Patent ID: 8293975

Claim:
A method of controlling expression of a product of an endogenous gene of interest which affects plant fertility phenotype, expressed in a plant cell of a first species, comprising introducing into said cell: (a) a first exogenous nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a hpRNA molecule operably linked to a first promoter, wherein the hpRNA comprises a nucleotide sequence of the native promoter of said endogenous gene of interest, and wherein, upon expression, the hpRNA suppresses expression of said gene of interest; and (b) a second exogenous nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide encoded by said gene of interest, operably linked to a second promoter, wherein said second promoter is the native promoter of a homolog of the gene of interest in a second species, wherein, upon expression of said second heterologous nucleic acid molecule, the plant fertility phenotype is restored.