Patent ID: 9580723
Date: 2017-02-28
CPC Classifications: C12N,C12Y

Claim:
1. A genetically modified apple plant, or a cell, seed, seedling, part, tissue, fruit or progeny thereof, said plant having sufficiently reduced total Polyphenol Oxidase (PPO) activity relative to a wild type of said plant to reduce browning in the fruit of said plant relative to said wild type, wherein the reduced total PPO activity results from a reduction in expression of at least four PPO genes in said plant, or in said cell, seedling, part, tissue, fruit, or progeny thereof, relative to said wildtype, said at least four PPO genes comprising: a first PPO gene encoding a PPO isoenzyme comprising the amino acid sequence set forth as SEQ ID NO: 19; a second PPO gene encoding a PPO isoenzyme comprising the amino acid sequence set forth as SEQ ID NO: 21; a third PPO gene encoding a PPO isoenzyme comprising the amino acid sequence set forth as SEO ID NO: 23; and a fourth PPO gene encoding a PPO isoenzyme comprising the amino acid sequence set forth as SEQ ID NO: 25; and wherein said reduction of gene expression is obtained by altering or disrupting a coding sequence or regulatory element of, or by reducing levels of mRNA transcripts of each of said at least four PRO genes, wherein reducing levels of mRNA transcripts is by co-suppression, antisense expression, small hairpin (shRNA) expression, interfering RNA (RNAi) expression, double stranded (dsRNA) expression, inverted repeat dsRNA expression, micro interfering RNA (miRNA), or simultaneous expression of sense and antisense sequences, of said at least four PPO genes or a combination thereof.