Obtaining transgenic tobacco plants expressing conserved regions of the AINTEGUMENTA gene in antisense orientation

The AINTEGUMENTA gene encodes a transcription factor involved in the regulation of growth of both reproductive and vegetative plant organs. Two conserved regions of this gene were amplified and cloned in antisense orientation. The produced genetic constructs were used to obtain transgenic tobacco plants with the AINTEGUMENTA gene expression downregulated. Over half of the transgenic plants were characterized by smaller leaves, stems, and flowers with their shapes and symmetry not changed. The transgenic plants ceased to grow earlier, flowered later, and had fewer flowers than controls. The main reason for smaller organs was shown to be the lower cell number in an organ with cell sizes unchanged. The genetic constructs can be used to obtain transgenic plants of various species with smaller organs.