screening a genomic library of rice or other plants by using as a probe the nucleotide sequence as described above or a part thereof.

Abstract: This invention provides a flower organ-specific promoter enabling genetic engineering manipulations of pistil or lodicule. This invention further provides a chitinase expressed specifically in flower organ and its gene.

Abstract: The flower organ-specific promoter is contained in the sequence consisting of nucleotides of positions from 1 to 1234 in the nucleotide sequence represented by SEQ ID NO:3. The promoter includes sequences derived from the above sequence by deletion, substitution, insertion or addition of one or more nucleotides and having a flower organ-specific promoter activity and also those obtainable by using the nucleotide sequence represented by SEQ ID NO:1 as a probe and having a flower organ-specific promoter activity.