AN INDUCIBLE GENETIC CASCADE FOR TRIGGERING PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS OF PLANTS

摘要

The present invention provides a method for inducible expression of a desired trait in a plant where the desired trait is expressed at least one generation removed from the generation of plants in which expression is induced. The method comprises expression of at least three chimeric DNA sequences where the expression is linked through expression of site-specific recombinases. Ordered expression of the recombinases is provided by triggering a first inducible promoter linked to the coding sequence for a first recombinase, which in turn unblocks expression of the next coding sequence in a second step of an expression cascade by removing a blocking sequence from a target chimeric DNA sequence. The temporal expression of DNA coding sequences is determined by selecting misordered pairs of promoters and coding sequences which provide an expression cascade that can span different generations of plants. The invention further provides plants containing chimeric DNA sequences which can be expressed in an expression cascade.