Patent ID: 6846969

Claim:
A process for the production of plants with improved growth characteristics, which comprises the following steps: a) transferring and integrating a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide comprising an E. coli ammonium-specific asparagine synthetase, type A, linked to a chioroplast leader sequence for import of the asparagine synthetase into chloroplasts or plastids of a plant cell, wherein said nucleic acid is operatively linked to a regulatory sequence for expression in said plant cell; b) transferring and integrating a nucleic acid for expression of an antisense chloroplastic glutamine synthetase RNA comprising transferring and integrating an anti-sense chloroplastic glutamine synthetase nucleic acid operatively linked to a regulatory sequence for expression of said anti-sense RNA in said cell to make a transformed cell; and c) regenerating intact and fertile plants from the transformed cells, thereby producing plants with improved growth characteristics.