MXPA99006965A

MXPA99006965A - Enhancement of growth in plants

Info

Publication number: MXPA99006965A
Application number: MXPA/A/1999/006965A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Wei Zhongmin; Qiu Dewen; V Beer Steven
Original assignee: Cornell Research Foundation Inc
Priority date: 1997-01-27
Filing date: 1999-07-27
Publication date: 2000-04-24

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of enhancing growth of plants. This involves applying a hypersensitive response elicitor polypeptide or protein in a non-infectious form to a plant or plant seed under conditions effective to enhance growth of the plant or plants produced from the plant seed. Alternatively, transgenic plants or transgenic plant seeds transformed with a DNA molecule encoding a hypersensitive response elicitor polypeptide or protein can be provided and the transgenic plants or plants resulting from the transgenic pland seeds are grown under conditions effective to enhance plant growth.

Description

METHOD FOR IMPROVING- PLANT GROWTH FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the improvement of plant growth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION For centuries, an improvement in the growth of plants by the application of organic fertilizers has been carried out (H. Marschner, "Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants," Academic Press: New York, pp. 674 (1986).) Modern man has developed an complex inorganic fertilizer production system to produce an easy product that farmers and farmers can apply to growing soils or crops to improve performance through improved growth, plant size, coloration, maturation and performance can be improved by the application of fertilizer products.Inorganic fertilizers include those chemicals commonly applied as ammonium nitrate.Organic fertilizers can include animal manure and composted stratified waste, among many other resources.

REF .: 30869 In more recent years, researchers have sought to improve the growth of plants through the use of biological products. Agents for the control of insects and diseases such as Beauveria bassiana and Trichoderma harizamum have been registered for the control of insects and disease problems and therefore indirectly improve the growth of the plants as well as their yield (Fravel et al., "Formulation of Microorganisms to Control Plant Diseases, "Formulation of Microbial Biopesticides, Beneficial Microorganisms, and Nematodes, HD Burges, Chapman and Hall: London (1996) There are certain indications of direct improvement of plant growth through microbial application or microbial byproducts Nodulant bacteria have been added to the seeds of legume crops and introduced into a new site (Weaver et al., "Rhizobium," Methods of Soil Analvsis, Part 2, Chemical and Microbiolocal Properties, 2nd ed. , American Society of Agronomy: Madison (1982).) These bacteria can improve the efficiency of plant and plant nodule formation. This will improve the ability of the plant to convert free nitrogen into a usable form, a process called nitrogen fixation. As a rule, non-leguminous crops do not benefit from such treatment. Aggregated bacteria such as Rhizobium directly parasitize the hairs of the root and begin a Mutualist relationship to provide benefit to the plant while receiving protection and sustenance. Mycorrhizal fungi have also been recognized as microorganisms necessary for the optional growth of many crops, especially conifers in low nutrient soils. Mechanisms have been proposed that include the biosynthesis of plant hormones (Frankenberger et al., "Biosynthesis of Indole-3-Acetic Acid by the Pine Ectomycorrhizal Fungas Pisoli thus tinctorius," Appl. Environ Microbiol. 53: 2908-13 (1987) ), increased mineral uptake (Harley et al., "The Uptake of Phosphate by Excised Mycorrhizal Roots of Beech," New Phytoloqist 49: 388-97 (1950) and Harley et al., "The Uptake of Phosphate by Excised Mycorrhizal Roots of Beech, IV The Effect of Oxygen Concentration upon Host and Funsus. "New Phvtolo ist 52: 124-32 (1953)), yagua (AB Hatch," The Physical Basis of Mycotrophy in Pinus, "Black Rock Forest Bull. No. 6, 168 pp. (1937)). Mycorrhizal fungi have not yet acquired the frequency of use that modulating bacteria have had due to variable and inconsistent results with any given strain of mycorrhizal and the difficulty of studying the organisms. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria ("PGPR") have been recognized in recent years to improve the growth and development of plants. The hypothetical mechanisms vary from direct influenza (by example increased uptake of nutrients) to indirect mechanisms (eg displacement of pathogens). The improvement in the growth by application of a PGGPR generally refers to inoculation with a live bacterium to the root system and obtain an improved harvest through the hormonal effects produced by the bacteria, siderophores or for the prevention of diseases through the production of antibiotics or by competition. In all the previous cases, the result is produced through the colonization of the roots, sometimes through the application of coatings in the seeds. There is limited information to suggest that some strains of PGPR may be directed to growth promoters that improve root elongation under gnotobiotic conditions (Anderson et al., "Responses of Bean to Root Colonization with Pseudomonas putida in a Hydroponic System," Phytopatholoqy 75: 992-95 (1985), Lifshitz et al., "Growth Promotion of Cañola (rapeseed) Seedlings by a Strain of Pseudomonas pu Tida Under Gnotobiotic Conditions," Can J. Microbiol. 33: 390-95 (1987), Young et al., "PGPR: Is There Relationship Between Plant Growth Regulators and the Stimulation of Plant Growth or Biological Activity ?, "Promotinq Rhizobacteria: Progress and Prospects, Second International Workshop on Plant Growht-promoting Rhizobacteria, pp. 182-86 (1991), Loper et al., "Influence of Bacterial Sources of Indole-3-Acetic Acid on Root Elongation of Sugar Beet," Phytopatholoqy 76: 386-89 (1986), and Müller et al., "Hormonal Interactions in the Rhizosphere of Maize (Zea mays L.) and Their Effect on Plant Development," Z. Pflanzenernáhrung Bodenkunde 152: 247-54 (1989); however, the production of plant regulators has been proposed as the mechanism that mediates these effects. Many bacteria produce various plant growth regulators in vi tro (Atzorn et al., "Production of Gibberellins and Indole-3-Acetic Acid by Rhizobium phaseoli in Relation to Nodulation of Phaseolus vulgaris Roots," Plant 175: 532-38 ( 1988) and ME Brown, "Plant Growth Substances Produced by Micro-Organism of Solid and Rhizosphere, "J. Appl. Bact. 35: 443-51 (1972)) or antibiotics (Gardner et al-, "Growth Promotion and Inhibition by Antibiotic-Producing Fluorescent Pseudomonads on Citrus Roots, "Plant Soil 77: 103-13 (1984).) The production of siderfore is another proposed mechanism for some strains of PGPR (Ahí et al.," Iron Bound-Siderophores, Cyanic Acid, and Antibiotics Involved in Suppression of Thievaliopsis basicola by a Pseudomonas fluorescens Strain, "J. Phytopathol 116: 121-34 (1986), Klopper et al.," Enhanced Plant Growth by Siderophores Produced by Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria, "Nature 286 : 885-86 (1980), and Kloepper et al., "Pseudomonas siderophores: A Mechanism Explaining Disease-Suppressive Soils," Curr Microbiol 4: 317-20 (1980).) Colonization of root surfaces and by so the competition Directly with pathogenic bacteria on surfaces is another mechanism of action (Kloepper et al., "Relationship of in vi tro Antibiosis of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria to Plant Growth and the Displacement of Root Microflora," Phvtopatho1oay 71: 1020-24 (1981 ), Weller, et al., "Increased Growth of Wheat by Seed Treatments With Fluorescent Pseudomonads, and Implications of Pythium Control," Can J. Microbiol. 8: 328-34 (1986), and Suslow et al., "Rhizobacteria of Sugar Beets: Effects of Seed Application and Root Colonization on Yield, "Phytopathology 72: 199-206 (1982)). Studies on rapeseed (turnip) have indicated plant growth parameters increased by PGPR including yields, germination of seedlings and vigor, plant growth in the early season (number of leaves and length of the main climber) and the area of the leaves (Kloepper et al., "Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria on Cañola (rapeseed)," Plant Disease 72: 42-46 (1988)). Studies with potatoes indicate higher yields with pseudomonas strains when applied to potato seeds (Burr et al., "Increased Potato Yields by Treatment of Seed Pieces With Specific Strains of Pseudomonas Fluorescens and P. putida," Phytopatholoq 68: 1377- 83 (1978), Kloepper et al., "Effect of Seed Piece Inoculation With Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria on Populations of Erwinia carotovora on Potato Roots and in Daughter Tubers," Phytopatholoqy 73: 217-19 (1983), Geels et al. , "Reduction of Yield Depressions in High Frequency Potato Cropping Soil After Seed Tuber Treatments With Antagonistic Fluorscent Pseudomonas spp., "Phvtopathol Z. 108: 207-38 (1983), Howie et al.," Rhizobacteria: Influence of Cultivation and Soil Type on Plant Growth and Yield Potato, "Soil Biol. Biochem. 15: 127-32 (1983), and Vrany et al.," Growth and Yield of Potato Plants Inoculated With Rhizosphere Bacteria, "Folia Microbiol., 29: 248-53 (1984)). increase in yield apparently is due to the competitive effects of PGPR to eliminate pathogenic bacteria in the seed tubers, possibly by antibiosis (Kloepper et al., "Effect of Seed Piece Inoculation With Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria on Populations of Erwinia carotovora on Potato Roots and in Daughter Tubers, "Phytopathologv 73: 217-19 (1983), Kloepper et al.," Effects of Rhizosphere Colonization by Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria on Potato Plant Development and Yield, "Phvtopathology 70: 1078-82 (1980), Kloepper et al. , "Emergence-Pro oting Rhizobacteria: Description and Implications for Agriculture," pp. 155-164, Iron, Siderophores, and Plant Disease, TR Swinburne, ed. Plenum, New York (1986), and Kloepper et al., "Relationship of in vi tro Antibiosis of Plant Growht-Promoting Rhizobacteria to Plant Growth and the Displacement of Root Microflora, "Phvtopatholoqy 71: 1020-24 (1981) ) . In several studies, germination of plants is improved using PGPR (Tipping et al., "Development of Emergence-Promoting Rhizobacteria for Supersweet Corn, "Phytopatho1ogy 76: 938-41 (1990) (extract) and Kloepper et al.," Emergence-Promoting Rhizobacteria: Description and Implications for Agriculture, "pp. 155-164, Iron, Siderophores, and Plant Disease, TR Swinburne, ed. Plenum, New York (1986).) Numerous additional studies indicate improved plant health in the face of rhizobacteria treatment, due to the biocontrol of the plant pathogens (B. Schippers, "Biological Control of Pathogens With Rhizobacteria, "Phil, Trans, R. Soc., Lond. B. 318: 283-93 (1988), Schroth et al.," Disease-Suppressive Soil and Root-Colonizing Bacteria, "Science 216: 1376- 81 (1982), Stutz et al., "Naturally Occurring Fluorescent Pseudomonads Involved in Suppression of Black Root Rot of Tobacco," Phtopatholoqy 76: 181-85 (1986), and DM Weller, "Biological Control of Soilborne Plant Pathogens in the Rhizosphere With Bacteria, "Annu, Rev. Phvtopathol, 26: 379-407 (1988)). that pathogen-induced immunization of a plant promotes growth. The injection of Peronospora tabacina externally to the tobacco xylem not only alleviates atrophy but also promotes growth and development. The immunized tobacco plants, in experiments both in greenhouse and in the field, are approximately 40% higher, have an increase of 40% in dry weight, an increase of 30% in fresh weight, and 4-6 more leaves compared to control plants (Tuzun, S., et al., "The Effect of Stem Injection with Peronospora Tabacine and Metalaxyl Treatment on Growth of Tobacco and Protection Against Blue Mold in the Field," Phytopatholoqy 74: 804 (1984 These plants bloom approximately 2-3 weeks earlier than the control plants (Tuzun, S., et al., "Movement of a Factor in Tobacco Infected with Peronospora tabacina Adam wich Systemically Protects Against Blue Mold," Phvsioloqical Plant Pathologv, 26 : 321-30 (1985)) The present invention is directed to an improvement over the above processes for the improvement of plant growth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for improving growth in plants. This method involves applying a hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein in a non-infectious manner to plants or plant seeds under conditions to impart enhanced growth to the plant or to the plants that grow from the seeds of the plants. As an alternative to apply the polypeptide or the hypersensitivity response inducing protein to plants or to the seeds of plants in order to impart Improved growth to plants or plants that grow from the seeds, can be used transgenic plants or plant seeds. When transgenic plants are used, this involves using a transgenic plant transformed with a DNA molecule that codes for a hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide and growing the plant under effective conditions to allow the DNA molecule to improve growth. Alternatively, a transgenic plant seed transformed with a DNA molecule encoding an inducible hypersensitivity response polypeptide or protein can be provided and can be planted in the soil. Then the plant is propagated from the seed planted under effective conditions to allow the DNA molecule to improve growth. The present invention is directed to carry out any form of improvement or promotion of the growth of plants. This can occur at a stage as early as when the growth of the plant starts from the seeds, or later in the life of a plant. For example, the plant growth according to the present invention encompasses a higher yield, an increased amount of seeds produced, an increased percentage of germinated seeds, an increased plant size, a higher biomass, more and better fruit, earlier coloration of the fruit and earlier ripening of the fruit and the plant. As a result, the present invention provides a significant economic benefit to farmers. For example, early germination and early maturation allow crops to grow in areas where there are short growth seasons that would otherwise prevent their growth in that location. An improved percentage of seed germination results in improved crop production and more efficient seed use. A higher yield, an increased size, an improved biomass production allow a better generation of recovery from a given land area. Therefore, it is evident that the present invention constitutes an important basis in agricultural efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a map of the plasmid vector pCPP2139 which contains the hyperresponsive response inducing gene of Erwinia amylovora. Figure 2 is a map of a plasmid vector pCPP50 which does not contain the gene inducing the hypersensitivity response of Erwinia amylovora but which is otherwise equal to the plasmid vector pCPP2139 shown in Figure 1. See Masui, et al., Bio / Technology 2: 81-85 (1984), which is incorporated herein by reference.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for improving growth in plants. This method involves applying a hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein in a non-infectious manner to all or part of the plant or plant seeds under conditions to impart improved growth to the plant or to a plant growth from the seed of the plant. plant. Alternatively, plants can be treated in this manner to produce seeds which, when planted, impart enhanced growth in the plants of the progeny. As an alternative to the application of a hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein to plants or plant seeds in order to impart enhanced growth to the plants or to the plants growing from the seeds, transgenic plants or seeds may be used. of plants. When transgenic plants are used, this involves providing a transgenic plant transformed with a DNA molecule that codes for a hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide and growing the plant under effective conditions to allow the DNA molecule to improve growth.

Alternatively, the transgenic plant seed transformed with a DNA molecule encoding a hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein can be provided and planted in the soil. The plant is then propagated from the seed planted under effective conditions to allow the DNA molecule to improve growth. The hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide used in the present invention may correspond to hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptides or proteins derived from a wide variety of icotic and bacterial pathogens. Such polypeptides or proteins are capable of inducing local necrosis in the plant tissue that makes contact by the inducer. Examples of suitable bacterial sources of polypeptide or protein inducers include the species Erwinia, Pseudomonas and Xantha onas (for example, the following bacteria: Erwinia amylovora, Erwinia chrysanthemi, Erwinia stewartii, Erwinia carotovora, Pseudomonas syringae, Pseudomonas solancearum, Xanthomonas campestris, and mixtures thereof An example of an icotic source of a hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide is Phytophthora .. Suitable species of Phytophthora include Phytophthora pythium, Phytophthora cryptogea, Phytophthora cinnamomi, Phytophthora capsicum, Phytophthora egasperma and Phytoph thora ci troph chora. The embodiment of the present invention wherein a hypersensitivity response polypeptide or protein is applied to the plant or plant seed can be carried out in numerous ways, including: 1) application of a polypeptide or inducing protein isolated; 2) application of bacteria which do not cause disease and are transformed with genes that code for a polypeptide or hypersensitivity response-inducing protein; and 3) application of bacteria which cause disease in some plant species (but not in those in which they are applied), and which naturally contain a gene encoding the hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein. In addition, seeds according to the present invention can be recovered from plants which have been treated with a hypersensitivity response inducing protein or polypeptide according to the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention, the polypeptides or proteins inducing hypersensitivity responses can be isolated from the corresponding organisms and can be applied to plants or plant seeds. Such isolation procedures are well known, as described in Arlat, M., F. Van Gijsegem, J.

C. Huet, J. C. Pemollet, and C. A. Boucher, "PopAl, a Protein wich Induces a Hypersensitive-like Response in Specific Petunia Genotypes is Secreted via the Hrp Pathway of Pseudomonas solanacearum," EMBO J. 13: 543-553 (1994); He, S. Y., H. C. Huang, and A. Collmer, "Pseudomonas syringae pv. Syringae HarpinPss: a Protein that is Secreted via the Hrp Pathway and Elicits the Hypersensitive Response in Plants," Cell 73: 1255-1266 (1993); and Wei, Z.-M., R.J. Laby, C.H. Zumoff, D.W. Bauer, S.-Y. He, A. Collmer, and SV Beer, "Harpin Elicitor of the Hypersensitive Response Produced by the Plant Pathogen Erwinia a ylovora, Science 257: 85-88 (1992), which are incorporated herein by reference. US Patent Nos. 08 / 200,024 and 08 / 062,024, which are incorporated herein by reference, however, preferably, the isolated hypersensitivity response inducing polypeptides or proteins of the present invention are produced from In a further embodiment of the present invention, the hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide of the present invention can be applied to plants or plant seeds by applying bacteria that contain genes encoding the recombinant manner and are purified as described in the following. for the polypeptide or hypersensitivity response inducing protein. they must be capable of secreting or exporting the polypeptide or protein so that the inducer can make contact with the plant cells or the seeds of the plants. In these embodiments, the hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein is produced by the bacteria in plant or in the seeds or just before the introduction of the bacteria to plants or plant seeds. In one embodiment of the bacterial application mode of the present invention, the bacteria do not cause disease and have been transformed (e.g., recombinantly) with genes encoding a hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide. For example, E, coli, which does not induce a hypersensitivity response in plants, can be transformed with genes that code for a hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide and can then be applied to plants. Bacterial species other than E. coli can also be used in this embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the bacterial application mode of the present invention, the bacterium causes the disease and naturally contains a gene encoding the hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide. Examples of such bacteria are indicated in the above. However, in this modality, these bacteria are applied to plants or their seeds which are not susceptible to disease transported by the bacteria. For example, Erwinia amylovora produces the disease in apples or pears, but not in tomatoes. However, such bacteria will induce a hypersensitivity response in the tomato. Accordingly, according to this embodiment of the present invention, Erwinia amylovora can be applied to plants or tomato seeds to improve growth without causing disease in those species. The hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide from Erwinia chrysanthemi has an amino acid sequence corresponding to SEQ. FROM IDENT. NO: 1 as follows: Met Gln He Thr He Lys Wing His He Gly Gly Asp Leu Gly Val Ser 1 5 10 15 Gly Leu Gly Wing Gln Gly Leu Lys Gly Leu Asn Being Wing Wing Being Ser 20 25 30 Leu Gly Ser Ser Val Asp Lys Leu Ser Ser Thr He Asp Lys Leu Thr 35 40 45 Be Wing Leu Thr Ser Met Met Phe Gly Gly Wing Leu Wing Gln Gly Leu 50 55 60 Gly Ala Ser Ser Lys Gly Leu Gly Met Ser Asn Gln Leu Gly Gln Ser 65 70 75 80 Phe Gly Asn Gly Wing Gln Gly Wing Being Asn Leu Leu Being Val Pro Lys 85 90 95 Ser Gly Gly Asp Ala Leu Ser Lys Met Phe Asp Lys Ala Leu Asp Asp 100 105 110 His Asp Thr Val Thr Lys Leu Thr Asn Gln Ser Asn Gln 115 120 125 Leu Ala Asn Ser Met Leu Asn Ala Ser Gln Met Thr Gln Gly Asn Met 130 135 140 Asn Ala Phe Gly Ser Gly Val Asn Asn Ala Leu Ser Ser He Leu Gly 145 150 155 160 Asn Gly Leu Gly Gln Being Met Being Gly Phe Being Gln Pro Being Leu Gly 165 170 175 Wing Gly Gly Leu Gln Gly Leu Ser Gly Wing Gly Wing, Phe Asn Gln Leu 180 185 190 Gly Asn Wing He Gly Met Gly Val Gly Gln Asn Ala Wing Leu Ser Wing 195 200 205 Leu Ser Asn Val Ser Thr His Val Asp Gly Asn Asn Arg His Phe Val 210 215 220 Asp Lys Glu Asp Arg Gly Met Wing Lys Glu He Gly Gln Phe Met Asp 225 230 235 240 Gln Tyr Pro Glu He Phe Gly Lys Pro Glu Tyr Gln Lys Asp Gly Trp 245 250 255 Ser Ser Pro Lys Thr Asp Asp Lys Ser Trp Wing Lys Wing Leu Ser Lys 260 265 270 Pro Asp Asp Asp Gly Met Thr Gly Ala As Met Asp Lys Phe Arg Gln 275 280 285 Wing Met Gly Met He Lys Ser Wing Val Wing Gly Asp Thr Gly Asn Thr 290 295 300 Asn Leu Asn Leu Arg Gly Wing Gly Gly Wing Being Leu Gly He Asp Wing 305 310 315 320 Ala Val Val Gly Asp Lys He Ala Asn Met Ser Leu Gly Lys Leu Ala 325 330 335 Asn Ala This polypeptide or hypersensitivity response-inducing protein has a molecular weight of 34 kDa, is thermostable, has a glycine content greater than 16% and does not substantially contain cysteine. The hypersensitivity response inducing protein or polypeptide of Erwinia chrysanthemi is encoded by a DNA molecule having a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ. FROM IDENT. No. 2 as follows: CGATTTTACC CGGGTGAACG TGCTATGACC GACAGCATCA CGGTATTCGA CACCGTTACG 60 GCGTTTATGG CCGCGATGAA CCGGCATCAG GCGGCGCGCT GGTCGCCGCA ATCCGGCGTC 120 GATCTGGTAT TTCAGTTTGG GGACACCGGG CGTRAACTCA TGATGCAGAT TCAGCCGGGG 180 CAGCAATATC CCGGCATGTT GCGCACGCTG CTCGCTCGTC GTTATCAGCA GGCGGCAGAG 240 TGCGATGGCT GCCATCTGTG CCTGAACGGC AGCGATGTAT TGATCCTCTG GTGGCCGCTG 300 CCGTCGGATC CCGGCAGTTA TCCGCAGGTG ATCGAACGTT TGTTTGAACT GGCGGGAATG 360 ACGTTGCCGT CGCTATCCAT AGCACCGACG GCGCGTCCGC AGACAGGGAA CGGACGCGCC 420 CGATCATTAA GATAAAGGCG GCTTTTTTTA TTGCAAAACG GTAACGGTGA GGAACCGTTT 480 CACCGTCGGC GTCACTCAGT AACAAGTATC CATCATGATG CCTACATCGG GATCGGCGTG 540 GGCATCCGTT GCAGATACTT TTGCGAACAC CTGACATGAA TGAGGAAACG AAATTATGCA 600 AATTACGATC AAAGCGCACA TCGGCGGTGA TTTGGGCGTC TCCGGTCTGG GGCTGGGTGC 660 TCAGGGACTG AAAGGACTGA ATTCCGCGGC TTCATCGCTG GGTTCCAGCG TGGATAAACT 720 GAGCAGCACC ATCGATAAGT TGACCTCCGC GCTGACTTCG ATGATGTTTG GCGGCGCGCT 780 GGCGCAGGGG CTGGGCGCCA GCTCGAAGGG GCTGGGGATG AGCAATCAAC TGGGCCAGTC 840 TTTCGGCAAT GGCGCGCAGG GTGCGAGCAA CCTGCTATCC GTACCGAAAT CCGGCGGCGA 900 TGCGTTGTCA AAAATGTTTG ATAAAGCGCT GGACGATCTG CTGGGTCATG ACACCGTGAC 960 CAAGCTGACT AACCAGAGCA ACCAACTGGC TAATTCAATG CTGAACGCCA GCCAGATGAC 1020 CCAGGGTAAT ATGAATGCGT TCGGCAGCGG TGTGAACAAC GCACTGTCGT CCATTCTCGG 1080 CAACGGTCTC GGCCAGTCGA TGAGTGGCTT CTCTCAGCCT TCTCTGGGGG CAGGCGGCTT 1140 GCAGGDCCTG AGCGGCGCGG GTGCATTCAA CCAGTTGGGT AATGCCATCG GCATGGGCGT 1200 GGGGCAGAAT GCTGCGCTGA GTGCGTTGAG TAACGTCAGC ACCCACGTAG ACGGTAACAA 1260 CCGCCACTTT GTAGATAAAG AAGATCGCGG CATGGCGAAA GAGATCGGCC AGTTTATGGA 1320 TCAGTATCCG GAAATATTCG GTAAACCGGA ATACCAGAAA GATGGCTGGA GTTCGCCGAA 1380 GACGGACGAC AAATCCTGGG CTAAAGCGCT GAGTAAACCG GATGATGACG GTATGACCGG 1440 CGCCAGCATG GACAAATTCC GTCAGGCGAT GGGTATGATC AAAAGCGCGG TGGCGGGTGA 1500 TACCGGCAAT ACCAACCTGA ACCTGCGTGG CGCGGGCGGT GCATCGCTGG GTATCGATGC 1560 GGCTGTCGTC GGCGATAAAA TAGCCAACAT GTCGCTGGGT AAGCTGGCCA ACGCCTGATA 1620 ATCTGTGCTG GCCTGATAAA GCGGAAACGA AAAAAGAGAC GGGGAAGCCT GTCTCTTTTC 1680 TTATTATGCG GTTTATGCGG TTACCTGGAC CGGTTAATCA TCGTCATCGA TCTGGTACAA 1740 ACGCACATTT TCCCGTTCAT TCGCGTCGTT ACGCGCCACA ATCGCGATGG CATCTTCCTC 1800 GTCGCTCAGA TTGCGCGGCT GATGGGGAAC GCCGGGTGGA ATATAGAGAA ACTCGCCGGC 1860 CAGATG GAGA CACGTCTGCG ATAAATCTGT GCCGTAACGT GTTTCTATCC GCCCCTTTAG_1920_CAGATAGATT GCGGTTTCGT AATCAACATG GTAATGCGGT TCCGCCTGTG CGCCGGCCGG 1980 GATCACCACA ATATTCATAG AAAGCTGTCT TGCACCTACC GTATCGCGGG AGATACCGAC 2040 AAAATAGGGC AGTTTTTGCG TGGTATCCGT GGGGTGTTCC GGCCTGACAA TCTTGAGTTG 2100 GTTCGTCATC ATCTTTCTCC ATCTGGGCGA CCTGATCGGT T 2141 The hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide derived from Erwinia amylovora has an amino acid sequence corresponding to SEQ. FROM IDENT. No. 3 as follows: Met Ser Leu Asn Thr Ser Gly Leu Gly Ala Ser Thr Met Gln He Ser 1 5 10 15 He Gly Gly Wing Gly Gly Asn Asn Gly Leu Leu Gly Thr Being Arg Gln 20 25 30 Asn Ala Gly Leu Gly Gly Asn Be Ala Leu Gly Leu Gly Gly Gly Asn 35 40 45 Gln Asn Asp Thr Val Asn Gln Leu Wing Gly Leu Leu Thr Gly Met Met 50 55 60 Met Met Met Met Met Met Gly Gly Gly Gly Leu Met Gly Gly Gly Leu 65 70 75 80 Gly Gly Gly Leu Gly Gly Asn Glu Lely Gly Gly Be Gly Glu Leu Glu 85 90 95 Gly Leu Ser Asn Ala Leu Asn Asp Met Leu Gly Gly Ser Leu Asn Thr 100 105 110 Leu Gly Ser Lys Gly Gly Asn Asn Thr Thr Ser Thr Thr Asn Ser Pro 115 120 125 Leu Asp Gln Wing Leu Gly He Asn Ser Thr Ser Gln Asn Asp Asp Ser 130 135 140 Thr Ser Gly Thr Asp Ser Thr Ser Asp Ser Ser Asp Pro Met Gln Gln 145 150 155 160 Leu Leu Lys Met Phe Ser Glu He Met Gln Ser Leu Phe Gly Asp Gly 165 170 175 Gln Asp Gly Thr Gln Gly Be Ser Gly Gly Lys Gln Pro Thr Glu 180 185 190 Gly Glu Gln Asn Wing Tyr Lys Lys Gly Val Thr Asp Wing Leu Ser Gly 195 200 205 Leu Met Gly Asn Gly Leu Ser Gln Leu Leu Gly Asn Gly Gly Leu Gly 210 215 220 Gly Gly Gln Gly Gly Asn Wing Gly Thr Gly Leu Asp Gly Ser Ser Leu 225 230 235 240 Gly Gly Lys Gly Leu Gln Asn Leu Ser Gly Pro Val Asp Tyr Gln Gln 245 250 255 Leu Gly Asn Wing Val Gly Thr Gly He Gly Met Lys Wing Gly He Gln 260 265 270 Ala Leu Asn Asp He Gly Thr His Arg His Being Ser Thr Arg Ser Phe 275 280 285 Val Asn Lys Gly Asp Arg Ala Met Ala Lys Glu He Gly Gln Phe Met 290 295 300 Asp Gln Tyr Pro Glu Val Phe Gly Lys Pro Gln Tyr Gln Lys Gly Pro 305 310 315 320 Gly Gln Glu Val Lys Thr Asp Asp Lys Ser Trp Ala Lys Ala Leu Ser 325 330 335 Lys Pro Asp Asp Asp Gly Met Thr Pro Wing Ser Met Glu Gln Phe Asn 340 345 350 Lys Ala Lys Gly Met He Lys Arg Pro Met Ala Gly Asp Thr Gly Asn 355 360 365 Gly Asn Leu Gln Wing Arg Gly Wing Gly Gly Being Ser Leu Gly lie Asp 370 375 380 Wing Met Met Wing Gly Asp Wing He Asn Asn Met Wing Wing Leu Gly Lys Leu 385 390 395 400 Gly Wing Wing This polypeptide or hypersensitivity response-inducing protein has a molecular weight of about 39 kDa, has a pl of about 4.3, and is thermostable at 100 CC for at least 10 minutes. This polypeptide or hypersensitivity response-inducing protein has substantially no cysteine. The hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein derived from Erwinia amylovora is described more fully in Wei, Z.-M., R.J. Laby, C.H. Zumoff, D.W. Bauer, S.-Y. He, A. Collmer, and S. V. Beer, "Harpin, Elicitor of the Hypersensitive Response Produced by the Plant Pathogen Erwinia amylovora," Science 257: 85-88 (1992), which is incorporated herein by reference.

The DNA molecule encoding this polypeptide or protein has a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ. FROM IDENT. No. 4 as follows: AAGCTTCGGC ATGGCACGTT TGACCGTTGG GTCGGCAGGG TACGTTTGAA TTATTCATAA 60 GAGGAATACG TTATGAGTCT GAATACAAGT GGGCTGGGAG CGTCAACGAT GCAAATTTCT 120 ATCGGCGGTG CGGGCGGAAA TAACGGGTTG CTGGGTACCA GTCGCCAGAA TGCTGGGTTG 180 GGTGGCAATT CTGCACTGGG GCTGGGCGGC GGTAATCAAA ATGATACCGT CAATCAGCTG 240 GCTGGCTTAC TCACCGGCAT GATGATGATG ATGAGCATGA TGGGCGGTGG TGGGCTGATG 300 GGCGGTGGCT TAGGCGGTGG CTTAGGTAAT GGCTTGGGTG GCTCAGGTGG CCTGGGCGAA 360 GGACTGTCGA ACGCGCTGAA CGATATGTTA GGCGGTTCGC TGAACACGCT GGGCTCGAAA 420 GGCGGCAACA ATACCACTTC AACAACAAAT TCCCCGCTGG ACCAGGCGCT GGGTATTAAC 480 TCAACGTCCC AAAACGACGA TTCCACCTCC GGCACAGATT CCACCTCAGA CTCCAGCGAC 540 CCGATGCAGC AGCTGCTGAA GATGTTCAGC GAGATAATGC AAAGCCTGTT TGGTGATGGG 600 CAAGATGGCA CCCAGGGCAG TTCCTCTGGG GGCAAGCAGC CGACCGAAGG CGAGCAGAAC 660 GCCTATAAAA AAGGAGTCAC TGATGCGCTG TCGGGCCTGA TGGGTAATGG TCTGAGCCAG 720 CTCCTTGGCA ACGGGGGACT GGGAGGTGGT CAGGGCGGTA ATGCTGGCAC GGGTCTTGAC 780 GGTTCGTCGC TGGGCGGCAA AGGGCTGCAA AACCTGAGCG GGCCGGTGGA CTACCAGCAG 840 TTAGGTAACG CCGTGGGTAC CGGTATCGGT ATGAAAGCGG GCATTCAGGC GCTGAATGAT 900 ATCGGTACGC ACAGGCACAG TTCAACCCGT TCTTTCGTCA ATAAAGGCGA TCGGGCGATG 960 GCGAAGGAAA TCGGTCAGTT CATGGACCAG TATCCTGAGG TGTTTGGCAA GCCGCAGTAC 1020 CAGAAAGGCC CGGGTCAGGA GGTGAAAACC GATGACAAAT CATGGGCAAA AGCACTGAGC 1080 AAGCCAGATG ACGACGGAAT GACACCAGCC AGTATGGAGC AGTTCAACAA AGCCAAGGGC 1140 ATGATCAAAA GGCCCATGGC GGGTGATACC GGCAACGGCA ACCTGCAGGC ACGCGGTGCC 1200 GGTGGTTCTT CGCTGGGTAT TGATGCCATG ATGGCCGGTG ATGCCATTAA CAATATGGCA 1260 CTTGGCAAGC TGGGCGCGGC TTAAGCTT 1288 The hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide derived from Pseudomonas syringae has an amino acid sequence corresponding to SEQ. FROM IDENT. No. 5 as follows: Met Gln Being Leu Being Leu Asn Being Being Leu Gln Thr Pro Ala Met 1 5 10 15 Ala Leu Val Leu Val Arg Pro Glu Ala Glu Thr Thr Gly Ser Thr Ser 20 25 30 Be Lys Ala Leu Gln Glu Val Val Val Lys Leu Ala Glu Glu Leu Met 35 40 45 Arg Asn Gly Gln Leu Asp Asp Ser Ser Pro Leu Gly Lys Leu Leu Ala 50 55 60 Lys Ser Met Wing Wing Asp Gly Lys Wing Gly Gly Gly He Glu Asp Val 65 70 75 80 He Ala Ala Leu Asp Lys Leu He His Glu Lys Leu Gly Asp Asn Phe 85 90 95 Gly Wing Being Wing Asp Being Wing Being Gly Thr Gly Gln Gln Asp Leu Met 100 105 110 Thr Gln Val Leu Asn Gly Leu Wing Lys Ser Met Leu Asp Asp Leu Leu 115 120 125 Thr Lys Gln Asp Gly Gly Thr Ser Phe Ser Glu Asp Asp Met Pro Met 130 135 140 Leu Asn Lys He Wing Gln Phe Met Asp Asp Asn Pro Wing Gln Phe Pro 145 150 155 160 Lys Pro Asp Ser Gly Ser Trp Val Asn Glu Leu Lys Glu Asp Asn Phe 165 170 175 Leu Asp Gly Asp Glu Thr Wing Wing Phe Arg Be Wing Leu Asp He He 180 185 190 Gly Gln Gln Leu Gly Asn Gln Gln Ser Asp Wing Gly Ser Leu Wing Gly 195 200 205 Thr Gly Gly Gly Leu Gly Thr Pro Ser Ser Phe Ser Asn Asn Ser Ser 210 215 220 Val Met Gly Asp Pro Leu He Asp Wing Asn Thr Gly Pro Gly Asp Ser 225 230 235 240 Gly Asn Thr Arg Gly Glu Wing Gly Gln Leu He Gly Glu Leu He Asp 245 250 255 Arg Gly Leu Gln Ser Val Leu Ala Gly Gly Gly Leu Gly Thr Pro Val 260 265 270 Asn Thr Pro Gln Thr Gly Thr Ser Wing Asn Gly Gly Gln Ser Wing Gln 275 280 285 Asp Leu Asp Gln Leu Leu Gly Gly Leu Leu Leu Lys Gly Leu Glu Wing 290 295 300 Thr Leu Lys Asp Wing Gly Gln Thr Gly Thr Asp Val Gln Ser Ser Wing 305 310 315 320 Ala Gln He Ala Thr Leu Leu Val Ser Thr Leu Leu Gln Gly Thr Arg 325 330 335 Asn Gln Ala Ala Wing 340 This polypeptide or hypersensitivity response-inducing protein has a molecular weight of 34-35 kDa. It is rich in glycine (approximately 13.5%) and lacks cysteine and tyrosine. Additional information about the hypersensitivity response inducer derived from Pseudomonas syringae is found in He, SY, HC Huang, and A. Collmer, "Pseudomonas syringae pv. Syringae HarpinPss: a Protein that is Secreted via the Hrp Pathway and Elicits the Hypersensitive Response in Plants, "Cell 73: 1255-1266 (1993), which is incorporated herein by reference. The DNA molecule encoding the hypersensitivity response inducer of Pseudomonas syringae has a nucleotide sequence corresponding to SEQ. FROM IDENT. No. 6 as follows: ATGCAGAGTC TCAGTCTTAA CAGCAGCTCG CTGCAAACCC CGGCAATGGC CCTTGTCCTG 60 GTACGTCCTG AAGCCGAGAC GACTGGCAGT ACGTCGAGCA AGGCGCTTCA GGAAGTTGTC 120 GTGAAGCTGG CCGAGGAACT GATGCGCAAT GGTCAACTCG ACGACAGCTC GCCATTGGGA 180 AAACTGTTGG CCAAGTCGAT GGCCGCAGAT GGCAAGGCGG GCGGCGGTAT TGAGGATGTC 240 ATCGCTGCGC TGGACAAGCT GATCCATGAA AAGCTCGGTG ACAACTTCGG CGCGTCTGCG 300 GACAGCGCCT CGGGTACCGG ACAGCAGGAC CTGATGACTC AGGTGCTCAA TGGCCTGGCC 360 AAGTCGATGC TCGATGATCT TCTGACCAAG CAGGATGGCG GGACAAGCTT CTCCGAAGAC 420 GATATGCCGA TGCTGAACAA GATCGCGCAG TTCATGGATG ACAATCCCGC ACAGTTTCCC 480 AAGCCGGACT CGGGCTCCTG GGTGAACGAA CTCAAGGAAG ACAACTTCCT TGATGGCGAC 540 GAAACGGCTG CGTTCCGTTC GGCACTCGAC ATCATTGGCC AGCAACTGGG TAATCAGCAG 600 AGTGACGCTG GCAGTCTGGC AGGGACGGGT GGAGGTCTGG GCACTCCGAG CAGTTTTTCC 660 AACAACTCGT CCGTGATGGG TGATCCGCTG ATCGACGCCA ATACCGGTCC CGGTGACAGC 720 GGCAATACCC GTGGTGAAGC GGGGCAACTG ATCGGCGAGC TTATCGACCG TGGCCTGCAA 780 TCGGTATTGG CCGGTGGTGG ACTGGGCACA CCCGTAAACA CCCCGCAGAC CGGTACGTCG 840 GCGAATGGCG GACAGTCCGC TCAGGATCTT GATCAGTTGC TGGGCGGCTT GCTGCTCAAG 900 GGCCTGGAGG CAACGCTCAA GGATGCCGGG CAAACAGGCA CCGACGTGCA GTCGAGCGCT 960 GCGCAAATCG CCACCTTGCT GGTCAGTACG CTGCTGCAAG GCACCCGCAA TCAGGCTGCA 1020 GCCTGA 1026 The hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide derived from Pseudomonas solanacearum has the amino acid sequence corresponding to SEQ. FROM IDENT. No. 7 as follows: Met Ser Val Gly Asn He Gln Ser Pro Ser Asn Leu Pro Gly Leu Gln 1 5 10 15 Asn Leu Asn Leu Asn Thr Asn Thr Asn Ser Gln Gln Ser Gly Gln Ser 20 25 30 Val Gln Asp Leu He Lys Gln Val Glu Lys Asp He Leu Asn He He 35 40 45 Ala Ala Leu Val Gln Lys Ala Ala Gln Be Ala Gly Gly Asn Thr Gly 50 55 60 Asn Thr Gly Asn Ala Pro Ala Lys Asp Gly Asn Ala Asn Ala Gly Ala 65 70 75 80 Asn Asp Pro Ser Lys Asn Asp Pro Ser Lys Ser Gln Ala Pro Gln Ser 85 90 95 Wing Asn Lys Thr Gly Asn Val Asp Asp Wing Asn Asn Gln Asp Pro Met 100 105 110 Gln Ala Leu Met Gln Leu Leu Glu Asp Leu Val Lys Leu Leu Lys Wing 115 120 125 Ala Leu His Met Gln Gln Pro Gly Gly Asn Asp Lys Gly Asn Gly Val 130 135 140 Gly Gly Wing Asn Gly Wing Lys Gly Wing Gly Gly Gln Gly Gly Leu Wing 145 150 155 160 Glu Ala Leu Gln Glu He Glu Gln He Leu Ala Gln Leu Gly Gly Gly 165 170 175 Gly Wing Gly Wing Gly Gly Wing Gly Gly Gly Val Gly Gly Wing Gly Gly 180 185 190 Wing Asp Gly Gly Ser Gly Wing Gly Wing Wing Gly Wing Wing Asn Gly Wing 195 200 205 Asp Gly Gly Asn Gly Val Asn Gly Asn Gln Wing Asn Gly Pro Gln Asn 210 215 220 Wing Gly Asp Val Asn Gly Wing Asn Gly Wing Asp Asp Gly Ser Glu Asp 225 230 235 240 Gln Gly Gly Leu Thr Gly Val Leu Gln Lys Leu Met Lys He Leu Asn 245 250 255 Ala Leu Val Gln Met Met Gln Gln Gly Gly Leu Gly Gly Gly Asn Gln 260 265 270 Wing Gln Gly Gly Ser Lys Gly Wing Gly Asn Wing Ser Pro Wing Ser Gly 275 280 285 Wing Asn Pro Gly Wing Asn Gln Pro Gly Ser Wing Asp Asp Gln Ser Ser 290 295 300 Gly Gln Asn Asn Leu Gln Ser Gln He Met Asp Val Val Lys Glu Val 305 310 315 320 Val Gln He Leu Gln Gln Met Leu Ala Wing Gln Asn Gly Gly Ser Gln 325 330 335 Gln Ser Thr Ser Thr Gln Pro Met 340 It is encoded by a DNA molecule that has the nucleotide sequence that corresponds to the SEC. FROM IDENT. No. 8 as follows: ATGTCAGTCG GAAACATCCA GAGCCCGTCG AACCTCCCGG GTCTGCAGAA CCTGAACCTC 60 AACACCAACA CCAACAGCCA GCAATCGGGC CAGTCCGTGC AAGACCTGAT CAAGCAGGTC 120 GAGAAGGACA TCCTCAACAT CATCGCAGCC CTCGTGCAGA AGGCCGCACA GTCGGCGGGC 180 GGCAACACCG GTAACACCGG CAACGCGCCG GCGAAGGACG GCAATGCCAA CGCGGGCGCC 240 AACGACCCGA GCAAGAACGA CCCGAGCAAG AGCCAGGCTC CGCAGTCGGC CAACAAGACC 300 GGCAACGTCG ACGACGCCAA CAACCAGGAT CCGATGCAAG CGCTGATGCA GCTGCTGGAA 360 GACCTGGTGA AGCTGCTGAA GGCGGCCCTG CACATGCAGC AGCCCGGCGG CAATGACAAG 420 GGCAACGGCG TGGGCGGTGC CAACGGCGCC AAGGGTGCCG GCGGCCAGGG CGGCCTGGCC 480 GAAGCGCTGC AGGAGATCGA GCAGATCCTC GCCCAGCTCG GCGGCGGCGG TGCTGGCGCC 540 GGCGGCGCGG GTGGCGGTGT CGGCGGTGCT GGTGGCGCGG ATGGCGGCTC CGGTGCGGGT 600 GGCGCAGGCG GTGCGAACGG CGCCGACGGC GGCAATGGCG TGAACGGCAA CCAGGCGAAC 660 GGCCCGCAGA ACGCAGGCGA TGTCAACGGT GCCAACGGCG CGGATGACGG CAGCGAAGAC 720 CAGGGCGGCC TCACCGGCGT GCTGCAAAAG CTGATGAAGA TCCTGAACGC GCTGGTGCAG 780 ATGATGCAGC AAGGCGGCCT CGGCGGCGGC AACCAGGCGC AGGGCGGCTC GAAGGGTGCC 840 GGCAACGCCT CGCCGGCTTC CGGCGCGAAC CCGGGCGCGA ACCAGCCCGG TTCGGCGGAT 900 GATCAATCGT CCGGCCAGAA CAATCTGCAA TCCCAGATCA TGGATGTGGT GAAGGAGGTC 960 GTCCAGATCC TGCAGCAGAT GCTGGCGGCG CAGAACGGCG GCAGCCAGCA GTCCACCTCG 1020 ACGCAGCCGA TGTAA 1035 Additional information regarding the polypeptide or hypersensitivity response inducing protein derived from Pseudomonas solanacearum is established in Arlat, M., F. Van Gijsegem, JC Huet, JC Pemollet, and CA Boucher, "PopAl, a Protein wich Induces a Hypersensitive-like Response in Specific Petunia Genotypes, is Secreted via the Hrp Pathway of Pseudomonas solanacearum, "EMBO J. 13: 543-533 (1994), which is incorporated herein by reference. The hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide of Xanthomonas campestris pv. , glycine has the amino acid sequence corresponding to the SEC. FROM IDENT. No. 9 as follows: Thr Leu He Glu Leu Met He Val Val Ala He He Ala Ala Leu Ala 1 5 10 15 Ala He Ala Leu Pro Ala Tyr Gln Asp Tyr 20 25 This sequence is an amino terminal sequence that has only 26 residues from the polypeptide or hypersensitivity response inducing protein from Xanthamonas campestris pv. Wisteria It coincides with the proteins of the fimbrial subunit determined in other pathogens of Xan thomona s campestris. The hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide of Xanthomonas campestris pv. Pelargonii is thermostable, sensitive to proteases and has a molecular weight of 20 kDa. It includes an amino acid sequence corresponding to the SEC. FROM IDENT. No. 10 as follows: Be Ser Gln Gln Ser Pro Be Wing Gly Ser Glu Gln Gln Leu Asp Gln 1 5 10 15 Leu Leu Ala Met 20 The isolation of the hypersensitivity response protein or polypeptide from Erwinia carotovora is described in Cui et al., "The RsmA Mutants of Erwinia carotovora subs. Carotovora Strain Ecc71 Overexpress hrp NEcc and Elicit a Hypersensitive Reaction-like Response in Tobacco Leaves, "MPMI, 9 (7): 565-73 (1996), which is incorporated herein by reference. The hypersensitivity response inducing protein or polypeptide is shown in Ahmad et al. , "Harpin is Not Necessary for the Pathogenicity of Erwinia stewartii on Maize," 8th Int '1. Cong. Molec. Plant-Microbe Interact. , July 14-19, 1996 and Ahmad, et al., "Harpin is Not Necessary for the Pathogenicity of Erwinia stewartii on Maize," Ann. Mtg. Am. Phytopath. Soc., July 27-31, 1996, which is incorporated herein by reference. The hypersensitivity response inducing proteins or polypeptides of Phytophthora parasitica, Phytophthora cryptogea, Phytophthora cinnamoni, Phytophthora capsici, Phytophthora megasperma and Phytophthora ci trophthora are described in Kaman, et al., "Extracellular Protein Elicitors from Phytophthora: Most Specificity and Induction of Resistance to Bacterial and Fungal Phytopathogens, "Molec. Plant-Microbe Interact. , 6 (1): 15-25 (1993), Ricci et al., Structure and Activity of Proteins from Pathogenic Fungi Phytophthora Eliciting Necrosis and Acquired Resistance in Tobacco, "Eur. J. Biochem., 183: 555-63 (1989 ), Ricci et al., "Differential Production of Parasiticin, and Elicitor of Necrosis and Resistance in Tobacco, by Isolates of Phytophthora parasitica," Plant Path 41: 298-307 (1992), Baillreul et al, "A New Elicitor of the Hypersensitive Response in Tobacco: A Fungal Glycoprotein Elicits Cell Death, Expression of Defense Genes, Production of Salicylic Acid, and Induction of Systemic Acquired Resistance, "Plant J., 8 (4): 551-60 (1995), and Bonnet et al., "Acquired Resistance Triggered by Elicitors in Tobacco and Other Plants, "Eur. J. Plant Path., 102: 181-92 (1996), which is incorporated herein by reference.The above inducers are exemplary.Any other inducers can be identified by growing fungi or bacteria that induce a hypersensitivity response under which genes encoding an inducer are expressed Cell-free preparations can be tested from culture supernatants to determine inducing activity (ie, local necrosis) by using them to infiltrate appropriate plant tissues. It is also possible to use fragments of the above-mentioned hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptides or proteins as well as fragments of full-length inducers of other pathogens, in the method of the present invention.The suitable fragments can be produced by various means. subclones of the gene encoding the inducing protein known by genetic manipulation are produced molecular structure by subcloned gene fragments. The subclones are then expressed in vi tro or in vivo in bacterial cells to produce a smaller protein or peptide that can be tested for inducing activity according to the procedure described below.

As an alternative, inducing proteins can be produced by digestion of a full-length inducing protein with proteolytic enzymes such as chymotrypsin or proteinase A from Staphylococcus or trypsin. It is likely that different proteolytic enzymes separate the inducing proteins at different sites, based on the amino acid sequence of the inducing protein. Some of the fragments that result from proteolysis can be active resistance inducers. In another approach, based on the knowledge of the primary structure of the protein, fragments of the inducing protein gene can be synthesized by using the PCR technique together with specific sets of primers chosen to represent particular portions of the protein. These can then be cloned into an appropriate vector to increase and for expression of a truncated peptide or protein. Chemical synthesis can also be used to make suitable fragments. Such synthesis is carried out using known amino acid sequences for the inducer to be produced. Alternatively, submitting a full-length inductor at high temperatures and pressures will produce fragments. These fragments can then be separated by conventional procedures (for example chromatography, SDS-PAGE).

An example of a useful fragment is the popAl fragment of the polypeptide or hypersensitivity response inducing protein of Pseudomonas solanacearum. See Arlat, M., F. Van Gijsegem, J.C. Huet, J.C. Pemollet, and C.A. Boucher, "PopAl, a Protein Wich Induces a Hypersensitive-like Response in Specific Petunia Genotypes is Secreted via the Hrp Pathway of Pseudomonas solanacearum," EMBO J. 13: 543-53 (1994), which is incorporated herein by reference . Regarding Erwinia to ylovora, a suitable fragment may be, for example, either or both polypeptides extending between and including amino acids 1 and 98 of SEQ. FROM IDENT. No. 3 and the extending polypeptide which includes amino acids 137 and 204 of SEQ. FROM IDENT. No. 3. The variants also (or alternatively) can be modified by means of, for example, the deletion or addition of amino acids that have minimal influence on the properties, secondary structure and hydropathic nature of the polypeptide. For example, a polypeptide can be conjugated to a signal sequence (or leader) at the N-terminus of the protein which co-transductionally or post-translationally directs the transfer of the protein. The polypeptide can also be conjugated to a linker or other sequence for ease of synthesis, purification or identification of the polypeptide.

The protein or polypeptide of the present invention is preferably produced in purified form (preferably at least about 60%, more preferably 80% or pure) by conventional techniques. Typically, the protein or polypeptide of the present invention is produced but not secreted into the growth medium of the recombinant host cells. Alternatively, the protein or polypeptide of the present invention is secreted into the growth medium. In the case of non-secreted protein, to isolate the protein, the host cell (e.g. E. coli) having the recombinant plasmid is propagated, smoothed by sonication, heat or chemical treatment, and the homogenate is centrifuged to remove bacterial debris . The supernatant is then subjected to heat treatment and the hypersensitivity response inducing protein is centrifuged. The supernatant fraction containing the polypeptide or protein of the present invention is subjected to gel filtration on a dextran or polyacrylamide column of appropriate size to separate the proteins. If necessary, the protein fraction can be further purified by ion exchange or CLAP. The DNA molecule encoding the hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein can be incorporated into cells using conventional recombinant DNA technology. Generally, this involves inserting the molecule of DNA in an expression system for which the DNA molecule is heterologous (ie, it is not normally present). The heterologous DNA molecule is inserted into the expression system or vector in the proper sense orientation and in the correct reading frame. The vector contains the necessary elements for the transcription and translation of the inserted protein coding sequences. U.S. Patent No. 4,237,224 to Cohen and Boyer, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes the production of expression systems in the form of recombinant plasmids using separation and ligation with restriction enzymes and with DNA ligase. These recombinant plasmids are then introduced by transformation and replicated in unicellular cultures including prokaryotic organisms and eukaryotic cells growing in tissue culture. Recombinant genes can also be introduced into viruses, such as vaccinia virus. Recombinant viruses can be generated by transcription of plasmids in cells infected with viruses. Suitable vectors include, but are not limited to the following viral vectors such as the lambda gtll vector system, gt WES.tB, Charon 4, and plasmid vectors such as pBR322, pBR325, pACYC177, pACYC1084, pUC8, pUC9, pUC18, pUC19, pLG339, pR290, pKC37, pKClOl, SV 40, pBluescript II SK +/- or KS +/- (see "Stratagene Cloning Systems" Catalog (1993) by Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif, which is incorporated herein by reference), the pQE series, pIH821, pGEX, pET (See F.W. Studier et al., "Use of T7 RNA Polymerase to Direct Expression of Cloned Genes," Gene Expression Technology vol. 185 (1990), which is incorporated herein by reference), and any derivative thereof. Recombinant molecules can be introduced into cells via transformation, particularly transduction, conjugation, mobilization or electroporation. The DNA sequences are cloned into the vector using standard cloning procedures in the art, as described by Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Springs Laboratory, Cold Springs Harbor, New York (1989), which it is incorporated herein by reference. Various host-vector systems can be used to express the sequence or sequences encoding the protein. Primarily, the vector system must be compatible with the host cell used. Host-vector systems include, but are not limited to the following: bacteria transformed with bacteriophage DNA, plasmid DNA or cosmid DNA, microorganisms such as yeast containing yeast vectors; mammalian cell systems infected with viruses (eg, vaccinia virus, adenovirus, etc.), insect cell systems infected with virus (for example baculovirus); and plant cells infected with bacteria. The expression elements of these vectors vary in their strength and specificity. Based on the host-vector system used, any of several suitable elements of transcription and translation can be used. Different genetic signals and processing events control many levels of gene expression (for example, transcription of DNA and translation of messenger RNA (mRNA)). The transcription of DNA depends on the presence of a promoter which is a DNA sequence that directs the binding of RNA polymerase and therefore promotes the synthesis of mRNA. The DNA sequences of eukaryotic promoters differ from those of prokaryotic promoters. In addition, eukaryotic promoters and accompanying genetic signals may not be recognized or may not work in a prokaryotic system and, in addition, prokaryotic promoters are not recognized and do not work in eukaryotic cells. Similarly, the translation of mRNA into prokaryotes depends on the presence of the appropriate prokaryotic signals which differ from those of eukaryotes. Efficient translation of mRNA in prokaryotes requires a ribosome binding site called the Shine-Dalgarno ("SD") sequence in the mRNA. This sequence is a short sequence of nucleotides of MRNA that is located before the start codon, usually AUG, which codes for the amino-terminal methionine of the protein. The SD sequences are complementary to the 3 'end of the 16S rRNA (ribosomal RNA) and probably promote the binding of mRNA to ribosome by becoming duplex with the rRNA to allow correct ribosome placement. For a review regarding the maximization of gene expression, see Roberts and Lauer, Methods in Enzymology. 68: 473 (1979), which is incorporated herein by reference. The promoters vary in their "strength" (that is, their ability to promote transcription). For the purposes of expressing a cloned gene, it is desirable to use strong promoters in order to obtain a high level of transcription and, therefore, expression of the gene. Depending on the host cell system used, any of numerous suitable promoters can be used. For example, when cloning into E. coli, its bacteriophages or plasmids, promoters such as the T7 phage promoter, the lac promoter, the trp promoter, the recA promoter, the ribosomal RNA promoter, the PR and PL promoters of the lambda coliphage and others, including but not limited to 2acUV5, ompF, Jla, lpp and the like, can be used to direct high levels of transcription of adjacent DNA segments. Additionally, a hybrid promoter trp-lacUV5 (tac) or other promoters can be used.

E. coli by recombinant DNA or other DNA synthesis techniques to provide transcription of the inserted gene. Bacterial host cell strains and expression vectors can be targeted which inhibit the action of the promoter unless specifically induced. In certain operations, the addition of specific inductors is necessary for efficient transcription of the inserted DNA. For example, the lac operon is induced by the addition of lactose or IPTG (isopropylthio-beta-D-galactoside). A variety of different operons, such as trp, pro, etc., are under different controls. Specific initiation signals are also required for efficient transcription and translation of the genes in prokaryotic cells. These transcription and translation initiation signals may vary in "strength" measured by the amount of specific gene of messenger RNA and protein synthesized, respectively. The DNA expression vector which contains a promoter can also contain any combination of various "strong" start signals of transcription and / or translation. For example, efficient translation in E. coli requires an SD sequence of about 7-9 bases 5 'to the initiation codon (ATG) to provide a ribosome binding site. Therefore, any SD-ATG combination that can be used by the ribosomes of the host cell can be employed. Such Combinations include, but are not limited to the SD-ATG combination from the ero gene or the N gene of the lambda coliphage or from the E. coli tryptophan E, D, C, B or A genes. Additionally, any combination can be used. of SD-ATG produced by AD? recombinant or other techniques that involve the incorporation of synthetic nucleotides. Once the AD molecule? The isolate encoding the polypeptide or hypersensitivity response-inducing protein has been cloned into an expression system, is ready to be incorporated into a host cell. Such incorporation can be carried out by the various transformation forms indicated above, depending on the vector / host cell system. Suitable host cells include, but are not limited to bacteria, viruses, yeast, mammalian cells, insects, plants and the like. The method of the present invention can be used to treat a wide variety of plants or their seeds to improve growth. Suitable plants include dicotyledons and monocots. More particularly, useful harvest plants may include: rice, wheat, barley, rye, cotton, sunflower, peanut, corn, potato, beet, bean, peas, achichoria, lettuce, endive, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, radish , spinach, onion, garlic, eggplant, pepper, celery, carrot, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, cucumber, apple, pear, melon, strawberry, grape, raspberry, pineapple, soybeans, tobacco, tomato, sorghum and sugarcane. Examples of ornamental plants are: rose, Saintpaulia, petunia, pelargonium, poinsettia, chrysanthemum, carnation and zinia. The method of the present invention involves the application of the hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide that can be carried out through a variety of methods when all or part of the plant is treated, including leaves, stems, roots, etc. This may involve (although not necessarily) infiltration of the polypeptide or hypersensitivity response inducing protein into the plant. Suitable application methods include topical application (e.g., high or low pressure spraying), injection, spraying and abrasion of sheets close to when the inducer application takes place. When plant seeds are treated, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the hypersensitivity response inducing protein or polypeptide can be applied by topical application (high or low pressure spray), coating, dipping, spraying or injection. Other suitable methods of application can be designed by those familiar with the art with the proviso that they are amenable to contacting the hypersensitivity response inducing protein or polypeptide with plant cells or plant seeds. Once treated with the hypersensitivity response inducer of the present invention, the seeds can be planted in a natural or artificial soil and can be grown using conventional procedures to make plants. After the plants have been propagated from the treated seeds according to the present invention, the plants can be treated with one or more applications of the hypersensitivity response inducing protein or polypeptide to improve growth in the plants. In turn, such propagated plants may be useful in producing seeds or propagules (e.g., cuttings) that produce plants capable of improved growth. The hypersensitivity response inducing protein or polypeptide can be applied to plants or plant seeds according to the present invention by alone or with a mixture with other materials. Alternatively, the hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide can be applied separately in plants with other materials that are applied at different times. A composition suitable for treating plants or plant seeds according to the embodiment of the application of the present invention contains a hypersensitivity response inducing protein or polypeptide in a carrier. Suitable carriers include water, aqueous solutions, suspensions or dry powders. In this modality, the composition contains more than 0.5 nM polypeptide or hypersensitivity response inducing protein. Although not required, this composition may contain additional additives including fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide, nematicide, herbicide and mixtures thereof. Suitable fertilizers include (NH4) 2N03. An example of a suitable insecticide is Malathion. Useful fungicides include Captan. Other suitable additives include buffers, wetting agents, coating agents and abrasive agents. These materials can be used to facilitate the process of the present invention. In addition, the hypersensitivity response-inducing protein or polypeptide can be applied to plant seeds with other conventional seed formulation and treatment materials including clays and polysaccharides. In the alternative embodiment of the present invention which involves the use of transgenic plants and transgenic seeds, a hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein need not be applied topically to plants or seeds. Instead, transgenic plants transformed with a DNA molecule encoding a hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein are produced, according to methods well known in the art, such as for example by means of biolistics. of transformation mediated by AgrrsJa terium. Examples of suitable hypersensitivity response inducing polypeptides or proteins and nucleic acid sequences for their encoding DNAs are described supra. Once transgenic plants of this type are produced, the plants themselves can be cultured according to the conventional procedure in the presence of the gene encoding the hypersensitivity response inducer that results in improved growth of the plant. Alternatively, the transgenic seeds are recovered from transgenic plants. These seeds can then be planted in the soil and can be grown using conventional procedures to produce transgenic plants. Transgenic plants are propagated from transgenic seeds planted under effective conditions to impart improved growth. Although not wishing to be bound by any theory, such enhancement of growth may be mediated by RNA or may result from the expression of the inducing protein or polypeptide. When transgenic plants and plant seeds are used according to the present invention, they can additionally be treated with the same materials that are used to treat the plants and seeds to which the hypersensitivity response-inducing polypeptide or protein is applied. These other materials, which include hypersensitivity response inducers, can be Apply to transgenic plants and plant seeds by the procedures indicated above, which include high or low pressure spray, coating, spraying and immersion. Similarly, after the plants have been propagated from the seeds of transgenic plants, the plants can be treated with one or more applications of hypersensitivity response inducer to improve the growth of the plant. Such plants can also be treated with conventional plant treatment agents (for example insecticides, fertilizers, etc.). The transgenic plants of the present invention are useful for producing seeds or propagules (e.g., cuttings) from which plants capable of enhanced growth can be produced.

EXAMPLES Example 1 - Treatment effect of tomato seeds with Erwinia hypersensitivity response inducer. amylovora in the percentage of germination Seeds of the Marglobe tomato variety were submerged in 40 ml of Erwinia amylovora hypersensitivity response inducing solution ("booster"). Gets ready reinforcement when growing JE ?. coli strain DH5 containing the plasmid pCPP2139 (see Figure 1), lyse the cells by sonication, heat treat by retaining in boiling water for 5 minutes before centrifugation to remove cellular debris, and re-precipitate proteins and other thermolabile components. The resulting preparation ("CFEP") is diluted serially. These dilutions (1:40, 1:80, 1: 160, 1: 320 and 1: 640) contain 20, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 μgm / ml, respectively, of reinforcement based on the Western blot assay ( Western Blot). The seeds are soaked in reinforcement or buffer in beakers on day 0, for 24 hours at 28 ° C in a growth chamber. After soaking, the seeds are sown in germination pots with artificial soil on day 1. This procedure is carried out on 100 seeds per treatment.

Treatments: 1. Seeds in reinforcement (1:40) (20 μgm / ml). 2. Seeds in reinforcement (1:80) (10 μgm / ml). 3. Seeds in reinforcement (1: 160) (5 μgm / ml). 4. Seeds in reinforcement (1: 320) (2.5 μgm / ml). 5. Seeds in reinforcement (1: 640) (1.25 μgm / ml). 6. Seeds in buffer (5 mM KP04, pH 6.8).

Table 1 - Number of seedlings after treatment of the seeds Treatment Number of seeds that germinated Day 0 Day 1 Day 5 Day 7 Day 9 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (20 μgm / ml) seeded 43 57 59 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement in (10 μgm / ml) seeded 43 52 52 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (5 μgm / ml) seeded 40 47 51 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (2.5 μgm / ml) sown 43 56 58 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (1.25) μgm / ml) seeded 38 53 57 Moistening the seed in sown buffer 27 37 40 As shown in Table 1, treatment of tomato seeds with the hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora reduces the time required for germination and greatly increases the percentage of germination.

Example 2 - Effect of treatment of tomato seeds with hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora on the height of the tomato plant The seeds of the Marglobe tomato variety were immersed in Erwinia amylovora reinforcement (1:15, 1:30, 1:60, and 1: 120) or beakers on day 0, for 24 hours at 28 ° C, in a growth chamber. After soaking, the seeds were planted in germination pots with artificial soil on day 1. They were randomly chosen and ten plants with uniform appearance were measured, by treatment. Seedlings were measured with a ruler from the soil surface to the top of the plant.

Treatments: 1. Reinforcement (1:15) (52 μgm / ml). 2. Reinforcement (1:30) (26 μgm / ml). 3. Reinforcement (1:60) (13 μgm / ml). 4. Reinforcement (1: 120) (6.5 μgm / ml).

. Shock absorber (5 mM KP04, pH 6.8] Table 2 - Height of the seedling (cm) 15 days after treatment of the seeds Table 3 - Height of the seedling (cm) 21 days after treatment of the seeds. cp -J Table 4 - Height of the seedling (cm) 27 days after treatment of the seeds, I cp oo i Table 5 - Summary - Average height of tomato plant after treatment Treatment Average height of tomato plants (cm) Day 0 Day 1 Day 15 Day 21 Day 27 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (1:15) sown 5.7 7.7 10.5 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (1:30) sown 7.0 8.6 11.6 cp Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (1:60) seeded 5.9 6.9 9.7 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (1: 120) sown 5.4 6.7 9.5 Humidity of the seed in seeded buffer 5.3 6.5 10.0 As shown in Tables 2 to 5, treatment of tomato seeds with the hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora increases the growth of the plant. A 1:30 dilution has the strongest effect - a 16% increase in the height of the seedling.

Example 3 - Effect of the treatment of tomato plants with hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora on the height of the tomato plant When the Marglobe tomato plants are four weeks old, they are sprayed with 6 ml / plant of Erwinia amylovora booster solution containing 13 μg / ml (1:60) or 8.7 μg / ml (1:90) booster or buffer (5 mM KP04) in a growth chamber at 28 ° C. The heights of the tomato plants were measured 2 weeks after spraying reinforcement (tomato plants of 6 weeks of age) and 2 weeks later plus 5 days, after spraying. Ten plants with uniform appearance were chosen randomly and by treatment. Seedlings were measured with a ruler from the soil surface to the top of the plant.

Treatments: 1. Reinforcement (1:60) (13 μgm / ml). 2. Reinforcement (1:90) (8.7 μgm / ml). 3. Shock absorber (5 mM KP04, pH 6.8).

Table 6 - Average height of tomato plants after the treatment with reinforcement.

Operation and treatment Average height (cm) of tomato plants Day 0 Day 14 Day 28 Day 42 Day 47 planted transplant reinforcement 1:60 35.5 36.0 (13 μgm / ml) seeded transplant reinforcement 1:90 35.7 36.5 (8.7 μgm / ml) seeded transplant shock absorber 32.5 33.0 As shown in Table 6, sprinkling tomato seedlings with hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora can increase the growth of tomato plants. Similar increases in growth are observed for the two doses of the inducer of Hypersensitivity response tested compared to control treated with shock absorber.

Example 4 - Effect of treatment of tomato seeds with the hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora on the height of the tomato plant Marglobe tomato seeds were immersed in a solution of hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora ("booster") (1:40, 1:80, 1: 160, 1: 320, and 1: 640) or buffer, in vessels of precipitates on day 0, for 24 hours at 28 ° C in the growth chamber. After soaking the seeds in reinforcement or buffer, they are sown in germination pots with artificial soil on day 1. They are chosen randomly and ten plants are measured with uniform appearance by treatment. Seedlings are measured with a ruler from the soil surface to the top of the plant.

Treatments: 1. Reinforcement (1:40) (20 μgm / ml). 2. Reinforcement (1:80) (10 μgm / ml). 3. Reinforcement (1: 160) (5 μgm / ml). 4. Reinforcement (1: 320) (2.5 μgm / ml).

. Reinforcement (1: 640) (1.25 μgm / ml). 6. Shock absorber (5 mM KP04, pH 6.8) Table 7 - Height of the seedling (cm) 12 days after treatment of the seeds. 4 Table 8 - Height of the seedling (cm) 14 days after treatment of the seeds. cp Table 9 - Height of the seedling (cm) 17 days after treatment of the seeds.

Table 10 - Summary - Average height of tomato plant after treatment Operation and Treatment Average height of tomato plants (cm) Day 0 Day 1 Day 12 Day 14 Day 17 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (20 μgm / ml) seeded 6.6 8.0 11.5 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (10 μgm / ml) seeded 6.6 8.4 13.2 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (5 μgm / ml) seeded 6.3 9.2 13.5 Moistening of the seed in reinforcement (2.5 μgm / ml) planted 6.2 8.4 12.0 Wetting of the seed in reinforcement (1.25 μgm / ml) sown 6.2 8.2 11.9 Wetting the seed in seeded buffer 6.0 7.6 10.4 As shown in Tables 7 to 10, treatment of tomato seeds with the hypersensitive response inducer of Erwinia amylovora can increase the growth of tomato plants. A 1: 160 dilution (5 μg / ml fork) has the greatest effect - the height of the seedlings increases by more than 20% compared to plants treated with buffer.

Example 5 - Effect of treatment of tomato seeds with the hypersensitive response inducer of Erwinia amylovora on the percentage of seed germination Afargrlobe tomato seeds were immersed in 40 ml of hypersensitive response inducer solution from Erwinia to ylovora ("booster") (dilution of CFEP from E. coli DH5 (pCPP2139) of 1:50 or 1: 100 which contains respectively, 8 μgm / ml and 4 μg / ml of hypersensitive response inducer, and buffer, in flasks on day 0 for 24 hours at 28 ° C in a growth chamber After soaking, the seeds are sown in pots of germination with artificial soil on day 1. This treatment is carried out on 20 seeds per pot and 4 pots per treatment.

Treatments: 1. Reinforcement (8 μgm / ml). 2. Reinforcement (8 μgm / ml). 3. Reinforcement (8 μgm / ml). 4. Reinforcement (8 μgm / ml). 5. Reinforcement (4 μgm / ml). 6. Reinforcement (4 μgm / ml). 7. Reinforcement (4 μgm / ml). 8. Reinforcement (4 μgm / ml). 9. Shock absorber (5 M KP04, pH 6.8) . Shock absorber (5 mM KP04 / pH 6.8) 11. Shock absorber (5 mM KP04, pH 6.8) 12. Shock absorber (5 mM KP04, pH 6.8) Table 11 - Number of seedlings after seed treatment with reinforcement Operation and treatment Number of germinated seeds (out of a total of 20) Day 0 Day 1 Day 5 Day 42 Day 47 average mean Reinforcement (8 μgm / ml) seeded 11 15 19 Reinforcement (8 μgm / ml) seeded 13 17 20 Reinforcement (8 μgm / ml) seeded 10 13 16 Reinforcement (8 μgm / ml) seeded 9 10.8 15 15.0 16 17.8 or Reinforcement (4 μgm / ml) seeded 11 17 17 Reinforcement (4 μgm / ml) seeded 15 17 18 Reinforcement (4 μgm / ml) seeded 9 12 14 Reinforcement (4 μgm / ml) seeded 9 11.0 14 15.0 16 16.3 Shock absorber seeded 11 11 14 Shock absorber seeded 9 14 15 Seed cushion 10 14 14 Shock absorber seeded 10 10.0 12 12.8 14 14.3 As shown in Table 11, the treatment of tomato seeds with the hypersensitive response inducer from Erwinia to ylovora can increase the germination rate and the level of the tomato plants. The highest dose used seems to be more effective than the buffer at the end of the experiment.

Example 6 - Effect of plant growth to treat tomato seeds with proteins prepared from E. coli which contains a hypersensitive response inducer coding construct, pCPP2139, or the plasmid vector pCPP50 Marglobe tomato seeds are submerged in hypersensitive response inducer of Erwinia amylovora ("booster") (from E. coli DH5a (pCPP2139) (figure 1) or from vector (from DH5a (pCPP50) (figure) with BSA protein as control. The control vector preparation contains, per ml, 33.6 μl of BSA (10 mg / ml) to provide approximately the same amount of protein as that contained in the preparation of pCPP2139, due to the hairpin. Prepare 1:50 dilutions (8.0 μg / ml), 1: 100 (4.0 μg / ml) and 1: 200 (2.0 μg / ml) in beakers on day 1, and the seeds are immersed for 24 hours at 28 ° C in a chamber of controlled environment. After After soaking, the seeds are sown in germination pots with artificial soil on day 2. Ten plants are randomly selected with uniform appearance by treatment, and are measured at three different times after transplanting. Seedlings are measured by rule from the soil surface to the top of the plant.

Treatments: 1. Reinforcement 1: 50 (8 .0 μg / ml) 2. Reinforcement 1: 100 (4, .0 μg / ml) 3. Reinforcement 1:: 200 (2. .0 μg / ml) 4. Vector + BSA 1:: 50 (0 reinforcement) 5. Vector + BSA 1:: 100 (0 reinforcement) 6. Vector + BSA 1:: 200 (0 reinforcement) Table 12 - Height of the seedling (cm) 18 days after seed treatment c? Table 13 - Height of the seedling (cm) 22 days after seed treatment "5-.

Table 14 - Height of the seedling (cm) 26 days after seed treatment cp Table 15 - Average height of tomato plants after treatment Operation and treatment Average height of tomato plants (cm) Day 1 Day 2 Day 18 Day 22 Day 26 Reinforcement (1:50) (8.0 μgm / ml) seeded 4.7 5.2 8.5 Reinforcement (1: 100) (4.0 μg / ml) seeded 5.8 7.2 11.2 Reinforcement (1: 200) (2.0 μgm / ml) seeded 5.1 7.0 10.8 1 Vector + BSA (1:50) (0) seeded 4.9 5.8 9.2 1 Vector + BSA (1: 100) (0) seeded 4.8 5.7 9.3 Vector + BSA (1: 200) (0) seeded 4.9 5.9 9.0 As shown in Tables 12 to 15, treatment with E. coli containing the gene encoding the hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora can increase the growth of tomato plants. The 1: 100 dilution (4.0 μg / ml) has the greatest effect, while higher and lower concentrations have less effect. The average height of the seedling for treatment with 4.0 μg / ml of reinforcement is increased by approximately 20% relative to the vector control preparation, which contains a similar amount of protein that is not reinforcement. The components of the desired cell preparation from the E. coli strain DH5a (pCPP50), which harbors the hrpN gene vector in E. coli strain DH5a (pCPP2139), does not have the same growth promoting effect as the preparation that contains reinforcement, even given that it is supplemented with BSA protein in the same measure as the preparation DH5a (pCPP2139) which contains large amounts of reinforcement protein.

Example 7 - Growth effect of the tomato plant of the treatment of tomato seeds with proteins prepared from E. coli which contains a construct encoding the hypersensitivity response inducer, pCPP2139 or its plasmid vector pCPP50 Marglobe tomato seeds are submerged in Erwinia amylovora hypersensitivity response inducing solution ("booster") (from the plasmid vector pCPP2139 encoding for reinforcement) and from the solution containing the vector pCPP50 in 1:25 dilutions, 1:50 and 1: 100 in beakers on day 1, for 24 hours at 28 ° C in a growth chamber. After soaking the seeds, they are sown in germination pots with artificial soil on day 2. They are randomly chosen and 10 plants of uniform appearance are measured by treatment. Seedlings are measured with a ruler from the soil surface to the top of the plant.

Treatments: 1. Reinforcement 16 μgm / ml 2. Reinforcement 8 μgm / ml 3. Reinforcement 4 μgm / ml 4. Vector 16 μgm / ml 5. Vector 8 μgm / ml 6. Vector 4 μgm / ml Table 16 - Height of the seedling (cm) 11 days after seed treatment vo Table 17 - Height of the seedling (cm) 14 days after seed treatment Plant Reinforcement Treatment 10 Medium Rl: 25 16 μg / ml 10 7.6 7.6 7.2 7.4 7.8 7.8 7.6 7.0 7.4 7.0 7.4 Rl: 50 8 μg / ml 10 8.5 8.2 8.4 7.6 7.8 8.4 8.6 9.0 7.6 8.2 8.2 RlrlOO 4 μg / ml 10 7.2 8.4 8.2 7.4 8.0 7.6 7.6 8.0 8.6 7.6 7.9 co o Vl: 25 10 6.8 6.4 7.8 6.6 6.6 6.8 7.4 6.0 6.4 6.4 6J Vl: 50 10 6.6 5.8 6.4 7.6 7.4 7.2 6.8 6.6 6.4 5.8 6J Vl: 100 10 6.2 6.0 6.8 6.6 6.4 5.8 6.6 7.0 5.8 6.4 6.4 Table 18 - Average height of tomato plants after treatment: Operation and treatment Average height of tomato plants (cm) Day 1 Day 2 Day 11 Day 14 Seed wetting with booster (16 μgm / ml) seeded 4.5 7.4 Wetting seeds with booster (8 μgm / ml) sown 5.5 8.2 i Moistening seeds with co-reinforcement (4 μgm / ml) seeded 5.1 7.9 Seed wetting with vector (16 μgm / ml) seeded 4.5 6.7 Seed wetting with vector (8 μgm / ml) seeded 4.4 6.8 Seed wetting with vector (4 μgm / ml) seeded 4.3 6.4 As shown in Tables 16 to 18, treatment with hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora can increase the growth of tomato plants. A 1:50 dilution (8 μg / ml hypersensitivity response inducer) has the greatest effect with a seedling height that increases by approximately 20% over the control.

Example 8 - Effect of hypersensitivity response inducer of cell-free Erwinia amylovora on potato growth Three-week-old potato plants, Norchip variety, are grown from tuber pieces in individual containers. The foliage of each plant is sprayed with a solution containing the hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora ("booster"), or a control solution containing E. coli proteins and those of the pCPP50 vector ("vector"), diluted 1:50, 1: 100, and 1: 200. On day 20, 12 plants of uniform appearance are randomly chosen for each of the following treatments. One plant of each treatment is maintained at 16 ° C, in a growth chamber, while two plants of each treatment are kept in a greenhouse bench at 18-25 ° C. Twenty-five days after treatment, the shoots (stems) in all the plants are measured individually.

Treatments: 1. Reinforcement 1:50 16 μgm / ml 2. Reinforcement 1: 100 8 μgm / ml 3. Reinforcement 1: 200 4 μgm / ml 4. Vector 1:50 0 reinforcement 5. Vector 1: 100 0 reinforcement 6. Vector 1: 200 0 reinforcement Table 20 - Length of potato stems of plants in a greenhouse bench Treatment on day 20 Length of potato stems (cm) on day 45 stem 1 stem 2 stem 3 stem 4 stem 5 stem 6 plant average treatment Reinforcement 1:50 65.5 58.5 57.5 62.5 68.5 (5 branches) 62.5 Reinforcement 1: 50 62.5 67.0 65.0 69.0 (4 branches) 65.9 64.2 Reinforcement 1: 100 70.5 73.5 74.0 80.5 (4 branches) 74.6 Reinforcement 1: 100 83.0 80.5 76.5 76.0 81.5 (5 branches) 79.5 77.1 00 Reinforcement 1: 200 56.5 59.5 50.5 53.0 55.5 48.0 53.9 Reinforcement 1: 200 57.0 59.5 69.5 (3 branches) 62.0 58.0 Vector 1: 50 53.0 62.0 59.5 62.5 (4 branches) 59.3 Vector 1: 50 52.0 46.0 61.5 56.5 61.5 57.0 55.8 57.6 Vector 1: 100 62.0 51.5 66.5 67.5 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 62.0 66.0 (2 branches) 61.5 62.8 Table 19 - Length of potato stems in plants, at 16 ° C Treatment on day 20 Length of potato stems (cm) stems on day 45 stem 1 stem 2 stem 3 stem 4 stem 5 stem 6 medium for tweet Reinforcement 1:50 43.0 39.5 42.5 34.0 38.0 39.5 39.4 Reinforcement 1: 100 42.0 38.5 (2 branches) 40.3 Reinforcement 1: 200 35.5 30.5 31.5 (3 branches) 32.5 Vecror 1: 50 34.0 32.0 31.5 28.0 27.5 (5 branches) 30.6 Vector 1 : 100 30.0 33.5 33.0 30.0 28.0 33.0 31 3 cp Vector 200 33.5 31.5 32.5 (3 branches) 32.5 As shown in tables 19 and 20, the treatment of potato plants with hypersensitivity response inducer of Erwinia amylovora improves the growth of shoots (stems). Therefore, the total growth, considered both by the number and by the average lengths of the stems, is greater in the plants treated with reinforcement both in the greenhouse and in plants that grow in a chamber. Potato plants treated with a medium dose of reinforcement (8 μgm / ml) seem improved both in the growth of their stems, which grow more than those treated with either higher or lower doses. The treatment with the average dose of reinforcement results in a greater growth under both growth conditions.

Example 9 - Spray effect of tomatoes with a cell-free induction preparation, which contains the reinforcement of Erwinia amylovora Marglobe tomato plants are sprayed with the booster preparation (from E. coli DH5a (pCPP2139)), or the vector preparation (from E. coli DH5a (pCPP50)), with BSA protein added as control, 8 days after the transplant. The control vector preparation contains, per ml, 33.6 μl of BSA (10 mg / ml) to provide approximately the same amount of protein as contained in the preparation of pCPP2139 due to reinforcement. Dilutions of 1:50 (8.0 μg / ml), 1: 100 (4.0 μg / ml) and 1: 200 (2.0 μg / ml) are prepared and sprayed on the plants until runoff, with an atomizer driven by electricity. Fifteen plants with a uniform appearance are selected erroneously by treatment, and assigned to the treatment. Plants are kept at 28 ° C in a controlled environment chamber before and after treatment. Total heights are measured several times, after treatment, from the soil surface to the top of the plant. The upper parts of the tomato plants are weighed immediately after cutting the stems near the soil surface.

Treatments: (dilutions and reinforcement content) 1. Reinforcement 1: 50 (8.0 μg / ml) 2. Reinforcement 1: 100 (4.0 μg / ml) 3. Reinforcement 1; : 200 (2.0 μg / ml) 4. Vector + BSA 1:: 50 (0 reinforcement) 5. Vector + BSA 1:: 100 (0 reinforcement) 6. Vector + BSA 1:: 200 (0 reinforcement) Table 25 - Fresh weight of tomato plants (g / plant) 21 days after the spray treatment 00 00 Table 24 - Average height of tomato plants after spraying Treatment (Dil & Reinforcement) Average height of tomato plants (cm) Days after treatment Day 1 Day 11 Day 14 Reinforcement 1:50 (8.0 μg / ml) 5.16 22.2 28.1 Reinforcement 1: 100 (4.0 μg / ml) 5.15 27.5 37.5 Reinforcement 1: 200 (2.0 μg / ml) 5.13 26.0 33.2 oo vo Vector + BSA 1:50 (0) 5.15 21.7 28.5 Vector + BSA 1: 100 (0) 5.13 21.4 28.6 Vector + BSA 1: 200 (0) 5.16 21.8 28.7 Table 23 - Height of the tomato plant (cm) 21 days after the spray treatment vo or Table 22 - Height of the tomato plant (cm) 15 days after the spray treatment or Table 21 - Height of tomato plant (cm) 1 day after treatment with aspersion vo A single spraying of tomato seedlings with reinforcement, in general, results in a subsequent higher growth compared to a spray treatment with the control preparation (vector) which has been supplemented with BSA protein. Improved growth in plants treated with reinforcement is observed both in the height of the plant and in fresh weight measurements. Of the three concentrations tested, the lower two resulted in higher plant growth (based on any of the measurements) compared to the highest dose (8.0 μg / ml). There is little difference in the growth of plants treated with the two lower concentrations (2 and 4 μg / ml). The components of the lysed cell preparation of the E. coli strain DH5a (pCPP50), which harbor the hrpN gene vector in E. coli strain DH5a (pCPP2139), do not have the same growth promoting effect as the preparation containing reinforcement, even though it is supplemented with BSA protein to the same extent as the DH5a preparation (pCPP2139), which contains large amounts of reinforcement protein. Therefore, this experiment shows that the reinforcement is responsible for the improved growth of the plants.

Example 10 - Early coloring and early ripening of small fruits A field trial was carried out to evaluate the effect of the hypersensitivity response inducing treatment ("booster") on the yield and ripening parameters of raspberry cv. Canby. Established plants were treated with reinforcement at 2.5 mg / 9.3 m2 (100 square feet) on lands 12 m (40 feet) long x 0.9 m (3 feet) wide (width of 1 plant), not treated ("verified"), or treated with standard industry chemical Ronilan at the recommended rates ("Ronilan"). The treatments were duplicated four times and placed by rep (repeat) in an experimental field site. Treatments were made starting at 5-10% of flowers followed by two applications at intervals of 7-10 days. The first two crops are used to assess disease control and fruit yield data were collected from the last two crops. The observations indicated in the fruits treated with reinforcement were higher and showed greater redness than the untreated fruits, indicating that the ripening was accelerated in 1-2 weeks. The number of mature fruits per group with a minimum of 10 fruits was determined at this time and is summarized in Table 26. The treated areas with reinforcement have more mature fruits by groups of 10 raspberries than the verification or Ronilan treatments. The combined yields of the last two crops indicate a increased yield in the treated areas with reinforcement and with Ronilan over the untreated control (Table 27).

Table 26 - Number of ripe raspberry fruits by groups with ten raspberries or more on June 20, 1996.

Treatment Mature fruits / control groups of ten raspberries Verification 2.75 100.0 Ronilan 2.75 100.0 Reinforcement 7.25 263.6 Table 27 - Average raspberry fruit yield (kg / lb) combined in the last two collections Treatment Total control performance Verification 14.7 (32.5) 100.0 Ronilan 17.0 (37.5) 115.4 Reinforcement 17.9 (39.5) 121.5 Example 11 - Improvement of beans growth Bush Blue Lake variety beans, planted in 25 cm diameter plastic pots filled with a commercial pot mix, were treated by various methods and placed in an open greenhouse for evaluation of growth parameters. Treatments include untreated ("Verified") beans seeds, seeds treated with a 1.5% methylcellulose suspension prepared with water as diluent ("M / C"), seeds treated with 1.5% methylcellulose followed by foliar application of response inducer. of hypersensitivity ("booster") to 0.125 mg / ml ("M / C + H"), and seeds treated with methylcellulose 1.5% plus dry-spray reinforcement at 5.0 μg of reinforcement per 50 seeds followed by a foliar application of booster to 0.125 mg / ml ("M / C-SD + H"). Seeds were sown on day 0, planted 3 per pot, and reduced to one plant per pot at the time of germination. The treatments were doubled 10 times and randomized by rep in an open greenhouse. The pods of beans were harvested after 64 days, and the fresh weights of the pods of marketable size (size> 10 cm x 5 cm) were determined and collected as they were produced. The data was analyzed by analysis of variance with Fisher's LSD used for separate treatment means.

Table 28 Effect of the Erwinia amylovora booster treatment by various methods on the yield of marketable pod beans Treatment Commodifiable performance,% untreated (verified) M / C-SD + H 70.6 to 452 M / C-H 58.5 ab 375 M / C 46.3 be 297 M / C + H 42.3 be 271 M / C-SD 40.0 cd 256 Verified 15.6 e 100 1E1 marketable yield includes all bean pods of 10 cm x 0.5 cm or greater. The means followed by the same letters are not significantly different from P = 0.05 according to Fisher's LSD.

As shown in Table 28, the application of the reinforcement of Erwinia amylovora by various methods of application results in an increase in the yield of pods of salable size. Treatment with methylcellulose alone also results in an increase in the yield of beans, but increases substantially when combined with the reinforcement in the treatments of seeds (dry spray) and foliar.

Example 12 - Increase in yield in cucumbers from foliar application of HP - 1000"* to cucumbers Cucumber seedlings and transplants were treated with leaf sprays of HP-1000MR (EDEN Bioscience, Bothell, Washington), (formulation inducing hypersensitivity response of Erwinia amylovora) at rates of 15, 30 or 60 μg / ml of active ingredient (ai). ). The first spray was applied when the first true leaves had fully expanded. The second application was made 10 days after the first spray. All sprays were applied using a backpack sprayer, and an untreated control (UTC) was also included in the test. Three days after the second application of HP-1000MR, 10 plants of each treatment were transplanted in randomized field sites, duplicated three times. This provides a total of 30 plants per treatment. Seven days after the transplant, it was applied a third foliar spray from HP-IOOO. "Although a subsequent severe drought results in significant water stress, a total of six crops were carried out following a standard commercial harvesting pattern. The total weight of fruit collected from each treatment is presented in Table 29. The results indicate that plants treated with HP-IOOO "* at rates of 15 and 30 μg / ml provide significantly more fruit than UTC. -IOOO "provide a moderate performance increase. These results indicate that plants treated with HP-IOOO "are significantly more tolerant to drought stress conditions than untreated plants.

Table 29 - Increase in yield of cucumbers after treatment with HP-IOOO " Treatment Rate1 Yield2, kg / 10 plants% pair enci- (pounds / 10 plants) ma from UTC UTC 4.4 (9.7) to HP-IOOO ™ 15 μg / ml 11.5 (25.4) b 161.4 HP-IOOO ™ 30 μg / ml 14.8 (32.6) c 236.4 HP-IOOO "* 60 μg / ml 5.1 (11.2) to 15.9 active ingredient (a. I.) 2Media followed by different letters are significantly different according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Example 13 - Increase in cotton yield from treatment with HP-1000I < R Cotton was planted on four field sites in duplicate of 3.6 mx 6.1 m (12 x 20 ft) in a randomized complete block field trial (RCB). The plants were treated with HP-IOOO "* (EDEN Bioscience) (hypersensitivity response-inducing formulation of Erwinia amylovora), HP-1000" * + Pixm (Pix "(BASF Corp., Mount Olive, NJ) is a regulator of the growth applied to maintain compact cotton plants in terms of height) or Early Harvest "" (Griffen Corp., Valdosta, Ga.) (a competitive growth enhancing agent.) An untreated control (UTC) was also included in the trial. Using a backpack sprayer, foliar applications of all treatments were performed in the three stages of crop growth, in the first true leaves, before flowering and in early flowering, all fertilizers and control products. Weeds were applied according to conventional agricultural practices for all treatments.The number of cotton bolls per plant ten weeks before harvesting was significantly higher for the treated plants. on HP-IOOO "* compared to other treatments. When collecting, the treatment with HP-IOOO "shows that it has a significantly increased lint yield (43%) compared to UTC (Table 30). When combining HP-1000"" with Pix "", the lint yield increases 20% with respect to UTC. Since Pix "" is commonly applied in large areas of cotton, this result indicates that HP-1000"" can be successfully mixed in the tank with Pix "". The application of the competitive growth enhancing agent, Early Harvest "" only produces a 9% increase in lint yield compared to UTC.

Table 30 Increased yield of cotton lint after treatment with HP-1000"", HP- lOOO ^ + Pix "", or Early Harvest "" Treatment Rate1 Yield per lint% previous kg / acre (pound / acre) UTC UTC 427.3 (942.1) Early Harvest "" 591 ml / ac 488.7 (1,077.4) * 14.3 (2 oz./ac.) HP-1000"" + Pix "" 40 μg / ml + 8? Z./ac. 514.0 (1,133.1) * 20.4 HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 612.3 (1,350.0) * 43.3 (* significant at P = 0.05) lsd = 122.4 Rates for HP-1000"" are for active ingredient (a.I.Jilas rates for Early Harvest "" and Pix "" are formulated product Example 14 - Increase in the yield of Chinese aubergine from the treatment with HP-IOOO "* A storehouse where Chinese eggplant plants have grown are sprayed once with HP-1000"" (EDÉN Bioscience) (formulation inducing hypersensitivity response of Erwinia amylovora) at 15, 30, or 60 μg / ml (a. I.), And then transplanted to duplicate field sites three times for each treatment. Two weeks after the transplant, a second application of HP-1000"" is performed. A third final application of HP-1000"" is applied approximately two weeks after the second spray. All sprays were applied using a backpack sprayer; An untreated control (UTC) is also included in the test. As the season progresses, a total of eight collections were made from each treatment. The data from these collections indicate that treatment with HP-1000"results in a higher yield of fruit per plant.

Table 31 - Increased yield of Chinese aubergine after treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Rate (a. I.) Yield (kg / plant)% above (pounds / plant) UTC UTC - 0.658 (1.45) HP-1000"" 15 μg / ml 0.921 (2.03) 40.0 HP-1000MR 30 μg / ml 0.862 (1.90) 31.0 HP-1000MR 60 μg / ml 0.884 (1.95) 34.5 Example 15 - Increase in rice yield from HP-IOOO treatment "* Rice seedlings were transplanted to fields in the field duplicated three times, and then treated with HP-1000MR (EDÉN Bioscience) foliar sprays (hypersensitive response formulation of Erwinia amylovora) at three different rates using a backpack sprayer. An untreated control (UTC) is also included in the test. The first application of HP-1000"" is done one week after the transplant, and the second three weeks after the first. A third final spray is made before the rice grains begin to fill the upper parts. The results in the collection show that the foliar applications of HP-1000"at 30 and 60 μg / ml significantly increase the yield in 47 and 56%, respectively (Table 32).

Table 32 - Increase in rice yield after foliar treatment with HP-1000MR Treatment Rate (a. I.) Performance1 (kg / ac)% above (pounds / ac) of UTC UTC - 1748 (3,853) to HP-1000"" 15 μg / ml 2551 (5,265) ab 35.9 HP-1000"" 30 μg / ml 2590 (5,710) b 47.3 HP-1000"" 60 μg / ml 2741 (6,043 ) b 56.1 xMeans followed by different letters are significantly different according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Example 16 - Increase in the yield of soybeans from the HP-IOOO treatment "* Soybeans were planted in duplicate randomized field sites three times for each treatment. A backpack sprayer is used to apply HP-1000"(EDÉN Bioscience) foliar sprays (hypersensitive response formulation of Erwinia amylovora) and an untreated control (UTC) is also included in the assay. Three HP-1000"" regimens were applied at the start at the time of four true leaves when the plants are approximately cm (8 inches) tall. A second spray of HP-1000"" (ten days after the first spraying and a third spraying ten days after the second one.) The height of the plant is measured ten days after the first treatment first spray treatment indicating that the application of HP-1000"" results in a significant improvement in growth (Table 33). In addition, plants treated with HP-1000"" (at a rate of 60 μg / ml begin to flower 5 days before the other treatments.) Approximately ten days after application of the third spray, the number of pods per plant is counted from ten plants randomly selected by replication, these results indicate that the improvement of growth from the treatment with HP-1000"" results in a significantly higher yield (Table 34).

Table 33 - Height of the increased plant of soybeans after foliar treatment with HP-IOOO "" Treatment Rate (a.i Plant height1% above (cm (inch)) of UTC UTC 31.0 (12.2) to HP-1000"" 15 μg / ml 33.5 (13.2) b 8.3 HP-1000"" 30 μg / ml 35.8 (14.1) c 16.2 HP-1000"" 60 μg / ml 36.3 (14.3) c 17.3 Tedias followed by different letters are significantly different according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Table 34 - Improved production of soybean pods after foliar treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Rate (a. I.) No. of pods /% above plant1 of UTC UTC 41. l a HP-1000"" 15 μg / ml 45.4 ab 10.4 HP-1000"" 30 μg / ml 47.4 b 15.4 HP-1000"" 60 μg / ml 48.4 b 17.7 xMeans followed by different letters are significantly different according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Example 17 - Increase in Strawberry Performance from Treatment with HP-1000MR Two field trials were carried out with HP-1000"" (EDÉN Bioscience) (hypersensitivity response-inducing formulation of Erwinia amylovora) in two strawberry varieties, Camarosa and Selva. For each variety, a randomized complete block design (RCB) was established that has four terrains in duplicate (1.6 m 3.0 m (5.33 x 10 ft)) per treatment in a commercial strawberry producing field. Within each plot strawberry plants were planted in a double row layout. It was also included in the trial an untreated control (UTC). Before the application starts, all the plants were cleaned of any flowers and strawberries. Sprays of HP-1000"" were applied at a rate of 40 μg / ml as six weekly using a backpack sprayer. Just before the application of each spray, all the ripe fruit of each treatment was collected, weighed and classified according to commercial standards. In the following three weeks of the first application of HP-1000"" to the strawberry plants Selva, the improvement in growth is discernible as the greater visibility of the biomass above the ground and a more vigorous, greener and more fury. After six harvests (ie, the lifetime of scheme for these plants), all the performance data were added and analyzed. For the Camarosa variety, the yield of marketable fruit from plants treated with HP-1000"" increases significantly (27%) over UTC when averaged over the last four harvests (table 35). The significant differences between treatments were not evident for this variety for the first two intakes. The variety Selva is more sensitive to the effects of improvement of growth from the treatment with HP-1000""; Selva strawberry plants provide a statistically significant 64% more marketable fruit compared to UTC when the six intakes are averaged (Table 35).

Table 35. Increased yield of strawberries after foliar treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (ai) Yield1% previous UTC (kg / rep) (pounds / rep) Variety: Camarosa UTC 0.776 (1.71) to HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 0.984 (2.17) b 27 Variety Jungle UTC --- 0.399 (0.88) to HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 0.653 (1.44) b 64 Tedias followed by different letters are significantly different according to Duncan's MRT, p = 0.05.

Example 18 - Early maturity and increased yield of tomatoes from HP-IOOO treatment "" Fresh market tomatoes were grown (variety Solar Set) on land (0.61 m x 9.1 m (2 x 30 ft)) duplicated five times in a randomized complete block field trial (RCB) within a commercial tomato production field. Treatments include HP-1000"" (EDEN Bioscience) (hypersensitive response-inducing formulation) from Erwinia amylovora), a competitive experimental product (Actigard "" (Novartis, Greensboro, NC)) and a chemical standard (Kocide "" (Griffen Corp., Valdosta, GA)) + Maneb "" (DuPont Agricultural Products, Wilmington, DE)) for disease control. The initial application of HP-1000"" is performed as a 50 ml liquid coating (30 μg / ml a. I.) Poured directly onto the plant immediately after transplantation. Subsequently, eleven leaf sprays were applied weekly using a backpack sprayer on the back. The first harvest of all the treatments was carried out approximately six weeks after the transplant and only the completely red ripe tomatoes were collected from each treatment. The results indicate that plants treated with HP-1000"" have a significantly higher amount of tomatoes ready for the first harvest (table 36). Tomatoes harvested from plants treated with HP-1000"" were estimated to be 10-14 days ahead of the other treatments.

Table 36. Increased yield of tomatoes in the first harvest after foliar treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (a. I.) Yield2% previous UTC (kg / rep) (lb / rep.) UTC --- 0.277 (0.61) to HP-1000"" 30 μg / ml 1.302 (2.87) b 375 Actigard "" 14 g / ac 0.204 (0.45) to -25.1 Kocide "" + 2 lbs./ac. 0.141 (0.31) to -49.1 Maneb "" 1 lb./ac 1 The regimens for Kocide "" and Maneb "" are for formulated product. 2Means followed by different letters are significantly different according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Example 19 - Early flowering and improvement of strawberry growth from HP-IOOO "" treatment when planted in non-fumigated soil Strawberry plants ("wedges" and "naked roots") are transplanted, cv. Commander on terrains (0.61 x 9.1 m (2 x 30 ft)) duplicated 5 times in a randomized complete block field trial. Approximately sixty individual plants were transplanted in each duplicate. The treatments applied in this field trial are included below: Treatment Application Method HP-1000"" (wedge plants) 50 ml of coating solution (liquid HP-1000"" (EDÉN Bioscience) (hypersensitive response formulation of Erwinia amylovora) at 40 μg / ml (ai) poured directly on individual plants after transplanting in non-fumigated soil1, followed by foliar applications of HP-1000"at 40 μg / ml, every 14 days.

HP-1000"" 40 (bare-rooted plants) Root humidification in HP-1000"solution" to μg / ml (ai) for 1 hour, immediately before transplanting to non-fumigated soil1, followed by HP foliar applications -1000"" at 40 μg / ml every 14 days. methyl bromide / chlorpicrin 75/25 soil fumigation at 136 kg / ac (300 lbs / ac) via injection before transplant, without HP-1000 treatments "" applied Telone / chlorpicrin 70/30 soil fumigation at 170 1 / ac (45 gal / ac) via injection before transplant, without treatments of HP-1000"" applied Untreated control (UTC) without fumigation, without treatments with HP-1000"".

XE1 unfumigated soil has been harvested with peas during the previous two years. The transplant is carried out at the end of autumn when the cold weather tends to slow down the growth rate of the plant. Two weeks after the transplant, the first foliar application of HP-1000"" was made at 40 μg / ml (a. I.) With a backpack sprayer. Three weeks after the transplant, preliminary results are obtained comparing the treatment with HP-1000"" against methyl bromide and UTC by counting the amount of flowers in all "wedge" strawberry plants in each duplicate. Since flowering has not yet occurred in "bare root" plants, each plant in duplicate for this treatment is determined for early leaf growth by measuring the distance from the tip of the leaf to the stem in the middle leaf or groups of 3 leaves. The results (tables 37 and 38) indicate that the treatment with HP-1000"" provides an improved early flower growth and a leaf size for the "wedge" and "bare root" strawberry plants, respectively.

Table 37 - Early flowering of "wedge" strawberry transplants after foliar treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (a. I.) No. of flowers / rep1% previous UTC UTC 2.0 to HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 7.5 b 275 Bromide of 136 kg / ac (300 lbs / ac) 5.3 b 163 methyl / chlorpicrin Means followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Table 38 - Increased leaf growth in "bare root" strawberry transplants after foliar treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (a. I.) Length of the leaf1% previous (cm (inch)) UTC UTC 3.2 (1.26) to HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 4.6 (1.81) b 44 xMeans followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Example 20 - Improvement of early growth of jalapeño peppers from HP-1000101 Jalapeno pepper transplants (cv. My ttlya) were treated with a liquid coating of the root HP-1000"" (EDÉN Bioscience) (hypersensitive response formulation of Erwinia amylovora) (30 μg / ml ai) for 1 hour, and after transplanting in randomized terrains in duplicate, four times. An untreated control (UTC) was also included. Beginning 14 days after the transplant, the transplanted plants receive three HP-1000"foliar sprays on the day at 14-day intervals using a backpack sprayer. One week after the third application of HP-1000"" (54 days after the transplant) the height of the plant is measured from four randomly selected plants, in duplicate. The results of these measurements indicate that plants treated with HP-1000"" are approximately 26% higher than UTC plants (plant 39). In addition, the number of buttons, flowers or fruits of each plant was counted. These results indicate that the plants treated with HP-IOOO "" have more than 61% flowers, fruits or buttons compared to UTC plants (table 40).

Table 39 - Increased height of the plant in jalapeño peppers after treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (a. I.) Height of the plant% above (cm (inches)) 1 of UTC UTC --- 17.8 to (7.0) HP-1000"" 30 μg / ml 21.8 (8.6) b 23.6 xMeans followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Table 40 - Increased number of flowers, fruits or buttons in jalapeno peppers after treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (a. I.) No. of flowers, fruits or% above UTC buttons / plant 'UTC UTC 20 6 a HP-IOOO "" 30 μg / ml 12.8 b 61.3 xMeans followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Example 21 - Improvement of tobacco growth from the application of HP-IOOO "* Tobacco seedlings are transplanted on randomized field land, duplicated three times. A foliar spray of HP-1000"(EDÉN Bioscience) (hypersensitive response formulation of Erwinia a ylovora) is applied after transplantation to one of three regimens: 15, 30 or 60 μg / ml a. i. Sixty days later, a second foliar application of HP-1000"" is performed. Two days after the second application, the height of the plant, the number of leaves per plant and the size of the leaves (area) of ten randomly selected plants per treatment are measured. The results of these measurements indicate that the treatment with HP-1000"" significantly improves the growth of the tobacco plant (Tables 41, 42 and 43). The height of the plant increases in 6-13%, while the plants treated with HP-1000"" at 30 and 60 μg / ml averaged just one more leaf per plant than UTC. More significantly, however, treatment with HP- 1000"" at 15, 30 and 60 μg / ml resulting in corresponding increase in the area of the leaf. Tobacco plants with an additional leaf per plant and an increase in average leaf size (area) represent a commercially significant response.

Table 41 - Increased plant height in tobacco after treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (a. I.) Height of the plant% above (cm) of UTC UTC 72.0 HP-1000"" 15 μg / ml 76.4 5.3 HP-1000"" 30 μg / ml 79.2 9-0 H HPP - 11000000"" "" 6 600 μμqg // mmll 8 811..33 6.9 Table 42 - Increased number of tobacco leaves per plant after treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (a. I.) Sheets / plant1% above UTC UTC 16.8 HP-1000"" 15 μg / ml 17.4 3.6 HP-IOOO "" 30 μg / ml 18.1 7.7 HP-IOOO "" 60 μg / ml 17.9 6.5 Table 43 - Increased area of the leaf in the tobacco after treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen (ai) Area of the leaf (cm2)% above (cm) of UTC UTC 1,246 HP-1000"" 15 μg / ml 1,441 16 HP-1000"" 30 μg / ml 1,543 24 HP-1000"" 60 μg / ml 1,649 32 Example 22 - Improvement of winter wheat growth from the application of HP-IOOO "" They were "sprinkled" winter wheat seeds with HP-1000"" dry (EDEN Bioscience) (hypersensitive response formulation of Erwinia amylovora) powder at a rate of 89 ml (3 ounces) of formulated product (3% ai) per 45.3 kg (100 pounds) of seeds, and then planted using conventional drying equipment in test pots randomized with a ground of 3.6 m by 30 m long (11.7 feet x 100 feet). Additional treatments include a "spray" of the seeds with HP-1000"powder (3% ai) to 29.6 ml (1 oz) of product formulated by 45.3 kg (100 pounds) of seed, of seed wetting in a Solution of HP-1000"" at a concentration of 20 μg / ml, a. i. for four hours, and then air-dried before planting, and a standard chemical fungicide (Dividen "") "sprinkled" and an untreated control (UTC). Eight days after planting, the seeds treated with HP-1000"" begin to germinate, while the UTC seeds and those treated with the chemical standard do not germinate until approximately 14 days after planting, the expected normal time. At 41 days after planting, the seedlings are removed from the soil and evaluated. The root mass for wheat treated with HP-1000"" as a "pulverized" for 89 ml / 45.3 kg (3 ounces / 100 pounds) are visually inspected and classified to be approximately twice as large as any of the other treatments. After the field trial, a greenhouse experiment was designed to confirm the gain of these results. Treatments include wheat seeds sprinkled with dry HP-1000MR (10% a. I.) At a rate of 89 ml / 45.3 kg (3 ounces per 100 pounds) of seed, wetting the seeds of HP-1000"in a solution in mg / ml concentration for four hours before planting and an untreated control (UTC). The wheat seeds of each treatment were planted at a rate of 25 seeds per pot, with five pots that serve as duplicates for each treatment. Fifteen days after planting, ten selected seedlings from each treatment pot were removed, carefully cleaned and measured to determine the length of the roots. Since the above-ground portion of the individual seedlings show no treatment effect, root growth increased from the HP-1000"" treatment does not influence the selection of the samples. The increase in root growth of any treatment with HP-1000"" is significantly greater than UTC (Table 49); however, the spray treatment of the seeds seem to give slightly better results.

Table 44 - Increased root growth in wheat seedlings after treatment with HP-1000"" Treatment Regimen Root length% above (cm) 1 UTC UTC 35.6 to HP-1000"" 89 ml / 45.3 kg 41.0 b 17.4 (spray) (3 ounces / 100 pounds) HP-IOOO "" (soaked = 20 μg / ml 40.8 b 14.6 1Means followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Example 23 - Improvement of cucumber growth from the HP-1000 application ** A field trial of commercially produced cucumbers consists of four treatments, HP-1000"" (EDEN Bioscience) (hypersensitive response formulation of Erwinia amylovora) at two regimens (20 or 40 μg / ml), a chemical standard for control of disease (Bravo "" (Zeneca Ag Products, Wilmington, Del.) + Maneb ™) and an untreated control (UTC). Each treatment is duplicated four times in 0.91 x 23 m (3 x 75 ft) soils with a plant separation of approximately 0.91 m (2 feet) for each treatment. The foliar sprays of HP-1000"" were applied starting with the first true leaves and repeated at 14-day intervals until the collection ends for a total of six applications. The standard fungicide mixture is applied every seven days or sooner if conditions guarantee it. The Commercial harvesting begins approximately two months after the first application of HP-1000"" (after five HP-1000 sprays have been applied ""), and the final harvest is made approximately 14 days after the first harvest. The results of the first harvest indicate that the treatment with HP-1000"" improves the average yield of cucumbers by increasing the total number of cucumbers collected and not the average weight of individual cucumbers (tables 45 to 47). The same tendency is observed in the final collection (tables 48 and 49). It is commercially important that the increase in yield that results from treatment with HP-1000"" is not obtained by significantly increasing the average size of the cucumber.

Table 45 - Increased yield of cucumbers after treatment with HP-1000"", first crop Treatment Regimen (a. I.) Rendiment / trt1 (kg)% above UTC UTC 10.0 a Bravo + Maneb label 10.8 to 8.4 HP-1000"" 20 μg / ml 12.3 ab 22.8 HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 13.8 b 38.0 1Means followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Table 46 - Increased number of fruit in cucumbers after treatment with HP-1000"", first crop Treatment Regimen (a. I.) No. of fruits / trt1% above UTC UTC 24.5 to Bravo + Maneb label 27.6 ab 12.8 HP-1000"" 20 μg / ml 31.2 b 27.0 HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 34.3 b 39.8 1Means followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Table 47 - Average weight of cucumbers after treatment with HP-1000"", first crop Treatment Regimen (a. I.) Weight / fruit g)% change versus UTC UTC 406 Bravo + Maneb label 390 - Z.'í - HP- IOOO "" 20 μg / ml 395 -3 HP- IOOO "" 40 μg / ml 403 -1 Table 48 - Increased yield of cucumbers after treatment with HP-1000"", third crop Treatment Regimen (ai) Performance / trt1 (kg)% above UTC U UTTCC --- 17.5 to Bravo + Maneb label 14.0 b -20.1 HP-1000"" 20 μg / ml 20.1 to 15.3 HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 20.2 to 15.6 1Means followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Table 49 - Increased number of fruit in cucumbers after treatment with HP-1000"", third crop Treatment Regimen (a. I.) No. of fruits / trt1% change versus UTC UTC 68.8 ab Bravo + Maneb label 60.0 to -12.7 HP-IOOO "" 20 μg / ml 82.3 b 19.6 HP-IOOO "" 40 μg / ml 85.3 b 24.0 xMeans followed by different letters are significantly different, according to Duncan's MRT, P = 0.05.

Table 50 - Average weight of cucumbers after treatment with HP-IOOO "", third crop Treatment Regimen (a. I.) Weight / fruit (g)% change versus UTC UTC 255 Bravo + Maneb label 232 -9 HP-1000"" 20 μg / ml 247 -3 HP-1000"" 40 μg / ml 237 -7 Example 24 - Reinforzop "of Pseudomonas syringae pv syringrae induces improvement of growth in tomato To test if refuerzopss (ie, the hypersensitive response inducer of Pseudomonas syringae pv syringae) (He, S. Y., 1 et al., "Pseudomonas syringae pv syringae Harpinpss A protein that is Secreted via the Hrp Pathway and Elicits the Hypersensitive Response in Plants, "Cell 73: 1255-66 (1993), which is incorporated herein by reference) also stimulates plant growth, were planted tomato plants (Marglobe variety) in 20 cm pots ( 8 inches) with artificial soil Ten days after planting, the seedlings were transplanted into individual pots During the experiment, fertilizer, water irrigation, temperature and soil moisture were maintained uniformly between the plants. 16 days after the transplant, the initial height of the plant is measured and the first application of reinforcement is made, and this is called as day 0. A second application is made on the day 15. Additional growth data are collected in on day 10 and on day 30. The final data collection on day 30 includes both plant height and fresh weight.The reinforcement used for application during the experiment occurs at erment E. coli DH5 containing the plasmid with the gene encoding for refuerzopss (ie, hrpZ). Cells are harvested, resuspended in 5 mM potassium phosphate buffer, and disrupted by sonication. The material subjected to sonication is boiled for 5 minutes and then centrifuged for 10 min at 10,000 rpm. The supernatant is considered as cell-free induction preparation (CFEP). They are made and 50 μg / ml refuerzopss solutions with the same buffer used to make the cell suspension. The CFEP prepared from the same strain that contains the same plasmid but without the hrpZ gene is used as the material for the control treatment. Moisturizing agent, Pinene II (Drexel Chemical Co., Memphis, Tenn.) Is added to the refuerzopss solution at a concentration of 0.1%, then refuerzopss is sprayed onto the tomato plant until runoff occurs. Table 51 shows that there is a significant difference between the groups with refuerzopss treatment and the control group. Tomatoes treated with refuerzopss are increased by more than 10% in height. The data support the claim that refuerzopss acts in a manner similar to the hypersensitive response inducer of Erwinia amylovora, and that when applied to tomato and many other plant species, there is an effect of growth improvement. In addition to the significant increase of the height of the tomato that has been treated with refuerzopss, the tomato has more biomass, large leaves, early flowering start and a healthier appearance in general.

Table 51 - Refuerzopss improves the growth of tomato plants Treatment Height of the plant (c 1) Day 0 Day 10 Day 30 Control CFEP 8.52 (0.87) a3 23.9 (1.90) to 68.2 (8.60) a Reinforzop88 20 μ / ml 8.8 (0.98) to 27.3 (1.75) b 74.2 (6.38 ) b Refuerzopss 50 μ / ml 8.8 (1.13) to 26.8 (2.31) b 75.4 (6.30) b 1The height of the plant is measured to the nearest 0.5 cm. Day 0 refers to the day on which the initial plant heights were recorded and the first application was made. 2The means are provided with SD in parentheses (n = 20 for all treatment groups). 3The different letters (a and b) indicate significant differences (P 0.05) between means. The differences are evaluated by ANOVA followed by Fisher's LSD. Although the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, it is understood that such details are solely for that purpose, and that variations may be made therein by those familiar with the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is defined by the following claims.

LIST OF SEQUENCES (1. GENERAL INFORMATION (i) APPLICANT: Cornell Research Foundation, (ii) TITLE OF THE INVENTION: IMPROVEMENT OF PLANT GROWTH (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 10 (iv) CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS: (A) RECIPIENT: Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle LLP (B) STREET: Clinton Square, P.O. Box 1051 (C) CITY: Rochester (D) STATE: New York (E) COUNTRY: E.U.A. (F) POSTAL AREA: 14603 (v) READILY FORM OF THE COMPUTER: (A) TYPE OF MEDIA: Flexible disk (B) COMPUTER: IBM Compatible PC (OR OPERATING SYSTEM: PC-DOS / MS-DOS (D) SOFTWARE: Patentln Relay # 1.0, Version # 1.30 (vi) CURRENT APPLICATION DATA: (A) NUMBER OF APPLICANT: (B) DATE OF PRESENTATION: (C) CLASSIFICATION: (vii) PREVIOUS APPLICATION DATA: (A) APPLICATION NUMBER: US 60 / 036,048 (B) SUBMISSION DATE: JANUARY 27, 1997 (viii) ATTORNEY / INFORMATION AGENT: (A) NAME: Goldman, Michael L. (B) REGISTRATION NUMBER: 30,727 (C) REFERENCE / FILE NUMBER: 19603/1502 (ix) TELECOMMUNICATION INFORMATION: (A) TELEPHONE: (716) 263-1304 (B) TELEFAX: (716) 263-1600 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 1: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 338 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: protein (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 1: Met Gln He Thr He Lys Wing His He Gly Gly Asp Leu Gly Val Ser 1 5 10 15 Gly Leu Gly Wing Gln Gly Leu Lys Gly Leu Asn Being Wing Wing Being Ser 20 25 30 Leu Gly Ser Ser Val Asp Lys Leu Ser Ser Thr He Asp Lys Leu Thr 35 40 45 Be Wing Leu Thr Ser Met Met Phe Gly Gly Wing Leu Wing Gln Gly Leu 50 55 60 Gly Ala Ser Ser Lys Gly Leu Gly Met Ser Asn Gln Leu Gly Gln Ser 65 70 75 80 Phe Gly Asn Gly Wing Gln Gly Wing Being Asn Leu Leu Being Val Pro Lys 85 90 95 Ser Gly Gly Asp Ala Leu Ser Lys Met Phe Asp Lys Ala Leu Asp Asp 100 105 110 Leu Leu Gly His Asp Thr Val Thr Lys Leu Thr Asn Gln Ser Asn Gln 115 120 125 Leu Ala Asn Ser Met Leu Asn Ala Ser Gln Met Thr Gln Gly Asn Met 130 135 140 Asn Ala Phe Gly Ser Gly Val Asn Asn Ala Leu Ser Ser He Leu Gly 145 150 155 160 Asn Gly Leu Gly Gln Being Met Being Gly Phe Being Gln Pro Being Leu Gly 165 170 175 Wing Gly Gly Leu Gln Gly Leu Ser Gly Wing Gly Wing Phe Asn Gln Leu 180 185 190 Gly Asn Wing He Gly Met Gly Val Gly Gln Asn Ala Wing Leu Ser Wing 195 200 205 Leu Ser Asn Val Ser Thr His Val Asp Gly Asn Asn Arg His Phe Val 210 215 220 Asp Lys Glu Asp Arg Gly Met Wing Lys Glu He Gly Gln Phe Met Asp 225 230 235 240 Gln Tyr Pro Glu He Phe Gly Lys Pro Glu Tyr Gln Lys Asp Gly Trp 245 250 255 Ser Ser Pro Lys Thr Asp Asp Lys Ser Trp Wing Lys Wing Leu Ser Lys 260 265 270 Pro Asp Asp Asp Gly Met Thr Gly Ala As Met Asp Lys Phe Arg Gln 275 280 285 Wing Met Gly Met He Lys Ser Wing Val Wing Gly Asp Thr Gly Asn Thr 290 295 300 Asn Leu Asn Leu Arg Gly Wing Gly Gly Wing Being Leu Gly He Asp Wing 305 310 315 320 Gly Asp Lys He Ala Asn Met Ser Leu Gly Lys Leu Ala 325 330 335 Asn Ala (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 2: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 2141 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 2: CGATTTTACC CGGGTGAACG TGCTATGACC GACAGCATCA CGGTATTCGA CACCGTTACG 60 GCGTTTATGG CCGCGATGAA CCGGCATCAG GCGGCGCGCT GGTCGCCGCA ATCCGGCGTC 120 GATCTGGTAT TTCAGTTTGG GGACACCGGG CGTGAACTCA TGATGCAGAT TCAGCCGGGG 180 CAGCAATATC CCGGCATGTT GCGCACGCTG CTCGCTCGTC GTTATCAGCA GGCGGCAGAG 240 TGCGATGGCT GCCATCTGTG CCTGAACGGC AGCGATGTAT TGATCCTCTG GTGGCCGCTG 300 CCGTCGGATC CCGGCAGTTA TCCGCAGGTG ATCGAACGTT TGTTTGAACT GGCGGGAATG 360 ACGTTGCCGT CGCTATCCAT AQCACCGACG GCGCGTCCGC AGACAGGGAA CGGACGCGCC 420 CGATCATTAA GATAAAGGCG GCTTTTTTTA TTGCAAAACG GTAACGGTGA GGAACCGTTT 480 CACCGTCGGC GTCACTCAGT AACAAGTATC CATCATGATG CC ACATCGG GATCGGCGTG 540 GGCATCCGTT GCAGATACTT TTGCGAACAC CTGACATGAA TGAGGAAACG AAATTATGCA 600 AATTACGATC AAAGCGCACA TCGGCGGTGA TTTGGGCGTC TCCGGTCTGG GGCTGGGTGC 660 TCAGGGACTG AAAGGACTGA ATTCCGCGGC TTCATCGCTG GGTTCCAGCG TGGATAAACT 720 GAGCAGCACC ATCGATAAGT TGACCTCCGC GCTGACTTCG ATGATGTTTG GCGGCGCGCT 780 GGCGCAGGGG CTGGGCGCCA GCTCGAAGGG GCTGGGGATG AGCAATCAAC TGGGCCAGTC 840 TTTCGGCAAT GGCGCGCAGG GTGCGAGCAA CCTGCTATCC GTACCGAAAT CCGGCGGCGA 900 TGCGTTGTCA AAAATGTTTG ATAAAGCGCT GGACGATCTG CTGGGTCATG ACACCGTGAC 960 CAAGCTGACT AACCAGAGCA ACCAACTGGC TAATTCAATG CTGAACGCCA GCCAGATGAC 1020 CCAGGGTAAT ATGAATGCGT TCGGCAGCGG TGTGAACAAC GCACTGTCGT CCATTCTCGG 1080 CAACGGTCTC GGCCAGTCGA TGAGTGGCTT CTCTCAGCCT TCTCTGGGGG CAGGCGGCTT 1140 GCAGGGCCTG AGCGGCGCGG GTGCATTCAA CCAGTTGGGT AATGCCATCG GCATGGGCGT 1200 GGGGCAGAAT GCTGCGCTGA GTGCGTTGAG TAACGTCAGC ACCCACGTAG ACGGTAACAA 1260 CCGCCACTTT GTAGATAAAG AAGATCGCGG CATGGCGAAA GAGATCGGCC AGTTTATGGA 1320 TCAGTATCCG GAAATATTCG GTAAACCGGA ATACCAGAAA GATGGCTGGA GTTCGCCGAA 1380 GACGGACGAC AAATCCTGGG CTAAAGCGCT GAGTAAACCG GATGATGACG GTATGACCGG 1440 CGCCAGCATG GACAAATTCC GTCAGGCGAT GGGTATGATC AAAAGCGCGG TGGCGGGTGA 1500 TACCGGCAAT ACCAACCTGA ACCTGCGTGG CGCGGGCGGT GCATCGCTGG GTATCGATGC 1560 GGCTGTCGTC GGCGATAAAA TAGCCAACAT GTCGCTGGGT AAGCTGGCCA ACGCCTGATA 1620 ATCTGTGCTG GCCTGATAAA GCGGAAACGA AAAAAGAGAC GGGGAAGCCT GTCTCTTTTC 1680 TTATTATGCG GTTTATGCGG TTACCTGGAC CGGTTAATCA TCGTCATCGA TCTGGTACAA 1740 ACGCACATTT TCCCGTTCAT TCGCGTCGTT ACGCGCCACA ATCGCGATGG CATCTTCCTC 1800 GTCGCTCAGA TTGCGCGGCT GATGGGGAAC GCCGGGTGGA ATATAGAGAA ACTCGCCGGC 1860 CAGATGGAGA CACGTCTGCG ATAAATCTGT GCCGTAACGT GTTTCTATCC GCCCCTTTAG_1920_CAGATAGATT GCGGTTTCGT AATCAACATG GTAATGCGGT TCCGCCTGTG CGCCGGCCGG 1980 GATCACCACA ATATTCATAG AAAGCTGTCT TGCACCTACC GTATCGCGGG AGATACCGAC 2040 AAAATAGGGC AGTTTTTGCG TGGTATCCGT GGGGTGTTCC GGCCTGACAA TCTTGAGTTG 2100 GTTCGTCATC ATCTTTCTCC ATCTGGGCGA CCTGATCGGT T 2141 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 3: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 403 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: protein (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 3: Met Ser Leu Asn Thr Ser Gly Leu Gly Ala Ser Thr Met Gln He Ser 1 5 10 15 He Gly Gly Wing Gly Gly Asn Asn Gly Leu Leu Gly Thr Being Arg Gln 20 25 30 Asn Ala Gly Leu Gly Gly Asn Be Ala Leu Gly Leu Gly Gly Gly Asn 35 40 45 Gln Asn Asp Thr Val Asn Gln Leu Wing Gly Leu Leu Thr Gly Met 50 55 60 Met Met Met Met Met Met Gly Gly Gly Gly Leu Met Gly Gly Gly Leu 65 70 75 80 Gly Gly Gly Leu Gly Gly Asn Glu Lely Gly Gly Be Gly Glu Leu Glu 85 90 95 Gly Leu Ser Asn Ala Leu Asn Asp Met Leu Gly Gly Ser Leu Asn Thr 100 105 110 Leu Gly Ser Lys Gly Gly Asn Asn Thr Thr Ser Thr Thr Asn Ser Pro 115 120 125 Leu Asp Gln Wing Leu Gly He Asn Ser Thr Ser Gln Asn Asp Asp Ser 130 135 140 Thr Ser Gly Thr Asp Ser Thr Ser Asp Ser Ser Asp Pro Met Gln Gln 145 150 155 160 Leu Leu Lys Met Phe Ser Glu He Met Gln Ser Leu Phe Gly Asp Gly 165 170 175 Gln Asp Gly Thr Gln Gly Be Ser Gly Gly Lys Gln Pro Thr Glu 180 185 190 Gly Glu Gln Asn Wing Tyr Lys Lys Gly Val Thr Asp Wing Leu Ser Gly 195 200 205 Leu Met Gly Asn Gly Leu Ser Gln Leu Leu Gly Asn Gly Gly Leu Gly 210 215 220 Gly Gly Gln Gly Gly Asn Wing Gly Thr Gly Leu Asp Gly Ser Ser Leu 225 230 235 240 Gly Gly Lys Gly Leu Gln Asn Leu Ser Gly Pro Val Asp Tyr Gln Gln 245 250 255 Leu Gly Asn Wing Val Gly Thr Gly He Gly Met Lys Wing Gly He Gln 260 265 270 Ala Leu Asn Asp He Gly Thr His Arg His Being Ser Thr Arg Ser Phe 275 280 285 Val Asn Lys Gly Asp Arg Ala Met Ala Lys Glu He Gly Gln Phe Met 290 295 300 Asp Gln Tyr Pro Glu Val Phe Gly Lys Pro Gln Tyr Gln Lys Gly Pro 305 310 315 320 Gly Gln Glu Val Lys Thr Asp Asp Lys Ser Trp Ala Lys Ala Leu Ser 325 330 335 Lys Pro Asp Asp Asp Gly Met Thr Pro Wing Ser Met Glu Gln Phe Asn 340 345 350 Lys Ala Lys Gly Met He Lys Arg Pro Met Ala Gly Asp Thr Gly Asn 355 360 365 Gly Asn Leu Gln Wing Arg Gly Wing Gly Gly Being Ser Leu Gly He Asp 370 375 380 Wing Met Met Wing Gly Asp Wing He Asn Asn Met Wing Leu Gly Lys Leu 385 390 395 400 Gly Ala Ala (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 4: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 1288 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: genomic (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 4 AAGCTTCGGC ATGGCACGTT TGACCGTTGG GTCGGCAGGG TACGTTTGAA TTATTCATAA 60 GAGGAATACG TTATGAGTCT GAATACAAGT GGGCTGGGAG CGTCAACGAT GCAAATTTCT 120 ATCGGCGGTG CGGGCGGAAA TAACGGGTTG CTGGGTACCA GTCGCCAGAA TGCTGGGTTG 180 GGTGGCAATT CTGCACTGGG GCTGGGCGGC GGTAATCAAA ATGATACCGT CAATCAGCTG 240 GCTGGCTTAC TCACCGGCAT GATGATGATG ATGAGCATGA TGGGCGGTGG TGGGCTGATG 300 GGCGGTGGCT TAGGCGGTGG CTTAGGTAAT GGCTTGGGTG GCTCAGGTGG CCTGGGCGAA 360 GGACTGTCGA ACGCGCTGAA CGATATGTTA GGCGGTTCGC TGAACACGCT GGGCTCGAAA 420 GGCGGCAACA ATACCACTTC AACAACAAAT TCCCCGCTGG ACCAGGCGCT GGGTATTAAC 480 TCAACGTCCC AAAACGACGA TTCCACCTCC GGCACAGATT CCACCTCAGA CTCCAGCGAC 540 CCGATGCAGC AGCTGCTGAA GATGTTCAGC GAGATAATGC AAAGCCTGTT TGGTGATGGG 600 CAAGATGGCA CCCAGGGCAG TTCCTCTGGG GGCAAGCAGC CGACCGAAGG CGAGCAGAAC 660 GCCTATAAAA AAGGAGTCAC TGATGCGCTG TCGGGCCTGA TGGGTAATGG TCTGAGCCAG 720 CTCCTTGGCA ACGGGGGACT GGGAGGTGGT CAGGGCGGTA ATGCTGGCAC GGGTCTTGAC 780 GGTTCGTCGC TGGGCGGCAA AGGGCTGCAA AACCTGAGCG GGCCGGTGGA CTACCAGCAG 840 TTAGGTAACG CCGTGGGTAC CGGTATCGGT ATGAAAGCGG GCATTCAGGC GCTGAATGAT 900 ATCGGTACGC ACAGGCACAG TTCAACCCGT TCTTTCGTCA ATAAAGGCGA TCGGGCGATG 960 GCGAAGGAAA TCGGTCAGTT CATGGACCAG TATCCTGAGG TGTTTGGCAA GCCGCAGTAC 1020 CAGAAAGGCC CGGGTCAGGA GGTGAAAACC GATGACAAAT CATGGGCAAA AGCACTGAGC 1080 AAGCCAGATG ACGACGGAAT GACACCAGCC AGTATGGAGC AGTTCAACAA AGCCAAGGGC 1140 ATGATCAAAA GGCCCATGGC GGGTGATACC GGCAACGGCA ACCTGCAGGC ACGCGGTGCC 1200 GGTGGTTCTT CGCTGGGTAT TGATGCCATG ATGGCCGGTG ATGCCATTAA CAATATGGCA 1260 CTTGGCAAGC TGGGCGCGGC TTAAGCTT 1288 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 5: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 341 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: protein (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 5: Met Gln Ser Leu Ser Leu Asn Ser Ser Leu Gln Thr Pro Ala met 1 5 10 15 Ala Leu Val Leu Val Arg Pro Glu Ala Glu Thr Thr Gly Ser Thr Ser 20 25 30 Be Lys Ala Leu Gln Glu Val Val Val Lys Leu Ala Glu Glu Leu Met 35 40 45 Arg Asn Gly Gln Leu Asp Asp Ser Ser Pro Leu Gly Lys Leu Leu Ala 50 55 60 Lys Ser Met Wing Wing Asp Gly Lys Wing Gly Gly Gly He Glu Asp Val 65 70 75 80 He Ala Ala Leu Asp Lys Leu He His Glu Lys Leu Gly Asp Asn Phe 85 90 95 Gly Wing Being Wing Asp Being Wing Being Gly Thr Gly Gln Gln Asp Leu Met 100 105 110 Thr Gln Val Leu Asn Gly Leu Wing Lys Ser Met Leu Asp Asp Leu Leu 115 120 125 Thr Lys Gln Asp Gly Gly Thr Ser Phe Ser Glu Asp Asp Met Pro Met 130 135 140 Leu Asn Lys He Wing Gln Phe Met Asp Asp Asn Pro Wing Gln Phe Pro 145 150 155 160 Lys Pro Asp Ser Gly Ser Trp Val Asn Glu Leu Lys Glu Asp Asn Phe 165 170 175 Leu Asp Gly Asp Glu Thr Wing Wing Phe Arg Be Wing Leu Asp He He 180 185 190 Gly Gln Gln Leu Gly Asn Gln Gln Ser Asp Wing Gly Ser Leu Wing Gly 195 200 205 Thr Gly Gly Gly Leu Gly Thr Pro Ser Ser Phe Ser Asn Asn Ser Ser 210 215 220 Val Met Gly Asp Pro Leu He Asp Wing Asn Thr Gly Pro Gly Asp Ser 225 230 235 240 Gly Asn Thr Arg Gly Glu Wing Gly Gln Leu He Gly Glu Leu He Asp 245 250 255 Arg Gly Leu Gln Ser Val Leu Ala Gly Gly Gly Leu Gly Thr Pro Val 260 265 270 Asn Thr Pro Gln Thr Gly Thr Ser Wing Asn Gly Gly Gln Ser Wing Gln 275 280 285 Asp Leu Asp Gln Leu Leu Gly Gly Leu Leu Leu Lys Gly Leu Glu Wing 290 295 300 Thr Leu Lys Asp Wing Gly Gln Thr Gly Thr Asp Val Gln Ser Ser Wing 305 310 315 320 Ala Gln He Ala Thr Leu Leu Val Ser Thr Leu Leu Gln Gly Thr Arg 325 330 335 Asn Gln Ala Ala Wing 340 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO 6: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 1026 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO 6 ATGCAGAGTC TCAGTCTTAA CAGCAGCTCG CTGCAAACCC CGGCAATGGC CCTTGTCCTG 60 GTACGTCCTG AAGCCGAGAC GACTGGCAGT ACGTCGAGCA AGGCGCTTCA GGAAGTTGTC 120 GTGAAGCTGG CCGAGGAACT GATGCGCAAT GGTCAACTCG ACGACAGCTC GCCATTGGGA 180 AAACTGTTGG CCAAGTCGAT GGCCGCAGAT GGCAAGGCGG GCGGCGGTAT TGAGGATGTC 240 ATCGCTGCGC TGGACAAGCT GATCCATGAA AAGCTCGGTG ACAACTTCGG CGCGTCTGCG 300 GACAGCGCCT CGGGTACCGG ACAGCAGGAC CTGATGACTC AGGTGCTCAA TGGCCTGGCC 360 AAGTCGATGC TCGATGATCT TCTGACCAAG CAGGATGGCG GGACAAGCTT CTCCGAAGAC 420 GATATGCCGA TGCTGAACAA GATCGCGCAG TTCATGGATG ACAATCCCGC ACAGTTTCCC 480 AAGCCGGACT CGGGCTCCTG GGTGAACGAA CTCAAGGAAG ACAACTTCCT TGATGGCGAC 540 GAAACGGCTG CGTTCCGTTC GGCACTCGAC ATCATTGGCC AGCAACTGGG TAATCAGCAG 600 AGTGACGCTG GCAGTCTGGC AGGGACGGGT GGAGGTCTGG GCACTCCGAG CAGTTTTTCC 660 AACAACTCGT CCGTGATGGG TGATCCGCTG ATCGACGCCA ATACCGGTCC CGGTGACAGC 720 GGCAATACCC GTGGTGAAGC GGGGCAACTG ATCGGCGAGC TTATCGACCG TGGCCTGCAA 780 TCGGTATTGG CCGGTGGTGG ACTGGGCACA CCCGTAAACA CCCCGCAGAC CGGTACGTCG 840 GCGAATGGCG GACAGTCCGC TCAGGATCTT GATCAGTTGC TGGGCGGCTT GCTGCTCAAG 900 GGCCTGGAGG CAACGCTCAA GGATGCCGGG CAAACAGGCA CCGACGTGCA GTCGAGCGCT 960 GCGCAAATCG CCACCTTGCT GGTCAGTACG CTGCTGCAAG GCACCCGCAA TCAGGCTGCA 1020 GCCTGA 1026 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 7 (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 344 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: protein (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 7: Met Ser Val Gly Asn He Gln Ser Pro Ser Asn Leu Pro Gly Leu Gln 1 5 10 15 Asn Leu Asn Leu Asn Thr Asn Thr Asn Ser Gln Gln Ser Gly Gln Ser 20 25 30 Val Gln Asp Leu He Lys Gln Val Glu Lys Asp He Leu Asn He He 35 40 45 Ala Ala Leu Val Gln Lys Ala Ala Gln Be Ala Gly Gly Asn Thr Gly 50 55 60 Asn Thr Gly Asn Ala Pro Ala Lys Asp Gly Asn Ala Asn Ala Gly Ala 65 70 75 80 Asn Asp Pro Ser Lys Asn Asp Pro Ser Lys Ser Gln Ala Pro Gln Ser 85 90 95 Wing Asn Lys Thr Gly Asn Val Asp Asp Wing Asn Asn Gln Asp Pro Met 100 105 110 Gln Ala Leu Met Gln Leu Leu Glu Asp Leu Val Lys Leu Leu Lys Wing 115 120 125 Ala Leu His Met Gln Gln Pro Gly Gly Asn Asp Lys Gly Asn Gly Val 130 135 140 Gly Gly Wing Asn Gly Wing Lys Gly Wing Gly Gly Gln Gly Gly Leu Wing 145 150 155 160 Glu Ala Leu Gln Glu He Glu Gln He Leu Ala Gln Leu Gly Gly Gly 165 170 175 Gly Wing Gly Wing Gly Gly Wing Gly Gly Gly Val Gly Gly Wing Gly Gly 180 185 190 Wing Asp Gly Gly Ser Gly Wing Gly Wing Wing Gly Wing Wing Asn Gly Wing 195 200 205 Asp Gly Gly Asn Gly Val Asn Gly Asn Gln Wing Asn Gly Pro Gln Asn 210 215 220 Wing Gly Asp Val Asn Gly Wing Asn Gly Wing Asp Asp Gly Ser Glu Asp 225 230 235 240 Gln Gly Gly Leu Thr Gly Val Leu Gln Lys Leu Met Lys He Leu Asn 245 250 255 Ala Leu Val Gln Met Met Gln Gln Gly Gly Leu Gly Gly Gly Asn Gln 260 265 270 Wing Gln Gly Gly Ser Lys Gly Wing Gly Asn Wing Ser Pro Wing Ser Gly 275 280 285 Wing Asn Pro Gly Wing Asn Gln Pro Gly Ser Wing Asp Asp Gln Ser Ser 290 295 300 Gly Gln Asn Asn Leu Gln Ser Gln He Met Asp Val Val Lys Glu Val 305 310 315 320 Val Gln He Leu Gln Gln Met Leu Ala Wing Gln Asn Gly Gly Ser Gln 325 330 335 Gln Ser Thr Ser Thr Gln Pro Met 340 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 8: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 1035 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: simple (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: DNA (genomic) (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 8: ATGTCAGTCG GAAACATCCA GAGCCCGTCG AACCTCCCGG GTCTGCAGAA CCTGAACCTC 60 AACACCAACA CCAACAGCCA GCAATCGGGC CAGTCCGTGC AAGACCTGAT CAAGCAGGTC 120 GAGAAGGACA TCCTCAACAT CATCGCAGCC CTCGTGCAGA AGGCCGCACA GTCGGCGGGC 180 GGCAACACCG GTAACACCGG CAACGCGCCG GCGAAGGACG GCAATGCCAA CGCGGGCGCC 240 AACGACCCGA GCAAGAACGA CCCGAGCAAG AGCCAGGCTC CGCAGTCGGC CAACAAGACC 300 GGCAACGTCG ACGACGCCAA CAACCAGGAT CCGATGCAAG CGCTGATGCA GCTGCTGGAA 360 GACCTGGTGA AGCTGCTGAA GGCGGCCCTG CACATGCAGC AGCCCGGCGG CAATGACAAG 420 GGCAACGGCG TGGGCGGTGC CAACGGCGCC AAGGGTGCCG GCGGCCAGGG CGGCCTGGCC 480 GAAGCGCTGC AGGAGATCGA GCAGATCCTC GCCCAGCTCG GCGGCGGCGG TGCTGGCGCC 540 GGCGGCGCGG GTGGCGGTGT CGGCGGTGCT GGTGGCGCGG ATGGCGGCTC CGGTGCGGGT 600 GGCGCAGGCG GTGCGAACGG CGCCGACGGC GGCAATGGCG TGAACGGCAA CCAGGCGAAC 660 GGCCCGCAGA ACGCAGGCGA TGTCAACGGT GCCAACGGCG CGGATGACGG CAGCGAAGAC 720 CAGGGCGGCC TCACCGGCGT GCTGCAAAAG CTGATGAAGA TCCTGAACGC GCTGGTGCAG 780 ATGATGCAGC AAGGCGGCCT CGGCGGCGGC AACCAGGCGC AGGGCGGCTC GAAGGGTGCC 840 GGCAACGCCT CGCCGGCTTC CGGCGCGAAC CCGGGCGCGA ACCAGCCCGG TTCGGCGGAT 900 GATCAATCGT CCGGCCAGAA CAATCTGCAA TCCCAGATCA TGGATGTGGT GAAGGAGGTC 960 GTCCAGATCC TGCAGCAGAT GCTGGCGGCG CAGAACGGCG GCAGCCAGCA GTCCACCTCG 1020 ACGCAGCCGA TGTAA 1035 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 9: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 26 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: protein (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 9: Thr Leu He Glu Leu Met He Val Val Ala He He Ala Ala Leu Ala 1 5 10 15 Ala He Ala Leu Pro Ala Tyr Gln Asp Tyr 20 25 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 10: (i) CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEQUENCE: (A) LENGTH: 20 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) TYPE OF HEBRA: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) TYPE OF MOLECULE: protein (xi) DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE: SEC. FROM IDENT. NO: 10: Be Ser Gln Gln Ser Pro Be Wing Gly Ser Glu Gln Gln Leu Asp Gln 1 5 10 15 Leu Leu Ala Met 20 It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property:

1. A method for improving the growth of plants, characterized in that it comprises: applying a hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein in a non-infectious manner to a plant or plant seed under effective conditions to improve the growth of the plant or plants that grow the plant seeds.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the hypersensitive response polypeptide or protein corresponds to the derivative of a pathogen that is selected from the group consisting of Erwinia, Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas, Phytophtora and mixtures thereof.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein corresponds to the Erwinia chrysanthemi derivative.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the polypeptide or Hypersensitive response inducing protein corresponds to the Erwinia mylovora derivative.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein corresponds to the Pseudomonas syringae derivative.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the polypeptide or the hypersensitive response-inducing protein corresponds to the Pseudomonas solanacearum derivative.

The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein corresponds to the Xanthomonas campestris derivative.

The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing protein or polypeptide corresponds to a Phytophthora species.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plant is selected from the group consisting of dicotyledons and monocots.

The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the plant is selected from the group consisting of rice, wheat, barley, rye, cotton, sunflower, peanut, corn, potato, beet, bean, pea, achichoria, lettuce, endive, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, radish, spinach, onion, garlic, eggplant, pepper, celery, carrot, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, cucumber, apple, pear, melon, strawberry, grape, raspberry, pineapple, soybeans, tobacco, tomato, and sugar cane.

The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the plant is selected from the group consisting of rose, Saintpaulia, petunia, pelargonium, poinsettia, chrysanthemum, carnation and zinnia.

12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plants are treated during the application which is carried out by spraying, injection or abrasion of leaves at the moment close to the moment in which the application takes place.

The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plant seeds are treated during the application which is carried out by spraying, injecting, coating, spraying or dipping.

The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing protein or polypeptide is applied to plants or plant seeds as a composition further comprising a carrier.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the carrier is Select from the group consisting of water, aqueous solutions, suspensions and powders.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the composition contains more than 0.5 nM of the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein.

The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the composition further comprises additives that are selected from the group consisting of fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide, nematicide and mixtures thereof.

18. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein is in isolated form.

The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein is applied as a bacterium which causes no disease and is transformed with a gene encoding the hypersensitive response-inducing protein or polypeptide.

The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein is applied as a bacterium which causes disease in some areas of plants, but is not subject to application, and contains a gene encoding the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein.

21. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the application causes infiltration of the polypeptide or protein in the plant.

22. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the application produces an increase in the height of the plant.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the plants are treated during the application.

24. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the plant seeds are treated during application, the method further comprising: planting the seeds treated with the hypersensitive response inducer in a natural or artificial soil and propagating the plants from of the seeds planted in the soil.

25. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plant seeds are treated during the application to increase the quantities of plant seeds which germinate, the method further comprising: plant the seeds treated with the hypersensitive response-inducing protein or polypeptide in a natural or artificial soil, and propagate the plants of the seeds planted in the soil.

26. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the application produces higher performance.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that the plants are treated during the application.

The method according to claim 26, characterized in that the plant seeds are treated during application, the method further comprising: planting the treated seeds with the hypersensitive response inducing protein or polypeptide in a natural or artificial soil, and propagating the plants of the seeds planted in the soil.

29. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the application produces early germination.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that the plant seeds are treated during application, the method is characterized in that it further comprises: planting the treated seeds with the hypersensitive response inducing protein or polypeptide in natural or artificial soil, and propagating the plants of the seeds planted in soil.

31. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that the application affects the earliest maturation.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that the plants are treated during the application.

33. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that the plant seeds are treated during the application, the method further comprising: planting the treated seeds with the hypersensitive response inducing protein or polypeptide in natural or artificial soil, and propagating the seed plants planted in soil.

34. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the plant seeds are treated during application, the method further comprising: plant the seeds treated with the protein or polypeptide inducing hypersensitive response in natural or artificial soil, and propagate the plants from the seeds planted in soil.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that it further comprises: applying a hypersensitive response-inducing protein or polypeptide in a non-infectious manner to the propagated plants to further enhance the growth.

36. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the application affects the early coloration of the fruit and the plant.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that the plant seeds are treated during the application, the method further comprising: planting the seeds treated with the hypersensitive response inducing protein or polypeptide in the natural or artificial soil; and propagate the plants of the seeds planted in the soil.

38. A method for improving the growth of plants, characterized in that it comprises: providing a transgenic plant or seeds of plants transformed with a DNA molecule that codes for a hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein, and growing the transgenic plants or transgenic plants produced from the seeds of the transgenic plant under effective conditions to improve the growth of the plant.

39. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein corresponds to the derivative of a pathogen that is selected from the group consisting of Erwinia, Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas, Phytophtora and mixtures thereof.

40. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein corresponds to the Erwinia chrysanthemi derivative.

41. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein corresponds to the Erwinia amylovora derivative.

42. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein corresponds to the Pseudomonas syringae derivative.

43. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that the polypeptide or hypersensitive response-inducing protein corresponds to the Pseudomonas solanacearum derivative.

44. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that the polypeptide or the hypersensitive response-inducing protein corresponds to the Xanthomonas campestris derivative.

45. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein corresponds to a species of Phytophthora.

46. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that the plant is selected from the group consisting of dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous.

47. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that the plant is selected from the group consisting of rice, wheat, barley, rye, cotton, sunflower, peanut, corn, potato, beet, bean, peas, achichoria, lettuce, endive, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, radish, spinach, onion, garlic, eggplant, pepper, celery, carrot, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, cucumber, apple, pear, melon, strawberry, grape, raspberry, pineapple, kidney bean soy, tobacco, tomato, and sugar cane.

48. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that the plant is selected from the group consisting of rose, Saintpaulia, petunia, pelargonium, poinsettia, chrysanthemum, carnation and zinnia.

49. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that a transgenic plant is provided.

50. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that a transgenic plant seed is provided.

51. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that it further comprises: applying the hypersensitive response-inducing polypeptide or protein to the propagated plants to improve the growth of the plant.