(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT) (19) World Intellectual Property Organization International Bureau (10) International Publication Number (43) International Publication Date χ Τ It Λ ί 22 September 2011 (22.09.2011) 2U11/1143U5 Al (51) International Patent Classification: (74) Agent: POPP, Andreas; BASF SE, Global Intellectual C12N 15/82 (2006.01) C12N 5/04 (2006.01) Property, GVX/B - C 006, 67056 Ludwigshafen (DE). A01H 1/00 (2006.01) C12N 5/14 (2006.01) (81) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every C12N 15/05 (2006.01) kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM, (21) International Application Number: AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BR, BW, BY, BZ, PCT/IB201 1/05 1122 CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, DO, DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT, (22) International Filing Date: HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KM, KN, KP, 17 March 201 1 (17.03.201 1) KR, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD, (25) Filing Language: English ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI, NO, NZ, OM, PE, PG, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, RU, SC, SD, (26) Publication Langi English SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TH, TJ, TM, TN, TR, (30) Priority Data: TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, ZA, ZM, ZW. 10156949.9 18 March 2010 (18.03.2010) EP (84) Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every 61/3 15092 18 March 2010 (18.03.2010) US kind of regional protection available): ARIPO (BW, GH, 10160901 .4 23 April 2010 (23.04.2010) EP GM, KE, LR, LS, MW, MZ, NA, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG, 61/3271 19 23 April 2010 (23.04.2010) US ZM, ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, 10167179.0 24 June 2010 (24.06.2010) EP TM), European (AL, AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK, 61/358023 24 June 2010 (24.06.2010) US EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, (71) Applicant (for all designated States except US): BASF LV, MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, PLANT SCIENCE COMPANY GMBH [DE/DE]; SM, TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, 67056 Ludwigshafen (DE). GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG). (71) Applicant (for MN only): BASF (CHINA) COMPANY Published: LIMITED [CN/CN]; 300 Jiangxinsha Road, Shanghai, — with international search report (Art. 21(3)) 2001 37 (CN). — before the expiration of the time limit for amending the (72) Inventors; and claims and to be republished in the event of receipt of (75) Inventors/ Applicants (for US only): HATZFELD, Yves amendments (Rule 48.2(h)) [FR/FR]; rue des Dondaines 18C, F-59000 Lille (FR). — with sequence listing part of description (Rule 5.2(a)) REUZEAU, Christophe [FR/FR]; rue de Cimetiere, F-24350 La Chapelle Gonaguet (FR). (54) Title: PLANTS HAVING ENHANCED YIELD-RELATED TRAITS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME (57) Abstract: The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology and concerns a method for enhancing vari- ous economically important yield-related traits in plants. More specifically, the present invention concerns a method for enhancing —- yield-related traits in plants by modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a CLE-type 2 polypeptide or a Bax In- hibitor-1 (BI-1) polypeptide or a SEC22 polypeptide. The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding a CLE-type 2 polypeptide or a BI- 1 polypeptide or a SEC22 polypeptide, which plants have enhanced yield-related traits compared with control plants. The invention also provides constructs comprising CLE-type 2-encoding nucleic acids, useful in performing the methods of the invention. The invention also provides novel BI-1 -encoding nucleic acids and con- structs comprising the same, useful in performing the methods of the invention. The invention also provides novel SEC22-encod- ing nucleic acids and constructs comprising the same, useful in performing the methods of the invention. Plants having enhanced yield-related traits and a method for making the same The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology and concerns a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants by modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a CLE-type 2 polypeptide. The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding a CLE-type 2 polypeptide, which plants have enhanced yield-related traits relative to corresponding wild type plants or other control plants. The invention also provides constructs useful in the methods of the invention. The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology and concerns a method for enhancing various economically important yield-related traits in plants. More specifically, the present invention concerns a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants by modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a BI-1 polypeptide. The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding a BI-1 polypeptide, which plants have enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants. The invention also provides hitherto unknown BI1 -encoding nucleic acids, and constructs comprising the same, useful in performing the methods of the invention. The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology and concerns a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants by modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a SEC22 polypeptide. The present invention also concerns plants having modulated expression of a nucleic acid encoding a SEC22 polypeptide, which plants have enhanced yield-related traits relative to corresponding wild type plants or other control plants. The invention also provides constructs useful in the methods of the invention. The ever-increasing world population and the dwindling supply of arable land available for agriculture fuels research towards increasing the efficiency of agriculture. Conventional means for crop and horticultural improvements utilise selective breeding techniques to identify plants having desirable characteristics. However, such selective breeding techniques have several drawbacks, namely that these techniques are typically labour intensive and result in plants that often contain heterogeneous genetic components that may not always result in the desirable trait being passed on from parent plants. Advances in molecular biology have allowed mankind to modify the germplasm of animals and plants. Genetic engineering of plants entails the isolation and manipulation of genetic material (typically in the form of DNA or RNA) and the subsequent introduction of that genetic material into a plant. Such technology has the capacity to deliver crops or plants having various improved economic, agronomic or horticultural traits. A trait of particular economic interest is increased yield. Yield is normally defined as the measurable produce of economic value from a crop. This may be defined in terms of quantity and/or quality. Yield is directly dependent on several factors, for example, the number and size of the organs, plant architecture (for example, the number of branches), seed production, leaf senescence and more. Root development, nutrient uptake, stress tolerance and early vigour may also be important factors in determining yield. Optimizing the abovementioned factors may therefore contribute to increasing crop yield. Seed yield is a particularly important trait, since the seeds of many plants are important for human and animal nutrition. Crops such as corn, rice, wheat, canola and soybean account for over half the total human caloric intake, whether through direct consumption of the seeds themselves or through consumption of meat products raised on processed seeds. They are also a source of sugars, oils and many kinds of metabolites used in industrial processes. Seeds contain an embryo (the source of new shoots and roots) and an endosperm (the source of nutrients for embryo growth during germination and during early growth of seedlings). The development of a seed involves many genes, and requires the transfer of metabolites from the roots, leaves and stems into the growing seed. The endosperm, in particular, assimilates the metabolic precursors of carbohydrates, oils and proteins and synthesizes them into storage macromolecules to fill out the grain. Another important trait for many crops is early vigour. Improving early vigour is an important objective of modern rice breeding programs in both temperate and tropical rice cultivars. Long roots are important for proper soil anchorage in water-seeded rice. Where rice is sown directly into flooded fields, and where plants must emerge rapidly through water, longer shoots are associated with vigour. Where drill-seeding is practiced, longer mesocotyls and coleoptiles are important for good seedling emergence. The ability to engineer early vigour into plants would be of great importance in agriculture. For example, poor early vigour has been a limitation to the introduction of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids based on Corn Belt germplasm in the European Atlantic. A further important trait is that of improved abiotic stress tolerance. Abiotic stress is a primary cause of crop loss worldwide, reducing average yields for most major crop plants by more than 50% (Wang et al., Planta 218, 1-14, 2003). Abiotic stresses may be caused by drought, salinity, extremes of temperature, chemical toxicity and oxidative stress. The ability to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stress would be of great economic advantage to farmers worldwide and would allow for the cultivation of crops during adverse conditions and in territories where cultivation of crops may not otherwise be possible. Crop yield may therefore be increased by optimising one of the above-mentioned factors.