Isolated polynucleotides, polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing abiotic stress tolerance, biomass and yield of plants (2024)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/311,205 filed on Nov. 15, 2016, which is a National Phase of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/IL2015/050550 having International Filing Date of May 27, 2015 which claims benefit of under 35 USC § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 62/075,940 filed on Nov. 6, 2014 and 62/003,599 filed on May 28, 2014.

The contents of the above applications are all incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein in their entirety.

The ASCII file, entitled 75107SequenceListing.txt, created on Aug. 14, 2018, comprising 28,554,070 bytes, submitted concurrently with the filing of this application is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to isolated polypeptides and polynucleotides, nucleic acid constructs comprising same, transgenic cells comprising same, transgenic plants exogenously expressing same and more particularly, but not exclusively, to methods of using same for increasing yield (e.g., seed yield, oil yield), biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

Yield is affected by various factors, such as, the number and size of the plant organs, plant architecture (for example, the number of branches), grains set length, number of filled grains, vigor (e.g. seedling), growth rate, root development, utilization of water, nutrients (e.g., nitrogen) and fertilizers, and stress tolerance.

Crops such as, corn, rice, wheat, canola and soybean account for over half of total human caloric intake, whether through direct consumption of the seeds themselves or through consumption of meat products raised on processed seeds or forage. Seeds are also a source of sugars, proteins and oils and metabolites used in industrial processes. The ability to increase plant yield, whether through increase dry matter accumulation rate, modifying cellulose or lignin composition, increase stalk strength, enlarge meristem size, change of plant branching pattern, erectness of leaves, increase in fertilization efficiency, enhanced seed dry matter accumulation rate, modification of seed development, enhanced seed filling or by increasing the content of oil, starch or protein in the seeds would have many applications in agricultural and non-agricultural uses such as in the biotechnological production of pharmaceuticals, antibodies or vaccines.

Vegetable or seed oils are the major source of energy and nutrition in human and animal diet. They are also used for the production of industrial products, such as paints, inks and lubricants. In addition, plant oils represent renewable sources of long-chain hydrocarbons which can be used as fuel. Since the currently used fossil fuels are finite resources and are gradually being depleted, fast growing biomass crops may be used as alternative fuels or for energy feedstocks and may reduce the dependence on fossil energy supplies. However, the major bottleneck for increasing consumption of plant oils as bio-fuel is the oil price, which is still higher than fossil fuel. In addition, the production rate of plant oil is limited by the availability of agricultural land and water. Thus, increasing plant oil yields from the same growing area can effectively overcome the shortage in production space and can decrease vegetable oil prices at the same time.

Studies aiming at increasing plant oil yields focus on the identification of genes involved in oil metabolism as well as in genes capable of increasing plant and seed yields in transgenic plants. Genes known to be involved in increasing plant oil yields include those participating in fatty acid synthesis or sequestering such as desaturase [e.g., DELTA6, DELTA12 or acyl-ACP (Ssi2; Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR; arabidopsis (dot) org/), TAIR No. AT2G43710)], OleosinA (TAIR No. AT3G01570) or FAD3 (TAR No. AT2G29980), and various transcription factors and activators such as Led 1 [TAIR No. AT1G21970, Lotan et al. 1998. Cell. 26; 93(7):1195-205], Lec2 [TAIR No. AT1G28300, Santos Mendoza et al. 2005, FEBS Lett. 579(20:4666-70], Fus3 (TAIR No. AT3G26790), ABI3 [TAIR No. AT3G24650, Lara et al. 2003. J Biol Chem. 278(23): 21003-11] and Wri1 [TAIR No. AT3G54320, Cernac and Benning, 2004. Plant J. 40(4): 575-85].

Genetic engineering efforts aiming at increasing oil content in plants (e.g., in seeds) include upregulating endoplasmic reticulum (FAD3) and plastidal (FAD7) fatty acid desaturases in potato (Zabrouskov V., et al., 2002; Physiol Plant. 116:172-185); over-expressing the GmDof4 and GmDof11 transcription factors (Wang H W et al., 2007; Plant J. 52:716-29); over-expressing a yeast glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase under the control of a seed-specific promoter (Vigeolas H, et al. 2007, Plant Biotechnol J. 5:431-41; U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060168684); using Arabidopsis FAE1 and yeast SLC1-1 genes for improvements in erucic acid and oil content in rapeseed (Katavic V, et al., 2000, Biochem Soc Trans. 28:935-7).

Various patent applications disclose genes and proteins which can increase oil content in plants. These include for example, U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20080076179 (lipid metabolism protein); U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060206961 (the Ypr140w polypeptide); U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060174373 [triacylglycerols synthesis enhancing protein (TEP)]; U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 20070169219, 20070006345, 20070006346 and 20060195943 (disclose transgenic plants with improved nitrogen use efficiency which can be used for the conversion into fuel or chemical feedstocks); WO2008/122980 (polynucleotides for increasing oil content, growth rate, biomass, yield and/or vigor of a plant).

A common approach to promote plant growth has been, and continues to be, the use of natural as well as synthetic nutrients (fertilizers). Thus, fertilizers are the fuel behind the “green revolution”, directly responsible for the exceptional increase in crop yields during the last 40 years, and are considered the number one overhead expense in agriculture. For example, inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, or urea, typically accounts for 40% of the costs associated with crops such as corn and wheat. Of the three macronutrients provided as main fertilizers [Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P) and Potassium (K)], nitrogen is often the rate-limiting element in plant growth and all field crops have a fundamental dependence on inorganic nitrogenous fertilizer. Nitrogen is responsible for biosynthesis of amino and nucleic acids, prosthetic groups, plant hormones, plant chemical defenses, etc. and usually needs to be replenished every year, particularly for cereals, which comprise more than half of the cultivated areas worldwide. Thus, nitrogen is translocated to the shoot, where it is stored in the leaves and stalk during the rapid step of plant development and up until flowering. In corn for example, plants accumulate the bulk of their organic nitrogen during the period of grain germination, and until flowering. Once fertilization of the plant has occurred, grains begin to form and become the main sink of plant nitrogen. The stored nitrogen can be then redistributed from the leaves and stalk that served as storage compartments until grain formation.

Since fertilizer is rapidly depleted from most soil types, it must be supplied to growing crops two or three times during the growing season. In addition, the low nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of the main crops (e.g., in the range of only 30-70%) negatively affects the input expenses for the farmer, due to the excess fertilizer applied. Moreover, the over and inefficient use of fertilizers are major factors responsible for environmental problems such as eutrophication of groundwater, lakes, rivers and seas, nitrate pollution in drinking water which can cause methemoglobinemia, phosphate pollution, atmospheric pollution and the like. However, in spite of the negative impact of fertilizers on the environment, and the limits on fertilizer use, which have been legislated in several countries, the use of fertilizers is expected to increase in order to support food and fiber production for rapid population growth on limited land resources. For example, it has been estimated that by 2050, more than 150 million tons of nitrogenous fertilizer will be used worldwide annually.

Increased use efficiency of nitrogen by plants should enable crops to be cultivated with lower fertilizer input, or alternatively to be cultivated on soils of poorer quality and would therefore have significant economic impact in both developed and developing agricultural systems.

Genetic improvement of fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) in plants can be generated either via traditional breeding or via genetic engineering.

Attempts to generate plants with increased FUE have been described in U.S. Pat. Appl. Publication No. 20020046419 (U.S. Pat. No. 7,262,055 to Choo, et al.); U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20050108791 to Edgerton et al.; U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 20060179511 to Chomet et al.; Good, A, et al. 2007 (Engineering nitrogen use efficiency with alanine aminotransferase. Canadian Journal of Botany 85: 252-262); and Good A G et al. 2004 (Trends Plant Sci. 9:597-605).

Yanagisawa et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2004 101:7833-8) describe Dof1 transgenic plants which exhibit improved growth under low-nitrogen conditions.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,084,153 to Good et al. discloses the use of a stress responsive promoter to control the expression of Alanine Amine Transferase (AlaAT) and transgenic canola plants with improved drought and nitrogen deficiency tolerance when compared to control plants.

Abiotic stress (ABS; also referred to as “environmental stress”) conditions such as salinity, drought, flood, suboptimal temperature and toxic chemical pollution, cause substantial damage to agricultural plants. Most plants have evolved strategies to protect themselves against these conditions. However, if the severity and duration of the stress conditions are too great, the effects on plant development, growth and yield of most crop plants are profound. Furthermore, most of the crop plants are highly susceptible to abiotic stress and thus necessitate optimal growth conditions for commercial crop yields. Continuous exposure to stress causes major alterations in the plant metabolism which ultimately leads to cell death and consequently yield losses.

Drought is a gradual phenomenon, which involves periods of abnormally dry weather that persists long enough to produce serious hydrologic imbalances such as crop damage, water supply shortage and increased susceptibility to various diseases. In severe cases, drought can last many years and results in devastating effects on agriculture and water supplies. Furthermore, drought is associated with increase susceptibility to various diseases.

For most crop plants, the land regions of the world are too arid. In addition, overuse of available water results in increased loss of agriculturally-usable land (desertification), and increase of salt accumulation in soils adds to the loss of available water in soils.

Salinity, high salt levels, affects one in five hectares of irrigated land. None of the top five food crops, i.e., wheat, corn, rice, potatoes, and soybean, can tolerate excessive salt. Detrimental effects of salt on plants result from both water deficit, which leads to osmotic stress (similar to drought stress), and the effect of excess sodium ions on critical biochemical processes. As with freezing and drought, high salt causes water deficit; and the presence of high salt makes it difficult for plant roots to extract water from their environment. Soil salinity is thus one of the more important variables that determine whether a plant may thrive. In many parts of the world, sizable land areas are uncultivable due to naturally high soil salinity. Thus, salination of soils that are used for agricultural production is a significant and increasing problem in regions that rely heavily on agriculture, and is worsen by over-utilization, over-fertilization and water shortage, typically caused by climatic change and the demands of increasing population. Salt tolerance is of particular importance early in a plant's lifecycle, since evaporation from the soil surface causes upward water movement, and salt accumulates in the upper soil layer where the seeds are placed. On the other hand, germination normally takes place at a salt concentration which is higher than the mean salt level in the whole soil profile.

Salt and drought stress signal transduction consist of ionic and osmotic homeostasis signaling pathways. The ionic aspect of salt stress is signaled via the SOS pathway where a calcium-responsive SOS3-SOS2 protein kinase complex controls the expression and activity of ion transporters such as SOS1. The osmotic component of salt stress involves complex plant reactions that overlap with drought and/or cold stress responses.

Suboptimal temperatures affect plant growth and development through the whole plant life cycle. Thus, low temperatures reduce germination rate and high temperatures result in leaf necrosis. In addition, mature plants that are exposed to excess of heat may experience heat shock, which may arise in various organs, including leaves and particularly fruit, when transpiration is insufficient to overcome heat stress. Heat also damages cellular structures, including organelles and cytoskeleton, and impairs membrane function. Heat shock may produce a decrease in overall protein synthesis, accompanied by expression of heat shock proteins, e.g., chaperones, which are involved in refolding proteins denatured by heat. High-temperature damage to pollen almost always occurs in conjunction with drought stress, and rarely occurs under well-watered conditions. Combined stress can alter plant metabolism in novel ways. Excessive chilling conditions, e.g., low, but above freezing, temperatures affect crops of tropical origins, such as soybean, rice, maize, and cotton. Typical chilling damage includes wilting, necrosis, chlorosis or leakage of ions from cell membranes. The underlying mechanisms of chilling sensitivity are not completely understood yet, but probably involve the level of membrane saturation and other physiological deficiencies. Excessive light conditions, which occur under clear atmospheric conditions subsequent to cold late summer/autumn nights, can lead to photoinhibition of photosynthesis (disruption of photosynthesis). In addition, chilling may lead to yield losses and lower product quality through the delayed ripening of maize.

Common aspects of drought, cold and salt stress response [Reviewed in Xiong and Zhu (2002) Plant Cell Environ. 25: 131-139] include: (a) transient changes in the cytoplasmic calcium levels early in the signaling event; (b) signal transduction via mitogen-activated and/or calcium dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) and protein phosphatases; (c) increases in abscisic acid levels in response to stress triggering a subset of responses; (d) inositol phosphates as signal molecules (at least for a subset of the stress responsive transcriptional changes; (e) activation of phospholipases which in turn generates a diverse array of second messenger molecules, some of which might regulate the activity of stress responsive kinases; (f) induction of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) type genes including the CRT/DRE responsive COR/RD genes; (g) increased levels of antioxidants and compatible osmolytes such as proline and soluble sugars; and (h) accumulation of reactive oxygen species such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. Abscisic acid biosynthesis is regulated by osmotic stress at multiple steps. Both ABA-dependent and -independent osmotic stress signaling first modify constitutively expressed transcription factors, leading to the expression of early response transcriptional activators, which then activate downstream stress tolerance effector genes.

Several genes which increase tolerance to cold or salt stress can also improve drought stress protection, these include for example, the transcription factor AtCBF/DREB1, OsCDPK7 (Saijo et al. 2000, Plant J. 23: 319-327) or AVP1 (a vacuolar pyrophosphatase-proton pump, Gaxiola et al. 2001, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98: 11444-11449).

Studies have shown that plant adaptations to adverse environmental conditions are complex genetic traits with polygenic nature. Conventional means for crop and horticultural improvements utilize selective breeding techniques to identify plants having desirable characteristics. However, selective breeding is tedious, time consuming and has an unpredictable outcome. Furthermore, limited germplasm resources for yield improvement and incompatibility in crosses between distantly related plant species represent significant problems encountered in conventional breeding. Advances in genetic engineering have allowed mankind to modify the germplasm of plants by expression of genes-of-interest in plants. Such a technology has the capacity to generate crops or plants with improved economic, agronomic or horticultural traits.

Genetic engineering efforts, aimed at conferring abiotic stress tolerance to transgenic crops, have been described in various publications [Apse and Blumwald (Curr Opin Biotechnol. 13:146-150, 2002), Quesada et al. (Plant Physiol. 130:951-963, 2002), Holmström et al. (Nature 379: 683-684, 1996), Xu et al. (Plant Physiol 110: 249-257, 1996), Pilon-Smits and Ebskamp (Plant Physiol 107: 125-130, 1995) and Tarczynski et al. (Science 259: 508-510, 1993)].

Various patents and patent applications disclose genes and proteins which can be used for increasing tolerance of plants to abiotic stresses. These include for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,296,462 and 5,356,816 (for increasing tolerance to cold stress); U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,528 (for increasing ABST); U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,477 (for increasing ABST); U.S. application Ser. Nos. 09/938,842 and 10/342,224 (for increasing ABST); U.S. application Ser. No. 10/231,035 (for increasing ABST); WO2004/104162 (for increasing ABST and biomass); WO2007/020638 (for increasing ABST, biomass, vigor and/or yield); WO2007/049275 (for increasing ABST, biomass, vigor and/or yield); WO2010/076756 (for increasing ABST, biomass and/or yield). WO2009/083958 (for increasing water use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, biotic/abiotic stress tolerance, yield and/or biomass); WO2010/020941 (for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, yield and/or biomass); WO2009/141824 (for increasing plant utility); WO2010/049897 (for increasing plant yield).

Nutrient deficiencies cause adaptations of the root architecture, particularly notably for example is the root proliferation within nutrient rich patches to increase nutrient uptake. Nutrient deficiencies cause also the activation of plant metabolic pathways which maximize the absorption, assimilation and distribution processes such as by activating architectural changes. Engineering the expression of the triggered genes may cause the plant to exhibit the architectural changes and enhanced metabolism also under other conditions.

In addition, it is widely known that the plants usually respond to water deficiency by creating a deeper root system that allows access to moisture located in deeper soil layers. Triggering this effect will allow the plants to access nutrients and water located in deeper soil horizons particularly those readily dissolved in water like nitrates.

Cotton and cotton by-products provide raw materials that are used to produce a wealth of consumer-based products in addition to textiles including cotton foodstuffs, livestock feed, fertilizer and paper. The production, marketing, consumption and trade of cotton-based products generate an excess of $100 billion annually in the U.S. alone, making cotton the number one value-added crop.

Even though 90% of cotton's value as a crop resides in the fiber (lint), yield and fiber quality has declined due to general erosion in genetic diversity of cotton varieties, and an increased vulnerability of the crop to environmental conditions.

There are many varieties of cotton plant, from which cotton fibers with a range of characteristics can be obtained and used for various applications. Cotton fibers may be characterized according to a variety of properties, some of which are considered highly desirable within the textile industry for the production of increasingly high quality products and optimal exploitation of modem spinning technologies. Commercially desirable properties include length, length uniformity, fineness, maturity ratio, decreased fuzz fiber production, micronaire, bundle strength, and single fiber strength. Much effort has been put into the improvement of the characteristics of cotton fibers mainly focusing on fiber length and fiber fineness. In particular, there is a great demand for cotton fibers of specific lengths.

A cotton fiber is composed of a single cell that has differentiated from an epidermal cell of the seed coat, developing through four stages, i.e., initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall thickening and maturation stages. More specifically, the elongation of a cotton fiber commences in the epidermal cell of the ovule immediately following flowering, after which the cotton fiber rapidly elongates for approximately 21 days. Fiber elongation is then terminated, and a secondary cell wall is formed and grown through maturation to become a mature cotton fiber.

Several candidate genes which are associated with the elongation, formation, quality and yield of cotton fibers were disclosed in various patent applications such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,100 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/580,545, 08/867,484 and 09/262,653 (describing genes involved in cotton fiber elongation stage); WO0245485 (improving fiber quality by modulating sucrose synthase); U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,588 and WO0117333 (increasing fiber quality by transformation with a DNA encoding sucrose phosphate synthase); WO9508914 (using a fiber-specific promoter and a coding sequence encoding cotton peroxidase); WO9626639 (using an ovary specific promoter sequence to express plant growth modifying hormones in cotton ovule tissue, for altering fiber quality characteristics such as fiber dimension and strength); U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,981,834, 5,597,718, 5,620,882, 5,521,708 and 5,495,070 (coding sequences to alter the fiber characteristics of transgenic fiber producing plants); U.S. patent applications U.S. 2002049999 and U.S. 2003074697 (expressing a gene coding for endoxyloglucan transferase, catalase or peroxidase for improving cotton fiber characteristics); WO 01/40250 (improving cotton fiber quality by modulating transcription factor gene expression); WO 96/40924 (a cotton fiber transcriptional initiation regulatory region associated which is expressed in cotton fiber); EP0834566 (a gene which controls the fiber formation mechanism in cotton plant); WO2005/121364 (improving cotton fiber quality by modulating gene expression); WO2008/075364 (improving fiber quality, yield/biomass/vigor and/or abiotic stress tolerance of plants).

WO publication No. 2004/104162 discloses methods of increasing abiotic stress tolerance and/or biomass in plants and plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2004/111183 discloses nucleotide sequences for regulating gene expression in plant trichomes and constructs and methods utilizing same.

WO publication No. 2004/081173 discloses novel plant derived regulatory sequences and constructs and methods of using such sequences for directing expression of exogenous polynucleotide sequences in plants.

WO publication No. 2005/121364 discloses polynucleotides and polypeptides involved in plant fiber development and methods of using same for improving fiber quality, yield and/or biomass of a fiber producing plant.

WO publication No. 2007/049275 discloses isolated polypeptides, polynucleotides encoding same, transgenic plants expressing same and methods of using same for increasing fertilizer use efficiency, plant abiotic stress tolerance and biomass.

WO publication No. 2007/020638 discloses methods of increasing abiotic stress tolerance and/or biomass in plants and plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2008/122980 discloses genes constructs and methods for increasing oil content, growth rate and biomass of plants.

WO publication No. 2008/075364 discloses polynucleotides involved in plant fiber development and methods of using same.

WO publication No. 2009/083958 discloses methods of increasing water use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, biotic/abiotic stress tolerance, yield and biomass in plant and plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2009/141824 discloses isolated polynucleotides and methods using same for increasing plant utility.

WO publication No. 2009/013750 discloses genes, constructs and methods of increasing abiotic stress tolerance, biomass and/or yield in plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2010/020941 discloses methods of increasing nitrogen use efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance, yield and biomass in plants and plants generated thereby.

WO publication No. 2010/076756 discloses isolated polynucleotides for increasing abiotic stress tolerance, yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant.

WO2010/100595 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

WO publication No. 2010/049897 discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing plant yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficiency.

WO2010/143138 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance and/or water use efficiency

WO publication No. 2011/080674 discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing plant yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficiency.

WO2011/015985 publication discloses polynucleotides and polypeptides for increasing desirable plant qualities.

WO2011/135527 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

WO2012/028993 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, and/or abiotic stress tolerance.

WO2012/085862 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for improving plant properties.

WO2012/150598 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing plant yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficiency.

WO2013/027223 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

WO2013/080203 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, and/or abiotic stress tolerance.

WO2013/098819 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing yield of plants.

WO2013/128448 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing plant yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance of plants and nitrogen use efficiency.

WO 2013/179211 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

WO2014/033714 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides, polypeptides and methods of using same for increasing abiotic stress tolerance, biomass and yield of plants.

WO2014/102773 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing nitrogen use efficiency of plants.

WO2014/102774 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, construct and plants comprising same and methods of using same for increasing nitrogen use efficiency of plants.

WO2014/188428 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

WO2015/029031 publication discloses isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, and methods of using same for increasing plant yield and/or agricultural characteristics.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 or 10629, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least 80% hom*ologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 or 10629, wherein the crop plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance, thereby producing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028, thereby increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide which comprises a nucleic acid sequence which is at least 80% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028, wherein the crop plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or increased abiotic stress tolerance, thereby producing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises an amino acid sequence at least 80% hom*ologous to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 or 10629, wherein the amino acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 or 6028, wherein the nucleic acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a nucleic acid construct comprising the isolated polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention, and a promoter for directing transcription of the nucleic acid sequence in a host cell.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80% hom*ologous to SEQ ID NO: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 or 10629, wherein the amino acid sequence is capable of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided an isolated polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a plant cell exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention, or the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a plant cell exogenously expressing the polypeptide of some embodiments of the invention.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a transgenic plant comprising the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention, or the plant cell of some embodiments of the invention.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of growing a crop, the method comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with the isolated polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention, or with the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention, wherein the plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased nitrogen use efficiency, increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased biomass, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and increased oil content as compared to a non-transformed plant, thereby growing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of selecting a transformed plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, the method comprising:

(a) providing plants transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80% hom*ologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 or 10629,

(b) selecting from the plants of step (a) a plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions,

thereby selecting the plant having the increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

(a) providing plants transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide at least 80% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028,

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid sequence encodes an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid sequence is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polynucleotide consists of the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid sequence encodes the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant cell forms part of a plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotide under the abiotic stress.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the abiotic stress is selected from the group consisting of salinity, drought, osmotic stress, water deprivation, flood, etiolation, low temperature, high temperature, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency, nitrogen deficiency, nutrient excess, atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the yield comprises seed yield or oil yield.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotide under nitrogen-limiting conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the promoter is heterologous to the isolated polynucleotide and/or to the host cell.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the non-transformed plant is a wild type plant of identical genetic background.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the non-transformed plant is a wild type plant of the same species.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the non-transformed plant is grown under identical growth conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising selecting a plant having an increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, selecting is performed under non-stress conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, selecting is performed under abiotic stress conditions.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplary methods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, the patent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be necessarily limiting.

Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, the description taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled in the art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmid containing the new At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10654) and the GUSintron (pQYN 6669) used for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; MCS—Multiple cloning site; RE—any restriction enzyme; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); GUSintron—the GUS reporter gene (coding sequence and intron). The isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention were cloned into the vector while replacing the GUSintron reporter gene.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmid containing the new At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10654) (pQFN or pQFNc or pQsFN) used for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; MCS—Multiple cloning site; RE—any restriction enzyme; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); The isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention were cloned into the MCS of the vector.

FIGS. 3A-3F are images depicting visualization of root development of transgenic plants exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention when grown in transparent agar plates under normal (FIGS. 3A-3B), osmotic stress (15% PEG; FIGS. 3C-3D) or nitrogen-limiting (FIGS. 3E-3F) conditions. The different transgenes were grown in transparent agar plates for 17 days (7 days nursery and 10 days after transplanting). The plates were photographed every 3-4 days starting at day 1 after transplanting. FIG. 3A—An image of a photograph of plants taken following 10 after transplanting days on agar plates when grown under normal (standard) conditions. FIG. 3B—An image of root analysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3A in which the lengths of the roots measured are represented by arrows. FIG. 3C—An image of a photograph of plants taken following 10 days after transplanting on agar plates, grown under high osmotic (PEG 15%) conditions. FIG. 3D—An image of root analysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3C in which the lengths of the roots measured are represented by arrows. FIG. 3E—An image of a photograph of plants taken following 10 days after transplanting on agar plates, grown under low nitrogen conditions. FIG. 3F—An image of root analysis of the plants shown in FIG. 3E in which the lengths of the roots measured are represented by arrows.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmid containing the Root Promoter (pQNa RP) used for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); The isolated polynucleotide sequences according to some embodiments of the invention were cloned into the MCS (Multiple cloning site) of the vector.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the pQYN plasmid.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the pQFN plasmid.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the pQFYN plasmid.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the modified pGI binary plasmid (pQXNc) used for expressing the isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; RE=any restriction enzyme; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); 35S-the 35S promoter (pQXNc); SEQ ID NO: 10650). The isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention were cloned into the MCS (Multiple cloning site) of the vector.

FIGS. 9A-9B are schematic illustrations of the pEBbVNi tDNA (FIG. 9A) and the pEBbNi tDNA (FIG. 9B) plasmids used in the Brachypodium experiments. pEBbVNi tDNA (FIG. 9A) was used for expression of the isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention in Brachypodium. pEBbNi tDNA (FIG. 9B) was used for transformation into Brachypodium as a negative control. “RB”=right border; “2LBregion”=2 repeats of left border; “35S”=35S promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10666 in FIG. 9A); “Ubiquitin promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10640 in both of FIGS. 9A and 9B; “NOS ter”=nopaline synthase terminator; “Bar ORF”—BAR open reading frame (GenBank Accession No. JQ293091.1; SEQ ID NO: 10667); The isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention were cloned into the Multiple cloning site of the vector using one or more of the indicated restriction enzyme sites.

FIG. 10 depicts seedling analysis of an Arabidopsis plant having shoots (upper part, marked “#1”) and roots (lower part, marked “#2”). Using an image analysis system the minimal convex area encompassed by the roots is determined. Such area corresponds to the root coverage of the plant.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of the pQ6sVN plasmid. pQ6sVN was used for expression of the isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention in Brachypodium. “35S(V)”=35S promoter (SEQ ID NO:10666); “NOS ter”=nopaline synthase terminator; “Bar_GA”=BAR open reading frame optimized for expression in Brachypodium (SEQ ID NO: 11335); “Hygro”=Hygromycin resistance gene. “Ubi1 promoter”=10640; The isolated polynucleotide sequences of some embodiments of the invention were cloned into the Multiple cloning site of the vector (downstream of the “35S(V)” promoter) using one or more of the indicated restriction enzyme sites.

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of the pQsFN plasmid containing the new At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10654) used for expression the isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention in Arabidopsis. RB—T-DNA right border; LB—T-DNA left border; MCS—Multiple cloning site; RE—any restriction enzyme; NOS pro=nopaline synthase promoter; NPT-II=neomycin phosphotransferase gene; NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; Poly-A signal (polyadenylation signal); The isolated polynucleotide sequences of the invention were cloned into the MCS of the vector.

FIG. 13 is schematic illustration pQ6sN plasmid, which is used as a negative control (“empty vector”) of the experiments performed when the plants were transformed with the pQ6sVN vector. “Ubi1” promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10640); NOS ter=nopaline synthase terminator; “Bar_GA”=BAR open reading frame optimized for expression in Brachypodium (SEQ ID NO:11335).

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to isolated polynucleotides and polypeptides, nucleic acid constructs, transgenic cells and transgenic plants comprising same and methods of generating and using same, and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to methods of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality abiotic stress tolerance, and/or fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) of a plant.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in its application to the details set forth in the following description or exemplified by the Examples. The invention is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways.

The present inventors have identified novel polypeptides and polynucleotides which can be used to generate nucleic acid constructs, transgenic plants and to increase nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance and/or water use efficiency of a plant, such as a wheat plant.

Thus, as shown in the Examples section which follows, the present inventors have utilized bioinformatics tools to identify polynucleotides which enhance/increase fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency), yield (e.g., seed yield, oil yield, oil content), growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant. Genes which affect the trait-of-interest were identified [SEQ ID NOs: 552-897 (for polypeptides); and SEQ ID NOs: 1-551 (for polynucleotides)] based on expression profiles of genes of several Arabidopsis, Barley, Sorghum, Maize, Brachypodium, soybean, cotton, Bean, wheat, tomato, and Foxtail millet ecotypes and accessions in various tissues and growth conditions, hom*ology with genes known to affect the trait-of-interest and using digital expression profile in specific tissues and conditions (Tables 1-232, Examples 1, and 3-24 of the Examples section which follows). hom*ologous (e.g., orthologous) polypeptides and polynucleotides having the same function in increasing fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency), yield (e.g., seed yield, oil yield, oil content), growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant were also identified [SEQ ID NOs: 6029-10629 (for polypeptides), and SEQ ID NOs: 898-6028 (for polynucleotides); Table 2, Example 2 of the Examples section which follows]. The polynucleotides of some embodiments of the invention were cloned into binary vectors (Examples 25-26, Table 233), and were further transformed into Arabidopsis and Brachypodium plants (Examples 27-28). Transgenic plants over-expressing the identified polynucleotides were found to exhibit increased biomass, growth rate, vigor and yield under normal growth conditions, nitrogen limiting growth conditions or abiotic stress conditions (Tables 234-275; Examples 29-33) as compared to control plants grown under the same growth conditions. Altogether, these results suggest the use of the novel polynucleotides and polypeptides of the invention (e.g., SEQ ID NOs: 552-897 and 6029-10629; and SEQ ID NOs: 1-551 and 898-6028) for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, yield (e.g., oil yield, seed yield and oil content), growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, water use efficiency and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant.

Thus, according to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided method of increasing oil content, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% hom*ologous (e.g., identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-897 and 6029-10629, e.g., using an exogenous polynucleotide which is at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% identical to the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551 and 898-6028, thereby increasing the oil content, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided method of increasing oil content, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% hom*ologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629, thereby increasing the oil content, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the plant.

As used herein the phrase “plant yield” refers to the amount (e.g., as determined by weight or size) or quantity (numbers) of tissues or organs produced per plant or per growing season. Hence increased yield could affect the economic benefit one can obtain from the plant in a certain growing area and/or growing time.

It should be noted that a plant yield can be affected by various parameters including, but not limited to, plant biomass; plant vigor; growth rate; seed yield; seed or grain quantity; seed or grain quality; oil yield; content of oil, starch and/or protein in harvested organs (e.g., seeds or vegetative parts of the plant); number of flowers (florets) per panicle (expressed as a ratio of number of filled seeds over number of primary panicles); harvest index; number of plants grown per area; number and size of harvested organs per plant and per area; number of plants per growing area (density); number of harvested organs in field; total leaf area; carbon assimilation and carbon partitioning (the distribution/allocation of carbon within the plant); resistance to shade; number of harvestable organs (e.g. seeds), seeds per pod, weight per seed; and modified architecture [such as increase stalk diameter, thickness or improvement of physical properties (e.g. elasticity)].

As used herein the phrase “seed yield” refers to the number or weight of the seeds per plant, seeds per pod, or per growing area or to the weight of a single seed, or to the oil extracted per seed. Hence seed yield can be affected by seed dimensions (e.g., length, width, perimeter, area and/or volume), number of (filled) seeds and seed filling rate and by seed oil content. Hence increase seed yield per plant could affect the economic benefit one can obtain from the plant in a certain growing area and/or growing time; and increase seed yield per growing area could be achieved by increasing seed yield per plant, and/or by increasing number of plants grown on the same given area.

The term “seed” (also referred to as “grain” or “kernel”) as used herein refers to a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat (usually with some stored food), the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant.

The phrase “oil content” as used herein refers to the amount of lipids in a given plant organ, either the seeds (seed oil content) or the vegetative portion of the plant (vegetative oil content) and is typically expressed as percentage of dry weight (10% humidity of seeds) or wet weight (for vegetative portion).

It should be noted that oil content is affected by intrinsic oil production of a tissue (e.g., seed, vegetative portion), as well as the mass or size of the oil-producing tissue per plant or per growth period.

In one embodiment, increase in oil content of the plant can be achieved by increasing the size/mass of a plant's tissue(s) which comprise oil per growth period. Thus, increased oil content of a plant can be achieved by increasing the yield, growth rate, biomass and vigor of the plant.

As used herein the phrase “plant biomass” refers to the amount (e.g., measured in grams of air-dry tissue) of a tissue produced from the plant in a growing season, which could also determine or affect the plant yield or the yield per growing area. An increase in plant biomass can be in the whole plant or in parts thereof such as aboveground (harvestable) parts, vegetative biomass, roots and seeds.

As used herein the term “root biomass” refers to the total weight of the plant's root(s). Root biomass can be determined directly by weighing the total root material (fresh and/or dry weight) of a plant.

Additional or alternatively, the root biomass can be indirectly determined by measuring root coverage, root density and/or root length of a plant.

It should be noted that plants having a larger root coverage exhibit higher fertilizer (e.g., nitrogen) use efficiency and/or higher water use efficiency as compared to plants with a smaller root coverage.

As used herein the phrase “root coverage” refers to the total area or volume of soil or of any plant-growing medium encompassed by the roots of a plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the root coverage is the minimal convex volume encompassed by the roots of the plant.

It should be noted that since each plant has a characteristic root system, e.g., some plants exhibit a shallow root system (e.g., only a few centimeters below ground level), while others have a deep in soil root system (e.g., a few tens of centimeters or a few meters deep in soil below ground level), measuring the root coverage of a plant can be performed in any depth of the soil or of the plant-growing medium, and comparison of root coverage between plants of the same species (e.g., a transgenic plant exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention and a control plant) should be performed by measuring the root coverage in the same depth.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the root coverage is the minimal convex area encompassed by the roots of a plant in a specific depth.

A non-limiting example of measuring root coverage is shown in FIG. 10.

As used herein the term “root density” refers to the density of roots in a given area (e.g., area of soil or any plant growing medium). The root density can be determined by counting the root number per a predetermined area at a predetermined depth (in units of root number per area, e.g., mm², cm²or m²).

As used herein the phrase “root length” refers to the total length of the longest root of a single plant.

As used herein the phrase “root length growth rate” refers to the change in total root length per plant per time unit (e.g., per day).

As used herein the phrase “growth rate” refers to the increase in plant organ/tissue size per time (can be measured in cm²per day or cm/day).

As used herein the phrase “photosynthetic capacity” (also known as “A_max”) is a measure of the maximum rate at which leaves are able to fix carbon during photosynthesis. It is typically measured as the amount of carbon dioxide that is fixed per square meter per second, for example as μmol m⁻²sec⁻¹. Plants are able to increase their photosynthetic capacity by several modes of action, such as by increasing the total leaves area (e.g., by increase of leaves area, increase in the number of leaves, and increase in plant's vigor, e.g., the ability of the plant to grow new leaves along time course) as well as by increasing the ability of the plant to efficiently execute carbon fixation in the leaves. Hence, the increase in total leaves area can be used as a reliable measurement parameter for photosynthetic capacity increment.

As used herein the phrase “plant vigor” refers to the amount (measured by weight) of tissue produced by the plant in a given time. Hence increased vigor could determine or affect the plant yield or the yield per growing time or growing area. In addition, early vigor (seed and/or seedling) results in improved field stand.

Improving early vigor 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 vigor into plants would be of great importance in agriculture. For example, poor early vigor has been a limitation to the introduction of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids based on Corn Belt germplasm in the European Atlantic.

It should be noted that a plant trait such as yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., nitrogen use efficiency) can be determined under stress (e.g., abiotic stress, nitrogen-limiting conditions) and/or non-stress (normal) conditions.

As used herein, the phrase “non-stress conditions” refers to the growth conditions (e.g., water, temperature, light-dark cycles, humidity, salt concentration, fertilizer concentration in soil, nutrient supply such as nitrogen, phosphorous and/or potassium), that do not significantly go beyond the everyday climatic and other abiotic conditions that plants may encounter, and which allow optimal growth, metabolism, reproduction and/or viability of a plant at any stage in its life cycle (e.g., in a crop plant from seed to a mature plant and back to seed again). Persons skilled in the art are aware of normal soil conditions and climatic conditions for a given plant in a given geographic location. It should be noted that while the non-stress conditions may include some mild variations from the optimal conditions (which vary from one type/species of a plant to another), such variations do not cause the plant to cease growing without the capacity to resume growth.

Following is a non-limiting description of non-stress (normal) growth conditions which can be used for growing the transgenic plants expressing the polynucleotides or polypeptides of some embodiments of the invention.

For example, normal conditions for growing sorghum include irrigation with about 452,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) and fertilization with about 14 units nitrogen per dunam per growing season.

Normal conditions for growing cotton include irrigation with about 580,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) and fertilization with about 24 units nitrogen per dunam per growing season.

Normal conditions for growing bean include irrigation with about 524,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) and fertilization with about 16 units nitrogen per dunam per growing season.

Normal conditions for growing B. Juncea include irrigation with about 861,000 liter water per dunam (1000 square meters) and fertilization with about 12 units nitrogen per dunam per growing season.

The phrase “abiotic stress” as used herein refers to any adverse effect on metabolism, growth, reproduction and/or viability of a plant. Accordingly, abiotic stress can be induced by suboptimal environmental growth conditions such as, for example, salinity, osmotic stress, water deprivation, drought, flooding, freezing, low or high temperature, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency (e.g., nitrogen deficiency or limited nitrogen), atmospheric pollution or UV irradiation. The implications of abiotic stress are discussed in the Background section.

The phrase “abiotic stress tolerance” as used herein refers to the ability of a plant to endure an abiotic stress without suffering a substantial alteration in metabolism, growth, productivity and/or viability.

Plants are subject to a range of environmental challenges. Several of these, including salt stress, general osmotic stress, drought stress and freezing stress, have the ability to impact whole plant and cellular water availability. Not surprisingly, then, plant responses to this collection of stresses are related. Zhu (2002) Ann. Rev. Plant Biol. 53: 247-273 et al. note that “most studies on water stress signaling have focused on salt stress primarily because plant responses to salt and drought are closely related and the mechanisms overlap”. Many examples of similar responses and pathways to this set of stresses have been documented. For example, the CBF transcription factors have been shown to condition resistance to salt, freezing and drought (Kasuga et al. (1999) Nature Biotech. 17: 287-291). The Arabidopsis rd29B gene is induced in response to both salt and dehydration stress, a process that is mediated largely through an ABA signal transduction process (Uno et al. (2000) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97: 11632-11637), resulting in altered activity of transcription factors that bind to an upstream element within the rd29B promoter. In Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (ice plant), Patharker and Cushman have shown that a calcium-dependent protein kinase (McCDPK1) is induced by exposure to both drought and salt stresses (Patharker and Cushman (2000) Plant J. 24: 679-691). The stress-induced kinase was also shown to phosphorylate a transcription factor, presumably altering its activity, although transcript levels of the target transcription factor are not altered in response to salt or drought stress. Similarly, Saijo et al. demonstrated that a rice salt/drought-induced calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (OsCDPK7) conferred increased salt and drought tolerance to rice when overexpressed (Saijo et al. (2000) Plant J. 23: 319-327).

Exposure to dehydration invokes similar survival strategies in plants as does freezing stress (see, for example, Yelenosky (1989) Plant Physiol 89: 444-451) and drought stress induces freezing tolerance (see, for example, Siminovitch et al. (1982) Plant Physiol 69: 250-255; and Guy et al. (1992) Planta 188: 265-270). In addition to the induction of cold-acclimation proteins, strategies that allow plants to survive in low water conditions may include, for example, reduced surface area, or surface oil or wax production. In another example increased solute content of the plant prevents evaporation and water loss due to heat, drought, salinity, osmoticum, and the like therefore providing a better plant tolerance to the above stresses.

It will be appreciated that some pathways involved in resistance to one stress (as described above), will also be involved in resistance to other stresses, regulated by the same or hom*ologous genes. Of course, the overall resistance pathways are related, not identical, and therefore not all genes controlling resistance to one stress will control resistance to the other stresses. Nonetheless, if a gene conditions resistance to one of these stresses, it would be apparent to one skilled in the art to test for resistance to these related stresses. Methods of assessing stress resistance are further provided in the Examples section which follows.

As used herein the phrase “water use efficiency (WUE)” refers to the level of organic matter produced per unit of water consumed by the plant, i.e., the dry weight of a plant in relation to the plant's water use, e.g., the biomass produced per unit transpiration.

As used herein the phrase “fertilizer use efficiency” refers to the metabolic process(es) which lead to an increase in the plant's yield, biomass, vigor, and growth rate per fertilizer unit applied. The metabolic process can be the uptake, spread, absorbent, accumulation, relocation (within the plant) and use of one or more of the minerals and organic moieties absorbed by the plant, such as nitrogen, phosphates and/or potassium.

As used herein the phrase “fertilizer-limiting conditions” refers to growth conditions which include a level (e.g., concentration) of a fertilizer applied which is below the level needed for normal plant metabolism, growth, reproduction and/or viability.

As used herein the phrase “nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)” refers to the metabolic process(es) which lead to an increase in the plant's yield, biomass, vigor, and growth rate per nitrogen unit applied. The metabolic process can be the uptake, spread, absorbent, accumulation, relocation (within the plant) and use of nitrogen absorbed by the plant.

As used herein the phrase “nitrogen-limiting conditions” refers to growth conditions which include a level (e.g., concentration) of nitrogen (e.g., ammonium or nitrate) applied which is below the level needed for normal plant metabolism, growth, reproduction and/or viability.

Improved plant NUE and FUE is translated in the field into either harvesting similar quantities of yield, while implementing less fertilizers, or increased yields gained by implementing the same levels of fertilizers. Thus, improved NUE or FUE has a direct effect on plant yield in the field. Thus, the polynucleotides and polypeptides of some embodiments of the invention positively affect plant yield, seed yield, and plant biomass. In addition, the benefit of improved plant NUE will certainly improve crop quality and biochemical constituents of the seed such as protein yield and oil yield. It should be noted that improved ABST will confer plants with improved vigor also under non-stress conditions, resulting in crops having improved biomass and/or yield e.g., elongated fibers for the cotton industry, higher oil content.

The term “fiber” is usually inclusive of thick-walled conducting cells such as vessels and tracheids and to fibrillar aggregates of many individual fiber cells. Hence, the term “fiber” refers to (a) thick-walled conducting and non-conducting cells of the xylem; (b) fibers of extraxylary origin, including those from phloem, bark, ground tissue, and epidermis; and (c) fibers from stems, leaves, roots, seeds, and flowers or inflorescences (such as those of Sorghum vulgare used in the manufacture of brushes and brooms).

Example of fiber producing plants, include, but are not limited to, agricultural crops such as cotton, silk cotton tree (Kapok, Ceiba pentandra), desert willow, creosote bush, winterfat, balsa, kenaf, roselle, jute, sisal abaca, flax, corn, sugar cane, hemp, ramie, kapok, coir, bamboo, spanish moss and Agave spp. (e.g. sisal).

As used herein the phrase “fiber quality” refers to at least one fiber parameter which is agriculturally desired, or required in the fiber industry (further described hereinbelow). Examples of such parameters, include but are not limited to, fiber length, fiber strength, fiber fitness, fiber weight per unit length, maturity ratio and uniformity (further described hereinbelow).

Cotton fiber (lint) quality is typically measured according to fiber length, strength and fineness. Accordingly, the lint quality is considered higher when the fiber is longer, stronger and finer.

As used herein the phrase “fiber yield” refers to the amount or quantity of fibers produced from the fiber producing plant.

As mentioned hereinabove, transgenic plants of the present invention can be used for improving myriad of commercially desired traits which are all interrelated as is discussed hereinbelow.

As used herein the term “trait” refers to a characteristic or quality of a plant which may overall (either directly or indirectly) improve the commercial value of the plant.

As used herein the term “increasing” refers to at least about 2%, at least about 3%, at least about 4%, at least about 5%, at least about 10%, at least about 15%, at least about 20%, at least about 30%, at least about 40%, at least about 50%, at least about 60%, at least about 70%, at least about 80%, increase in the trait [e.g., yield, seed yield, oil yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency)] of a plant as compared to a native plant or a wild type plant [i.e., a plant not modified with the biomolecules (polynucleotide or polypeptides) of the invention, e.g., a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same (e.g., identical) growth conditions].

The phrase “expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide” as used herein refers to upregulating the expression level of an exogenous polynucleotide within the plant by introducing the exogenous polynucleotide into a plant cell or plant and expressing by recombinant means, as further described herein below.

As used herein “expressing” refers to expression at the mRNA and optionally polypeptide level.

As used herein, the phrase “exogenous polynucleotide” refers to a heterologous nucleic acid sequence which may not be naturally expressed within the plant (e.g., a nucleic acid sequence from a different species) or which overexpression in the plant is desired. The exogenous polynucleotide may be introduced into the plant in a stable or transient manner, so as to produce a ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule and/or a polypeptide molecule. It should be noted that the exogenous polynucleotide may comprise a nucleic acid sequence which is identical or partially hom*ologous to an endogenous nucleic acid sequence of the plant.

The term “endogenous” as used herein refers to any polynucleotide or polypeptide which is present and/or naturally expressed within a plant or a cell thereof.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention comprises a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% hom*ologous (e.g., identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629.

hom*ologous sequences include both orthologous and paralogous sequences. The term “paralogous” relates to gene-duplications within the genome of a species leading to paralogous genes. The term “orthologous” relates to hom*ologous genes in different organisms due to ancestral relationship. Thus, orthologs are evolutionary counterparts derived from a single ancestral gene in the last common ancestor of given two species (Koonin EV and Galperin MY (Sequence—Evolution—Function: Computational Approaches in Comparative Genomics. Boston: Kluwer Academic; 2003. Chapter 2, Evolutionary Concept in Genetics and Genomics. Available from: ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/books/NBK20255) and therefore have great likelihood of having the same function.

One option to identify orthologues in monocot plant species is by performing a reciprocal Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST® (The National Library of Medicine) search. This may be done by a first BLAST® involving BLAST®ing the sequence-of-interest against any sequence database, such as the publicly available NCBI database which may be found at: ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov. If orthologues in rice were sought, the sequence-of-interest would be BLAST®ed against, for example, the 28,469 full-length cDNA clones from Oryza sativa Nipponbare available at NCBI. The BLAST® results may be filtered. The full-length sequences of either the filtered results or the non-filtered results are then BLAST®ed back (second BLAST®) against the sequences of the organism from which the sequence-of-interest is derived. The results of the first and second BLAST®s are then compared. An orthologue is identified when the sequence resulting in the highest score (best hit) in the first BLAST® identifies in the second BLAST® the query sequence (the original sequence-of-interest) as the best hit. Using the same rational a paralogue (hom*olog to a gene in the same organism) is found. In case of large sequence families, the ClustalW program may be used [ebi (dot) ac (dot) uk/Tools/clustalw2/index (dot) html], followed by a neighbor-joining tree (wikipedia (dot) org/wiki/Neighbor-joining) which helps visualizing the clustering.

hom*ology (e.g., percent hom*ology, sequence identity+sequence similarity) can be determined using any hom*ology comparison software computing a pairwise sequence alignment.

As used herein, “sequence identity” or “identity” in the context of two nucleic acid or polypeptide sequences includes reference to the residues in the two sequences which are the same when aligned. When percentage of sequence identity is used in reference to proteins it is recognized that residue positions which are not identical often differ by conservative amino acid substitutions, where amino acid residues are substituted for other amino acid residues with similar chemical properties (e.g. charge or hydrophobicity) and therefore do not change the functional properties of the molecule. Where sequences differ in conservative substitutions, the percent sequence identity may be adjusted upwards to correct for the conservative nature of the substitution. Sequences which differ by such conservative substitutions are considered to have “sequence similarity” or “similarity”. Means for making this adjustment are well-known to those of skill in the art. Typically this involves scoring a conservative substitution as a partial rather than a full mismatch, thereby increasing the percentage sequence identity. Thus, for example, where an identical amino acid is given a score of 1 and a non-conservative substitution is given a score of zero, a conservative substitution is given a score between zero and 1. The scoring of conservative substitutions is calculated, e.g., according to the algorithm of Henikoff S and Henikoff J G. [Amino acid substitution matrices from protein blocks. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1992, 89(22): 10915-9].

Identity (e.g., percent hom*ology) can be determined using any hom*ology comparison software, including for example, the BLAST®N software of the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) such as by using default parameters.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the identity is a global identity, i.e., an identity over the entire amino acid or nucleic acid sequences of the invention and not over portions thereof.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the term “hom*ology” or “hom*ologous” refers to identity of two or more nucleic acid sequences; or identity of two or more amino acid sequences; or the identity of an amino acid sequence to one or more nucleic acid sequence.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the hom*ology is a global hom*ology, i.e., an hom*ology over the entire amino acid or nucleic acid sequences of the invention and not over portions thereof.

The degree of hom*ology or identity between two or more sequences can be determined using various known sequence comparison tools. Following is a non-limiting description of such tools which can be used along with some embodiments of the invention.

Pairwise global alignment was defined by S. B. Needleman and C. D. Wunsch, “A general method applicable to the search of similarities in the amino acid sequence of two proteins” Journal of Molecular Biology, 1970, pages 443-53, volume 48).

For example, when starting from a polypeptide sequence and comparing to other polypeptide sequences, the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm (available from emboss(dot)sourceforge(dot)net/apps/cvs/emboss/apps/needle(dot)html) can be used to find the optimum alignment (including gaps) of two sequences along their entire length—a “Global alignment”. Default parameters for Needleman-Wunsch algorithm (EMBOSS-6.0.1) include: gapopen=10; gapextend=0.5; datafile=EBLOSUM62; brief=YES.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the parameters used with the EMBOSS-6.0.1 tool (for protein-protein comparison) include: gapopen=8; gapextend=2; datafile=EBLOSUM62; brief=YES.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the threshold used to determine hom*ology using the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm is 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%.

When starting from a polypeptide sequence and comparing to polynucleotide sequences, the OneModel FramePlus algorithm [Halperin, E., Faigler, S. and Gill-More, R. (1999)—FramePlus: aligning DNA to protein sequences. Bioinformatics, 15, 867-873) (available from biocceleration(dot)com/Products(dot)html] can be used with following default parameters: model=frame+_p2n.model mode=local.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the parameters used with the OneModel FramePlus algorithm are model=frame+_p2n.model, mode=qglobal.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the threshold used to determine hom*ology using the OneModel FramePlus algorithm is 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%.

When starting with a polynucleotide sequence and comparing to other polynucleotide sequences the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm (available from emboss(dot)sourceforge(dot)net/apps/cvs/emboss/apps/needle(dot)html) can be used with the following default parameters: (EMBOSS-6.0.1) gapopen=10; gapextend=0.5; datafile=EDNAFULL; brief=YES.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the parameters used with the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm are gapopen=10; gapextend=0.2; datafile=EDNAFULL; brief=YES.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the threshold used to determine hom*ology using the EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm for comparison of polynucleotides with polynucleotides is 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%.

According to some embodiment, determination of the degree of hom*ology further requires employing the Smith-Waterman algorithm (for protein-protein comparison or nucleotide-nucleotide comparison).

Default parameters for GenCore 6.0 Smith-Waterman algorithm include: model=sw.model.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the threshold used to determine hom*ology using the Smith-Waterman algorithm is 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, or 100%.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the global hom*ology is performed on sequences which are pre-selected by local hom*ology to the polypeptide or polynucleotide of interest (e.g., 60% identity over 60% of the sequence length), prior to performing the global hom*ology to the polypeptide or polynucleotide of interest (e.g., 80% global hom*ology on the entire sequence). For example, hom*ologous sequences are selected using the BLAST® software with the BLAST®p and tBLAST®n algorithms as filters for the first stage, and the needle (EMBOSS package) or Frame+ algorithm alignment for the second stage. Local identity (BLAST® alignments) is defined with a very permissive cutoff—60% Identity on a span of 60% of the sequences lengths because it is used only as a filter for the global alignment stage. In this specific embodiment (when the local identity is used), the default filtering of the BLAST® package is not utilized (by setting the parameter “-F F”).

In the second stage, hom*ologs are defined based on a global identity of at least 80% to the core gene polypeptide sequence.

According to some embodiments of the invention, two distinct forms for finding the optimal global alignment for protein or nucleotide sequences are used:

1. Between Two Proteins (Following the BLAST®p Filter):

EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm with the following modified parameters: gapopen=8 gapextend=2. The rest of the parameters are unchanged from the default options listed here:

Standard (Mandatory) qualifiers:

[-asequence] sequence Sequence filename and optional format, or reference (input USA)

[-bsequence] seqall Sequence(s) filename and optional format, or reference (input USA)

-gapopen float [10.0 for any sequence]. The gap open penalty is the score taken away when a gap is created. The best value depends on the choice of comparison matrix. The default value assumes you are using the EBLOSUM62 matrix for protein sequences, and the EDNAFULL matrix for nucleotide sequences. (Floating point number from 1.0 to 100.0)

-gapextend float [0.5 for any sequence]. The gap extension, penalty is added to the standard gap penalty for each base or residue in the gap. This is how long gaps are penalized. Usually you will expect a few long gaps rather than many short gaps, so the gap extension penalty should be lower than the gap penalty. An exception is where one or both sequences are single reads with possible sequencing errors in which case you would expect many single base gaps. You can get this result by setting the gap open penalty to zero (or very low) and using the gap extension penalty to control gap scoring. (Floating point number from 0.0 to 10.0)

[-outfile] align [*.needle] Output alignment file name

Additional (Optional) Qualifiers:

- -datafile matrixf [EBLOSUM62 for protein, EDNAFULL for DNA]. This is the scoring matrix file used when comparing sequences. By default it is the file ‘EBLOSUM62’ (for proteins) or the file ‘EDNAFULL’ (for nucleic sequences). These files are found in the ‘data’ directory of the EMBOSS installation.
- Advanced (Unprompted) Qualifiers:
- -[no]brief boolean [Y] Brief identity and similarity

Associated Qualifiers:

- “-asequence” associated qualifiers
- -sbegin1 integer Start of the sequence to be used
- -send1 integer End of the sequence to be used
- -sreverse1 boolean Reverse (if DNA)
- -sask1 boolean Ask for begin/end/reverse
- -snucleotide1 boolean Sequence is nucleotide
- -sprotein1 boolean Sequence is protein
- -slower1 boolean Make lower case
- -supper1 boolean Make upper case
- -sformat1 string Input sequence format
- -sdbname1 string Database name
- -sid1 string Entryname
- -ufo1 string UFO features
- -fformat1 string Features format
- -fopenfile1 string Features file name
- “-bsequence” associated qualifiers
- -sbegin2 integer Start of each sequence to be used
- -send2 integer End of each sequence to be used
- -sreverse2 boolean Reverse (if DNA)
- -sask2 boolean Ask for begin/end/reverse
- -snucleotide2 boolean Sequence is nucleotide
- -sprotein2 boolean Sequence is protein
- -slower2 boolean Make lower case
- -supper2 boolean Make upper case
- -sformat2 string Input sequence format
- -sdbname2 string Database name
- -sid2 string Entryname
- -ufo2 string UFO features
- -fformat2 string Features format
- -fopenfile2 string Features file name
- “-outfile” associated qualifiers
- -aformat3 string Alignment format
- -aextension3 string File name extension
- -adirectory3 string Output directory
- -aname3 string Base file name
- -awidth3 integer Alignment width
- -aaccshow3 boolean Show accession number in the header
- -adesshow3 boolean Show description in the header
- -ausashow3 boolean Show the full USA in the alignment
- -aglobal3 boolean Show the full sequence in alignment

General Qualifiers:

- -auto boolean Turn off prompts
- -stdout boolean Write first file to standard output
- -filter boolean Read first file from standard input, write first file to standard output
- -options boolean Prompt for standard and additional values
- -debug boolean Write debug output to program.dbg
- -verbose boolean Report some/full command line options
- -help boolean Report command line options. More information on associated and general qualifiers can be found with -help -verbose
- -warning boolean Report warnings
- -error boolean Report errors
- -fatal boolean Report fatal errors
- -die boolean Report dying program messages

2. Between a protein sequence and a nucleotide sequence (following the tBLAST®n filter): GenCore 6.0 OneModel application utilizing the Frame+ algorithm with the following parameters: model=frame+_p2n.model mode=qglobal -q=protein.sequence -db= nucleotide.sequence. The rest of the parameters are unchanged from the default options:

Usage:

om -model=<model_fname>[-q=]query [-db=]database [options]

-model=<model_fname> Specifies the model that you want to run. All models supplied by Compugen are located in the directory $CGNROOT/models/.

Valid command line parameters:

- -dev=<dev_name> Selects the device to be used by the application.

Valid devices are:

- bic—Bioccelerator (valid for SW, XSW, FRAME_N2P, and FRAME_P2N models).
- xlg—BioXL/G (valid for all models except XSW).
- xlp—BioXL/P (valid for SW, FRAME+_N2P, and FRAME_P2N models).
- xlh—BioXL/H (valid for SW, FRAME+_N2P, and FRAME_P2N models).
- soft—Software device (for all models).
  -q=<query> Defines the query set. The query can be a sequence file or a database reference. You can specify a query by its name or by accession number. The format is detected automatically. However, you may specify a format using the -qfmt parameter. If you do not specify a query, the program prompts for one. If the query set is a database reference, an output file is produced for each sequence in the query.
  -db=<database name> Chooses the database set. The database set can be a sequence file or a database reference. The database format is detected automatically. However, you may specify a format using -dfmt parameter.
  -qacc Add this parameter to the command line if you specify query using accession numbers.
  -dacc Add this parameter to the command line if you specify a database using accession numbers.
  -dfmt/-qfmt=<format_type> Chooses the database/query format type. Possible formats are:
- fasta—fasta with seq type auto-detected.
- fastap—fasta protein seq.
- fastan—fasta nucleic seq.
- gcg—gcg format, type is auto-detected.
- gcg9seq—gcg9 format, type is auto-detected.
- gcg9seqp—gcg9 format protein seq.
- gcg9seqn—gcg9 format nucleic seq.
- nbrf—nbrf seq, type is auto-detected.
- nbrfp—nbrf protein seq.
- nbrfn—nbrf nucleic seq.
- embl—embl and swissprot format.
- genbank—genbank format (nucleic).
- BLAST®—BLAST® format.
- nbrf_gcg—nbrf-gcg seq, type is auto-detected.
- nbrf_gcgp—nbrf-gcg protein seq.
- nbrf_gcgn—nbrf-gcg nucleic seq.
- raw—raw ascii sequence, type is auto-detected.
- rawp—raw ascii protein sequence.
- rawn—raw ascii nucleic sequence.
- pir—pir codata format, type is auto-detected.
- profile—gcg profile (valid only for -qfmt
- in SW, XSW, FRAME_P2N, and FRAME+_P2N).
  -out=<out_fname> The name of the output file.
  -suffix=<name> The output file name suffix.
  -gapop=<n> Gap open penalty. This parameter is not valid for FRAME+. For FrameSearch the default is 12.0. For other searches the default is 10.0.
  -gapext=<n> Gap extend penalty. This parameter is not valid for FRAME+. For FrameSearch the default is 4.0. For other models: the default for protein searches is 0.05, and the default for nucleic searches is 1.0.
  -qgapop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap in the query sequence. The default is 10.0. Valid for XSW.
  -qgapext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap in the query sequence. The default is 0.05. Valid for XSW.
  -start=<n> The position in the query sequence to begin the search.
  -end=<n> The position in the query sequence to stop the search.
  -qtrans Performs a translated search, relevant for a nucleic query against a protein database. The nucleic query is translated to six reading frames and a result is given for each frame.

Valid for SW and XSW.

-dtrans Performs a translated search, relevant for a protein query against a DNA database. Each database entry is translated to six reading frames and a result is given for each frame.

Valid for SW and XSW.

Note: “-qtrans” and “-dtrans” options are mutually exclusive.

-matrix=<matrix_file> Specifies the comparison matrix to be used in the search. The matrix must be in the BLAST® format. If the matrix file is not located in $CGNROOT/tables/matrix, specify the full path as the value of the -matrix parameter.

-trans=<transtab_name> Translation table. The default location for the table is $CGNROOT/tables/trans.

-onestrand Restricts the search to just the top strand of the query/database nucleic sequence.

-list=<n> The maximum size of the output hit list. The default is 50.

-docalign=<n> The number of documentation lines preceding each alignment. The default is 10.

-thr_score=<score_name> The score that places limits on the display of results. Scores that are smaller than -thr_min value or larger than -thr_max value are not shown. Valid options are: quality.

zscore.

escore.

-thr_max=<n> The score upper threshold. Results that are larger than -thr_max value are not shown.

-thr_min=<n> The score lower threshold. Results that are lower than -thr_min value are not shown.

-align=<n> The number of alignments reported in the output file.

-noalign Do not display alignment.

Note: “-align” and “-noalign” parameters are mutually exclusive.

-outfmt=<format_name> Specifies the output format type. The default format is PFS.

Possible values are:

PFS—PFS text format

FASTA—FASTA text format

BLAST®—BLAST® text format

-nonorm Do not perform score normalization.

-norm=<norm_name> Specifies the normalization method. Valid options are:

log—logarithm normalization.

std—standard normalization.

stat—Pearson statistical method.

Note: “-nonorm” and “-norm” parameters cannot be used together.

Note: Parameters -xgapop, -xgapext, -fgapop, -fgapext, -ygapop, -ygapext, -delop, and -delext apply only to FRAME+.

-xgapop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap when inserting a codon (triplet). The default is 12.0.

-xgapext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap when inserting a codon (triplet). The default is 4.0.

-ygapop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap when deleting an amino acid. The default is 12.0.

-ygapext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap when deleting an amino acid. The default is 4.0.

-fgapop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap when inserting a DNA base. The default is 6.0.

-fgapext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap when inserting a DNA base. The default is 7.0.

-delop=<n> The penalty for opening a gap when deleting a DNA base. The default is 6.0.

-delext=<n> The penalty for extending a gap when deleting a DNA base. The default is 7.0.

-silent No screen output is produced.

-host=<host_name> The name of the host on which the server runs. By default, the application uses the host specified in the file $CGNROOT/cgnhosts.

-wait Do not go to the background when the device is busy. This option is not relevant for the Parseq or Soft pseudo device.

-batch Run the job in the background. When this option is specified, the file “$CGNROOT/defaults/batch.defaults” is used for choosing the batch command. If this file does not exist, the command “at now” is used to run the job.

Note:“-batch” and “-wait” parameters are mutually exclusive.

-version Prints the software version number.

-help Displays this help message. To get more specific help type:

- “om -model=<model_fname>-help”.

According to some embodiments the hom*ology is a local hom*ology or a local identity.

Local alignments tools include, but are not limited to the BLAST®P, BLAST® N, BLASTX® or TBLASTN® software of the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI), FASTA, and the Smith-Waterman algorithm.

A tBLASN® search allows the comparison between a protein sequence to the six-frame translations of a nucleotide database. It can be a very productive way of finding hom*ologous protein coding regions in unannotated nucleotide sequences such as expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and draft genome records (HTG), located in the BLAST® databases est and htgs, respectively.

Default parameters for BLASTP® include: Max target sequences: 100; Expected threshold: e⁻⁵; Word size: 3; Max matches in a query range: 0; Scoring parameters: Matrix—BLOSUM62; filters and masking: Filter—low complexity regions.

Local alignments tools, which can be used include, but are not limited to, the tBLASTX® algorithm, which compares the six-frame conceptual translation products of a nucleotide query sequence (both strands) against a protein sequence database. Default parameters include: Max target sequences: 100; Expected threshold: 10; Word size: 3; Max matches in a query range: 0; Scoring parameters: Matrix—BLOSUM62; filters and masking: Filter—low complexity regions.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention encodes a polypeptide having an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention encodes a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, is effected by expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% identical to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629, thereby increasing the yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide consisting of the amino acid sequence set forth by SEQ ID NO: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 or 10629.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, the method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, is effected by expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629, thereby increasing the yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide comprises a nucleic acid sequence which is at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method of increasing yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, comprising expressing within the plant an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028, thereby increasing the yield, biomass, growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, and/or nitrogen use efficiency of the plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is set forth by SEQ ID NO: 1-551, 898-6027 or 6028.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is set forth by the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

According to some embodiments of the invention the method of increasing yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant further comprising selecting a plant having an increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

It should be noted that selecting a transformed plant having an increased trait as compared to a native (or non-transformed) plant grown under the same growth conditions can be performed by selecting for the trait, e.g., validating the ability of the transformed plant to exhibit the increased trait using well known assays (e.g., seedling analyses, greenhouse assays, filed experiments) as is further described herein below.

According to some embodiments of the invention selecting is performed under non-stress conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention selecting is performed under abiotic stress conditions.

According to some embodiments of the invention selecting is performed under nitrogen limiting (e.g., nitrogen deficient) conditions.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a method of selecting a transformed plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, the method comprising:

(a) providing plants transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% hom*ologous (e.g., having sequence similarity or sequence identity) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629,

(b) selecting from the plants of step (a) a plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance (e.g., by selecting the plants for the increased trait),

thereby selecting the plant having increased yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, nitrogen use efficiency, and/or abiotic stress tolerance as compared to the wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions.

(a) providing plants transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028,

As used herein the term “polynucleotide” refers to a single or double stranded nucleic acid sequence which is isolated and provided in the form of an RNA sequence, a complementary polynucleotide sequence (cDNA), a genomic polynucleotide sequence and/or a composite polynucleotide sequences (e.g., a combination of the above).

The term “isolated” refers to at least partially separated from the natural environment e.g., from a plant cell.

As used herein the phrase “complementary polynucleotide sequence” refers to a sequence, which results from reverse transcription of messenger RNA using a reverse transcriptase or any other RNA dependent DNA polymerase. Such a sequence can be subsequently amplified in vivo or in vitro using a DNA dependent DNA polymerase.

As used herein the phrase “genomic polynucleotide sequence” refers to a sequence derived (isolated) from a chromosome and thus it represents a contiguous portion of a chromosome.

As used herein the phrase “composite polynucleotide sequence” refers to a sequence, which is at least partially complementary and at least partially genomic. A composite sequence can include some exonal sequences required to encode the polypeptide of the present invention, as well as some intronic sequences interposing therebetween. The intronic sequences can be of any source, including of other genes, and typically will include conserved splicing signal sequences. Such intronic sequences may further include cis acting expression regulatory elements.

Nucleic acid sequences encoding the polypeptides of the present invention may be optimized for expression. Examples of such sequence modifications include, but are not limited to, an altered G/C content to more closely approach that typically found in the plant species of interest, and the removal of codons atypically found in the plant species commonly referred to as codon optimization.

The phrase “codon optimization” refers to the selection of appropriate DNA nucleotides for use within a structural gene or fragment thereof that approaches codon usage within the plant of interest. Therefore, an optimized gene or nucleic acid sequence refers to a gene in which the nucleotide sequence of a native or naturally occurring gene has been modified in order to utilize statistically-preferred or statistically-favored codons within the plant. The nucleotide sequence typically is examined at the DNA level and the coding region optimized for expression in the plant species determined using any suitable procedure, for example as described in Sardana et al. (1996, Plant Cell Reports 15:677-681). In this method, the standard deviation of codon usage, a measure of codon usage bias, may be calculated by first finding the squared proportional deviation of usage of each codon of the native gene relative to that of highly expressed plant genes, followed by a calculation of the average squared deviation. The formula used is: 1 SDCU=n=1 N [(Xn−Yn)/Yn] 2/N, where Xn refers to the frequency of usage of codon n in highly expressed plant genes, where Yn to the frequency of usage of codon n in the gene of interest and N refers to the total number of codons in the gene of interest. A Table of codon usage from highly expressed genes of dicotyledonous plants is compiled using the data of Murray et al. (1989, Nuc Acids Res. 17:477-498).

One method of optimizing the nucleic acid sequence in accordance with the preferred codon usage for a particular plant cell type is based on the direct use, without performing any extra statistical calculations, of codon optimization Tables such as those provided on-line at the Codon Usage Database through the NIAS (National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences) DNA bank in Japan (kazusa (dot) or (dot) jp/codon/). The Codon Usage Database contains codon usage tables for a number of different species, with each codon usage Table having been statistically determined based on the data present in Genbank.

By using the above Tables to determine the most preferred or most favored codons for each amino acid in a particular species (for example, rice), a naturally-occurring nucleotide sequence encoding a protein of interest can be codon optimized for that particular plant species. This is effected by replacing codons that may have a low statistical incidence in the particular species genome with corresponding codons, in regard to an amino acid, that are statistically more favored. However, one or more less-favored codons may be selected to delete existing restriction sites, to create new ones at potentially useful junctions (5′ and 3′ ends to add signal peptide or termination cassettes, internal sites that might be used to cut and splice segments together to produce a correct full-length sequence), or to eliminate nucleotide sequences that may negatively effect mRNA stability or expression.

The naturally-occurring encoding nucleotide sequence may already, in advance of any modification, contain a number of codons that correspond to a statistically-favored codon in a particular plant species. Therefore, codon optimization of the native nucleotide sequence may comprise determining which codons, within the native nucleotide sequence, are not statistically-favored with regards to a particular plant, and modifying these codons in accordance with a codon usage table of the particular plant to produce a codon optimized derivative. A modified nucleotide sequence may be fully or partially optimized for plant codon usage provided that the protein encoded by the modified nucleotide sequence is produced at a level higher than the protein encoded by the corresponding naturally occurring or native gene. Construction of synthetic genes by altering the codon usage is described in for example PCT Patent Application 93/07278.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide is a non-coding RNA.

As used herein the phrase ‘non-coding RNA″ refers to an RNA molecule which does not encode an amino acid sequence (a polypeptide). Examples of such non-coding RNA molecules include, but are not limited to, an antisense RNA, a pre-miRNA (precursor of a microRNA), or a precursor of a Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA).

Non-limiting examples of non-coding RNA polynucleotides are provided in SEQ ID NOs: 251-261, 305-310, 547-551, 2495, 3836, 4999, and 5255.

Thus, the invention encompasses nucleic acid sequences described hereinabove; fragments thereof, sequences hybridizable therewith, sequences hom*ologous thereto, sequences encoding similar polypeptides with different codon usage, altered sequences characterized by mutations, such as deletion, insertion or substitution of one or more nucleotides, either naturally occurring or man induced, either randomly or in a targeted fashion.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the exogenous polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of a naturally occurring plant orthologue of the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the amino acid sequence of a naturally occurring plant orthologue of the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028.

According to some embodiments of the invention the nucleic acid sequence is capable of increasing nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, yield (e.g., seed yield, oil yield), growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance and/or water use efficiency of a plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the isolated polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

According to some embodiments of the invention the isolated polynucleotide is set forth by SEQ ID NO: 1-551, 898-6027 or 6028.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% hom*ologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention the amino acid sequence is capable of increasing nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, yield, seed yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, oil content, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance and/or water use efficiency of a plant.

The invention provides an isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide which comprises the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a nucleic acid construct comprising the isolated polynucleotide of the invention, and a promoter for directing transcription of the nucleic acid sequence in a host cell.

The invention provides an isolated polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% hom*ologous to an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the polypeptide is set forth by SEQ ID NO: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 or 10629.

The invention also encompasses fragments of the above described polypeptides and polypeptides having mutations, such as deletions, insertions or substitutions of one or more amino acids, either naturally occurring or man induced, either randomly or in a targeted fashion.

The term “plant” as used herein encompasses a whole plant, a grafted plant, ancestor(s) and progeny of the plants and plant parts, including seeds, shoots, stems, roots (including tubers), rootstock, scion, and plant cells, tissues and organs. The plant may be in any form including suspension cultures, embryos, meristematic regions, callus tissue, leaves, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen, and microspores. Plants that are particularly useful in the methods of the invention include all plants which belong to the superfamily Viridiplantae, in particular monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants including a fodder or forage legume, ornamental plant, food crop, tree, or shrub selected from the list comprising Acacia spp., Acer spp., Actinidia spp., Aesculus spp., Agathis australis, Albizia amara, Alsophila tricolor, Andropogon spp., Arachis spp, Areca catechu, Astelia fragrans, Astragalus cicer, Baikiaea plurijuga, Betula spp., Brassica spp., Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Burkea africana, Butea frondosa, Cadaba farinosa, Calliandra spp, Camellia sinensis, Canna indica, Capsicum spp., Cassia spp., Centroema pubescens, Chacoomeles spp., Cinnamomum cassia, Coffea arabica, Colophospermum mopane, Coronillia varia, Cotoneaster serotina, Crataegus spp., Cucumis spp., Cupressus spp., Cyathea dealbata, Cydonia oblonga, Cryptomeria japonica, Cymbopogon spp., Cynthea dealbata, Cydonia oblonga, Dalbergia monetaria, Davallia divaricata, Desmodium spp., Dicksonia squarosa, Dibeteropogon amplectens, Dioclea spp, Dolichos spp., Dorycnium rectum, Echinochloa pyramidalis, Ehraffia spp., Eleusine coracana, Eragrestis spp., Erythrina spp., Eucalypfus spp., Euclea schimperi, Eulalia vi/losa, Pagopyrum spp., Feijoa sellowlana, Fragaria spp., Flemingia spp, Freycinetia banksli, Geranium thunbergii, GinAgo biloba, Glycine javanica, Gliricidia spp, Gossypium hirsutum, Grevillea spp., Guibourtia coleosperma, Hedysarum spp., Hemaffhia altissima, Heteropogon contoffus, Hordeum vulgare, Hyparrhenia rufa, Hypericum erectum, Hypeffhelia dissolute, Indigo incamata, Iris spp., Leptarrhena pyrolifolia, Lespediza spp., Lettuca spp., Leucaena leucocephala, Loudetia simplex, Lotonus bainesli, Lotus spp., Macrotyloma axillare, Malus spp., Manihot esculenta, Medicago saliva, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Musa sapientum, Nicotianum spp., Onobrychis spp., Ornithopus spp., Oryza spp., Peltophorum africanum, Pennisetum spp., Persea gratissima, Petunia spp., Phaseolus spp., Phoenix canariensis, Phormium cookianum, Photinia spp., Picea glauca, Pinus spp., Pisum sativam, Podocarpus otara, Pogonarthria fleckii, Pogonaffhria squarrosa, Populus spp., Prosopis cineraria, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Pterolobium stellatum, Pyrus communis, Quercus spp., Rhaphiolepsis umbellata, Rhopalostylis sapida, Rhus natalensis, Ribes grossularia, Ribes spp., Robinia pseudoacacia, Rosa spp., Rubus spp., Salix spp., Schyzachyrium sanguineum, Sciadopitys vefficillata, Sequoia sempervirens, Sequoiadendron giganteum, Sorghum bicolor, Spinacia spp., Sporobolus fimbriatus, Stiburus alopecuroides, Stylosanthos humilis, Tadehagi spp, Taxodium distichum, Themeda triandra, Trifolium spp., Triticum spp., Tsuga heterophylla, Vaccinium spp., Vicia spp., Vitis vinifera, Watsonia pyramidata, Zantedeschia aethiopica, Zea mays, amaranth, artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, canola, carrot, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, flax, kale, lentil, oilseed rape, okra, onion, potato, rice, soybean, straw, sugar beet, sugar cane, sunflower, tomato, squash tea, maize, wheat, barley, rye, oat, peanut, pea, lentil and alfalfa, cotton, rapeseed, canola, pepper, sunflower, tobacco, eggplant, eucalyptus, a tree, an ornamental plant, a perennial grass and a forage crop. Alternatively algae and other non-Viridiplantae can be used for the methods of the present invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant used by the method of the invention is a crop plant such as rice, maize, wheat, barley, peanut, potato, sesame, olive tree, palm oil, banana, soybean, sunflower, canola, sugarcane, alfalfa, millet, leguminosae (bean, pea), flax, lupinus, rapeseed, tobacco, poplar and cotton.

According to some embodiments of the invention the plant is a dicotyledonous plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the plant is a monocotyledonous plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, there is provided a plant cell exogenously expressing the polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention and/or the polypeptide of some embodiments of the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, expressing the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention within the plant is effected by transforming one or more cells of the plant with the exogenous polynucleotide, followed by generating a mature plant from the transformed cells and cultivating the mature plant under conditions suitable for expressing the exogenous polynucleotide within the mature plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the transformation is effected by introducing to the plant cell a nucleic acid construct which includes the exogenous polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention and at least one promoter for directing transcription of the exogenous polynucleotide in a host cell (a plant cell). Further details of suitable transformation approaches are provided hereinbelow.

As mentioned, the nucleic acid construct according to some embodiments of the invention comprises a promoter sequence and the isolated polynucleotide of some embodiments of the invention.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the isolated polynucleotide is operably linked to the promoter sequence.

A coding nucleic acid sequence is “operably linked” to a regulatory sequence (e.g., promoter) if the regulatory sequence is capable of exerting a regulatory effect on the coding sequence linked thereto.

As used herein, the term “promoter” refers to a region of DNA which lies upstream of the transcriptional initiation site of a gene to which RNA polymerase binds to initiate transcription of RNA. The promoter controls where (e.g., which portion of a plant) and/or when (e.g., at which stage or condition in the lifetime of an organism) the gene is expressed.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the promoter is heterologous to the isolated polynucleotide and/or to the host cell.

As used herein the phrase “heterologous promoter” refers to a promoter from a different species or from the same species but from a different gene locus as of the isolated polynucleotide sequence.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the isolated polynucleotide is heterologous to the plant cell (e.g., the polynucleotide is derived from a different plant species when compared to the plant cell, thus the isolated polynucleotide and the plant cell are not from the same plant species).

Any suitable promoter sequence can be used by the nucleic acid construct of the present invention. Preferably the promoter is a constitutive promoter, a tissue-specific, or an abiotic stress-inducible promoter.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the promoter is a plant promoter, which is suitable for expression of the exogenous polynucleotide in a plant cell.

Suitable promoters for expression in wheat include, but are not limited to, Wheat SPA promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10630; Albanietal, Plant Cell, 9: 171-184, 1997, which is fully incorporated herein by reference), wheat LMW (SEQ ID NO: 10631 (longer LMW promoter), and SEQ ID NO: 10632 (LMW promoter) and HMW glutenin-1 (SEQ ID NO: 10633 (Wheat HMW glutenin-1 longer promoter); and SEQ ID NO: 10634 (Wheat HMW glutenin-1 Promoter); Thomas and Flavell, The Plant Cell 2:1171-1180; Furtado et al., 2009 Plant Biotechnology Journal 7:240-253, each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference), wheat alpha, beta and gamma gliadins [e.g., SEQ ID NO: 10635 (wheat alpha gliadin, B genome, promoter); SEQ ID NO: 10636 (wheat gamma gliadin promoter); EMBO 3:1409-15, 1984, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], wheat TdPR60 [SEQ ID NO: 10637 (wheat TdPR60 longer promoter) or SEQ ID NO: 10638 (wheat TdPR60 promoter); Kovalchuk et al., Plant Mol Biol 71:81-98, 2009, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], maize Ub1 Promoter [cultivar Nongda 105 (SEQ ID NO: 10639); GenBank: DQ141598.1; Taylor et al., Plant Cell Rep 1993 12: 491-495, which is fully incorporated herein by reference; and cultivar B73 (SEQ ID NO: 10640); Christensen, A H, et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 18 (4), 675-689 (1992), which is fully incorporated herein by reference]; rice actin 1 (SEQ ID NO: 10641; Mc Elroy et al. 1990, The Plant Cell, Vol. 2, 163-171, which is fully incorporated herein by reference), rice GOS2 [SEQ ID NO: 10642 (rice GOS2 longer promoter) and SEQ ID NO: 10643 (rice GOS2 Promoter); De Pater et al. Plant J. 1992; 2: 837-44, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], arabidopsis Pho1 [SEQ ID NO: 10644 (arabidopsis Pho1 Promoter); Hamburger et al., Plant Cell. 2002; 14: 889-902, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], Expansin B promoters, e.g., rice ExpB5 [SEQ ID NO: 10645 (rice ExpB5 longer promoter) and SEQ ID NO: 10646 (rice ExpB5 promoter)] and Barley ExpB1 [SEQ ID NO: 10647 (barley ExpB1 Promoter), Won et al. Mol Cells. 2010; 30:369-76, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], barley SS2 (sucrose synthase 2) [(SEQ ID NO: 10648), Guerin and Carbonero, Plant Physiology May 1997 vol. 114 no. 1 55-62, which is fully incorporated herein by reference], and rice PG5a [SEQ ID NO: 10649, U.S. Pat. No. 7,700,835, Nakase et al., Plant Mol Biol. 32:621-30, 1996, each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference].

Suitable constitutive promoters include, for example, CaMV 35S promoter [SEQ ID NO: 10650 (CaMV 35S (pQXNc) Promoter); SEQ ID NO: 10651 (PJJ 35S from Brachypodium); SEQ ID NO: 10652 (CaMV 35S (OLD) Promoter) (Odell et al., Nature 313:810-812, 1985)], Arabidopsis At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10653 (Arabidopsis At6669 (OLD) Promoter); see PCT Publication No. WO04081173A2 or the new At6669 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10654 (Arabidopsis At6669 (NEW) Promoter)); maize Ub1 Promoter [cultivar Nongda 105 (SEQ ID NO: 10639); GenBank: DQ141598.1; Taylor et al., Plant Cell Rep 1993 12: 491-495, which is fully incorporated herein by reference; and cultivar B73 (SEQ ID NO: 10640); Christensen, A H, et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 18 (4), 675-689 (1992), which is fully incorporated herein by reference]; rice actin 1 (SEQ ID NO: 10641, McElroy et al., Plant Cell 2:163-171, 1990); pEMU (Last et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. 81:581-588, 1991); CaMV 19S (Nilsson et al., Physiol. Plant 100:456-462, 1997); rice GOS2 [SEQ ID NO: 10642 (rice GOS2 longer Promoter) and SEQ ID NO: 10643 (rice GOS2 Promoter), de Pater et al, Plant J November; 2(6):837-44, 1992]; RBCS promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10655); Rice cyclophilin (Bucholz et al, Plant Mol Biol. 25(5):837-43, 1994); Maize H3 histone (Lepetit et al, Mol. Gen. Genet. 231: 276-285, 1992); Actin 2 (An et al, Plant J. 10(1); 107-121, 1996) and Synthetic Super MAS (Ni et al., The Plant Journal 7: 661-76, 1995). Other constitutive promoters include those in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,659,026, 5,608,149; 5.608,144; 5,604,121; 5,569,597: 5,466,785; 5,399,680; 5,268,463; and 5,608,142.

Suitable tissue-specific promoters include, but not limited to, leaf-specific promoters [e.g., AT5G06690 (Thioredoxin) (high expression, SEQ ID NO: 10656), AT5G61520 (AtSTP3) (low expression, SEQ ID NO: 10657) described in Buttner et al 2000 Plant, Cell and Environment 23, 175-184, or the promoters described in Yamamoto et al., Plant J. 12:255-265, 1997; Kwon et al., Plant Physiol. 105:357-67, 1994; Yamamoto et al., Plant Cell Physiol. 35:773-778, 1994; Gotor et al., Plant J. 3:509-18, 1993; Orozco et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 23:1129-1138, 1993; and Matsuoka et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:9586-9590, 1993; as well as Arabidopsis STP3 (AT5G61520) promoter (Buttner et al., Plant, Cell and Environment 23:175-184, 2000)], seed-preferred promoters [e.g., Napin (originated from Brassica napus which is characterized by a seed specific promoter activity; Stuitje A. R. et. al. Plant Biotechnology Journal 1 (4): 301-309; SEQ ID NO: 10658 (Brassica napus NAPIN Promoter) from seed specific genes (Simon, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 5. 191, 1985; Scofield, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 262: 12202, 1987; Baszczynski, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 14: 633, 1990), rice PG5a (SEQ ID NO: 10649; U.S. Pat. No. 7,700,835), early seed development Arabidopsis BAN (AT1G61720) (SEQ ID NO: 10659, US 2009/0031450 A1), late seed development Arabidopsis ABI3 (AT3G24650) (SEQ ID NO: 10660 (Arabidopsis ABI3 (AT3G24650) longer Promoter) or 10661 (Arabidopsis ABI3 (AT3G24650) Promoter)) (Ng et al., Plant Molecular Biology 54: 25-38, 2004), Brazil Nut albumin (Pearson′ et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 18: 235-245, 1992), legumin (Ellis, et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 10: 203-214, 1988), Glutelin (rice) (Takaiwa, et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 208: 15-22, 1986; Takaiwa, et al., FEBS Letts. 221: 43-47, 1987), Zein (Matzke et al Plant Mol Biol, 143:323-32 1990), napA (Stalberg, et al, Planta 199: 515-519, 1996), Wheat SPA (SEQ ID NO: 10630; Albanietal, Plant Cell, 9: 171-184, 1997), sunflower oleosin (Cummins, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 19: 873-876, 1992)], endosperm specific promoters [e.g., wheat LMW (SEQ ID NO: 10631 (Wheat LMW Longer Promoter), and SEQ ID NO: 10632 (Wheat LMW Promoter) and HMW glutenin-1 [(SEQ ID NO: 10633 (Wheat HMW glutenin-1 longer Promoter)); and SEQ ID NO: 10634 (Wheat HMW glutenin-1 Promoter), Thomas and Flavell, The Plant Cell 2:1171-1180, 1990; Mol Gen Genet 216:81-90, 1989; NAR 17:461-2), wheat alpha, beta and gamma gliadins (SEQ ID NO: 10635 (wheat alpha gliadin (B genome) promoter); SEQ ID NO: 10636 (wheat gamma gliadin promoter); EMBO 3:1409-15, 1984), Barley ltr1 promoter, barley B1, C, D hordein (Theor Appl Gen 98:1253-62, 1999; Plant J 4:343-55, 1993; Mol Gen Genet 250:750-60, 1996), Barley DOF (Mena et al, The Plant Journal, 116(1): 53-62, 1998), Biz2 (EP99106056.7), Barley SS2 (SEQ ID NO: 10648 (Barley SS2 Promoter); Guerin and Carbonero Plant Physiology 114: 1 55-62, 1997), wheat Tarp60 (Kovalchuk et al., Plant Mol Biol 71:81-98, 2009), barley D-hordein (D-Hor) and B-hordein (B-Hor) (Agnelo Furtado, Robert J. Henry and Alessandro Pellegrineschi (2009)], Synthetic promoter (Vicente-Carbajosa et al., Plant J. 13: 629-640, 1998), rice prolamin NRP33, rice -globulin Glb-1 (Wu et al, Plant Cell Physiology 39(8) 885-889, 1998), rice alpha-globulin REB/OHP-1 (Nakase et al. Plant Mol. Biol. 33: 513-S22, 1997), rice ADP-glucose PP (Trans Res 6:157-68, 1997), maize ESR gene family (Plant J 12:235-46, 1997), sorgum gamma-kafirin (PMB 32:1029-35, 1996)], embryo specific promoters [e.g., rice OSH1 (Sato et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93: 8117-8122), KNOX (Postma-Haarsma et al, Plant Mol. Biol. 39:257-71, 1999), rice oleosin (Wu et at, J. Biochem., 123:386, 1998)], and flower-specific promoters [e.g., AtPRP4, chalene synthase (chsA) (Van der Meer, et al., Plant Mol. Biol. 15, 95-109, 1990), LAT52 (Twell et al Mol. Gen Genet. 217:240-245; 1989), Arabidopsis apetala—3 (Tilly et al., Development. 125:1647-57, 1998), Arabidopsis APETALA 1 (AT1G69120, AP1) (SEQ ID NO: 10662 (Arabidopsis (AT1G69120) APETALA 1)) (Hempel et al., Development 124:3845-3853, 1997)], and root promoters [e.g., the ROOTP promoter [SEQ ID NO: 10663]; rice ExpB5 (SEQ ID NO: 10646 (rice ExpB5 Promoter); or SEQ ID NO: 10645 (rice ExpB5 longer Promoter)) and barley ExpB1 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10647) (Won et al. Mol. Cells 30: 369-376, 2010); arabidopsis ATTPS-CIN (AT3G25820) promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10664; Chen et al., Plant Phys 135:1956-66, 2004); arabidopsis Pho1 promoter (SEQ ID NO: 10644, Hamburger et al., Plant Cell. 14: 889-902, 2002), which is also slightly induced by stress].

Suitable abiotic stress-inducible promoters include, but not limited to, salt-inducible promoters such as RD29A (Yamaguchi-Shinozalei et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 236:331-340, 1993); drought-inducible promoters such as maize rab17 gene promoter (Pla et. al., Plant Mol. Biol. 21:259-266, 1993), maize rab28 gene promoter (Busk et. al., Plant J. 11:1285-1295, 1997) and maize Ivr2 gene promoter (Pelleschi et. al., Plant Mol. Biol. 39:373-380, 1999); heat-inducible promoters such as heat tomato hsp80-promoter from tomato (U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,267).

The nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention can further include an appropriate selectable marker and/or an origin of replication. According to some embodiments of the invention, the nucleic acid construct utilized is a shuttle vector, which can propagate both in E. coli (wherein the construct comprises an appropriate selectable marker and origin of replication) and be compatible with propagation in cells. The construct according to the present invention can be, for example, a plasmid, a bacmid, a phagemid, a cosmid, a phage, a virus or an artificial chromosome.

The nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention can be utilized to stably or transiently transform plant cells. In stable transformation, the exogenous polynucleotide is integrated into the plant genome and as such it represents a stable and inherited trait. In transient transformation, the exogenous polynucleotide is expressed by the cell transformed but it is not integrated into the genome and as such it represents a transient trait.

There are various methods of introducing foreign genes into both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants (Potrykus, I., Annu. Rev. Plant. Physiol., Plant. Mol. Biol. (1991) 42:205-225; Shimamoto et al., Nature (1989) 338:274-276).

The principle methods of causing stable integration of exogenous DNA into plant genomic DNA include two main approaches:

(i) Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer: Klee et al. (1987) Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 38:467-486; Klee and Rogers in Cell Culture and Somatic Cell Genetics of Plants, Vol. 6, Molecular Biology of Plant Nuclear Genes, eds. Schell, J., and Vasil, L. K., Academic Publishers, San Diego, Calif. (1989) p. 2-25; Gatenby, in Plant Biotechnology, eds. Kung, S. and Arntzen, C. J., Butterworth Publishers, Boston, Mass. (1989) p. 93-112.

(ii) Direct DNA uptake: Paszkowski et al., in Cell Culture and Somatic Cell Genetics of Plants, Vol. 6, Molecular Biology of Plant Nuclear Genes eds. Schell, J., and Vasil, L. K., Academic Publishers, San Diego, Calif. (1989) p. 52-68; including methods for direct uptake of DNA into protoplasts, Toriyama, K. et al. (1988) Bio/Technology 6:1072-1074. DNA uptake induced by brief electric shock of plant cells: Zhang et al. Plant Cell Rep. (1988) 7:379-384. Fromm et al. Nature (1986) 319:791-793. DNA injection into plant cells or tissues by particle bombardment, Klein et al. Bio/Technology (1988) 6:559-563; McCabe et al. Bio/Technology (1988) 6:923-926; Sanford, Physiol. Plant. (1990) 79:206-209; by the use of micropipette systems: Neuhaus et al., Theor. Appl. Genet. (1987) 75:30-36; Neuhaus and Spangenberg, Physiol. Plant. (1990) 79:213-217; glass fibers or silicon carbide whisker transformation of cell cultures, embryos or callus tissue, U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,765 or by the direct incubation of DNA with germinating pollen, DeWet et al. in Experimental Manipulation of Ovule Tissue, eds. Chapman, G. P. and Mantell, S. H. and Daniels, W. Longman, London, (1985) p. 197-209; and Ohta, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1986) 83:715-719.

The Agrobacterium system includes the use of plasmid vectors that contain defined DNA segments that integrate into the plant genomic DNA. Methods of inoculation of the plant tissue vary depending upon the plant species and the Agrobacterium delivery system. A widely used approach is the leaf disc procedure which can be performed with any tissue explant that provides a good source for initiation of whole plant differentiation. See, e.g., Horsch et al. in Plant Molecular Biology Manual A5, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (1988) p. 1-9. A supplementary approach employs the Agrobacterium delivery system in combination with vacuum infiltration. The Agrobacterium system is especially viable in the creation of transgenic dicotyledonous plants.

There are various methods of direct DNA transfer into plant cells. In electroporation, the protoplasts are briefly exposed to a strong electric field. In microinjection, the DNA is mechanically injected directly into the cells using very small micropipettes. In microparticle bombardment, the DNA is adsorbed on microprojectiles such as magnesium sulfate crystals or tungsten particles, and the microprojectiles are physically accelerated into cells or plant tissues.

Following stable transformation plant propagation is exercised. The most common method of plant propagation is by seed. Regeneration by seed propagation, however, has the deficiency that due to heterozygosity there is a lack of uniformity in the crop, since seeds are produced by plants according to the genetic variances governed by Mendelian rules. Basically, each seed is genetically different and each will grow with its own specific traits. Therefore, it is preferred that the transformed plant be produced such that the regenerated plant has the identical traits and characteristics of the parent transgenic plant. Therefore, it is preferred that the transformed plant be regenerated by micropropagation which provides a rapid, consistent reproduction of the transformed plants.

Micropropagation is a process of growing new generation plants from a single piece of tissue that has been excised from a selected parent plant or cultivar. This process permits the mass reproduction of plants having the preferred tissue expressing the fusion protein. The new generation plants which are produced are genetically identical to, and have all of the characteristics of, the original plant. Micropropagation allows mass production of quality plant material in a short period of time and offers a rapid multiplication of selected cultivars in the preservation of the characteristics of the original transgenic or transformed plant. The advantages of cloning plants are the speed of plant multiplication and the quality and uniformity of plants produced.

Micropropagation is a multi-stage procedure that requires alteration of culture medium or growth conditions between stages. Thus, the micropropagation process involves four basic stages: Stage one, initial tissue culturing; stage two, tissue culture multiplication; stage three, differentiation and plant formation; and stage four, greenhouse culturing and hardening. During stage one, initial tissue culturing, the tissue culture is established and certified contaminant-free. During stage two, the initial tissue culture is multiplied until a sufficient number of tissue samples are produced from the seedlings to meet production goals. During stage three, the tissue samples grown in stage two are divided and grown into individual plantlets. At stage four, the transformed plantlets are transferred to a greenhouse for hardening where the plants' tolerance to light is gradually increased so that it can be grown in the natural environment.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the transgenic plants are generated by transient transformation of leaf cells, meristematic cells or the whole plant.

Transient transformation can be effected by any of the direct DNA transfer methods described above or by viral infection using modified plant viruses.

Viruses that have been shown to be useful for the transformation of plant hosts include CaMV, Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), brome mosaic virus (BMV) and Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BV or BCMV). Transformation of plants using plant viruses is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,237 (bean golden mosaic virus; BGV), EP-A 67,553 (TMV), Japanese Published Application No. 63-14693 (TMV), EPA 194,809 (BV), EPA 278,667 (BV); and Gluzman, Y. et al., Communications in Molecular Biology: Viral Vectors, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, pp. 172-189 (1988). Pseudovirus particles for use in expressing foreign DNA in many hosts, including plants are described in WO 87/06261.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the virus used for transient transformations is avirulent and thus is incapable of causing severe symptoms such as reduced growth rate, mosaic, ring spots, leaf roll, yellowing, streaking, pox formation, tumor formation and pitting. A suitable avirulent virus may be a naturally occurring avirulent virus or an artificially attenuated virus. Virus attenuation may be effected by using methods well known in the art including, but not limited to, sub-lethal heating, chemical treatment or by directed mutagenesis techniques such as described, for example, by Kurihara and Watanabe (Molecular Plant Pathology 4:259-269, 2003), Gal-on et al. (1992), Atreya et al. (1992) and Huet et al. (1994).

Suitable virus strains can be obtained from available sources such as, for example, the American Type culture Collection (ATCC) or by isolation from infected plants. Isolation of viruses from infected plant tissues can be effected by techniques well known in the art such as described, for example by Foster and Taylor, Eds. “Plant Virology Protocols: From Virus Isolation to Transgenic Resistance (Methods in Molecular Biology (Humana Pr), Vol 81)”, Humana Press, 1998. Briefly, tissues of an infected plant believed to contain a high concentration of a suitable virus, preferably young leaves and flower petals, are ground in a buffer solution (e.g., phosphate buffer solution) to produce a virus infected sap which can be used in subsequent inoculations.

Construction of plant RNA viruses for the introduction and expression of non-viral exogenous polynucleotide sequences in plants is demonstrated by the above references as well as by Dawson, W. O. et al., Virology (1989) 172:285-292; Takamatsu et al. EMBO J. (1987) 6:307-311; French et al. Science (1986) 231:1294-1297; Takamatsu et al. FEBS Letters (1990) 269:73-76; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,931.

When the virus is a DNA virus, suitable modifications can be made to the virus itself. Alternatively, the virus can first be cloned into a bacterial plasmid for ease of constructing the desired viral vector with the foreign DNA. The virus can then be excised from the plasmid. If the virus is a DNA virus, a bacterial origin of replication can be attached to the viral DNA, which is then replicated by the bacteria. Transcription and translation of this DNA will produce the coat protein which will encapsidate the viral DNA. If the virus is an RNA virus, the virus is generally cloned as a cDNA and inserted into a plasmid. The plasmid is then used to make all of the constructions. The RNA virus is then produced by transcribing the viral sequence of the plasmid and translation of the viral genes to produce the coat protein(s) which encapsidate the viral RNA.

In one embodiment, a plant viral polynucleotide is provided in which the native coat protein coding sequence has been deleted from a viral polynucleotide, a non-native plant viral coat protein coding sequence and a non-native promoter, preferably the subgenomic promoter of the non-native coat protein coding sequence, capable of expression in the plant host, packaging of the recombinant plant viral polynucleotide, and ensuring a systemic infection of the host by the recombinant plant viral polynucleotide, has been inserted. Alternatively, the coat protein gene may be inactivated by insertion of the non-native polynucleotide sequence within it, such that a protein is produced. The recombinant plant viral polynucleotide may contain one or more additional non-native subgenomic promoters. Each non-native subgenomic promoter is capable of transcribing or expressing adjacent genes or polynucleotide sequences in the plant host and incapable of recombination with each other and with native subgenomic promoters. Non-native (foreign) polynucleotide sequences may be inserted adjacent the native plant viral subgenomic promoter or the native and a non-native plant viral subgenomic promoters if more than one polynucleotide sequence is included. The non-native polynucleotide sequences are transcribed or expressed in the host plant under control of the subgenomic promoter to produce the desired products.

In a second embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide is provided as in the first embodiment except that the native coat protein coding sequence is placed adjacent one of the non-native coat protein subgenomic promoters instead of a non-native coat protein coding sequence.

In a third embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide is provided in which the native coat protein gene is adjacent its subgenomic promoter and one or more non-native subgenomic promoters have been inserted into the viral polynucleotide. The inserted non-native subgenomic promoters are capable of transcribing or expressing adjacent genes in a plant host and are incapable of recombination with each other and with native subgenomic promoters. Non-native polynucleotide sequences may be inserted adjacent the non-native subgenomic plant viral promoters such that the sequences are transcribed or expressed in the host plant under control of the subgenomic promoters to produce the desired product.

In a fourth embodiment, a recombinant plant viral polynucleotide is provided as in the third embodiment except that the native coat protein coding sequence is replaced by a non-native coat protein coding sequence.

The viral vectors are encapsidated by the coat proteins encoded by the recombinant plant viral polynucleotide to produce a recombinant plant virus. The recombinant plant viral polynucleotide or recombinant plant virus is used to infect appropriate host plants. The recombinant plant viral polynucleotide is capable of replication in the host, systemic spread in the host, and transcription or expression of foreign gene(s) (exogenous polynucleotide) in the host to produce the desired protein.

Techniques for inoculation of viruses to plants may be found in Foster and Taylor, eds. “Plant Virology Protocols: From Virus Isolation to Transgenic Resistance (Methods in Molecular Biology (Humana Pr), Vol 81)”, Humana Press, 1998; Maramorosh and Koprowski, eds. “Methods in Virology” 7 vols, Academic Press, New York 1967-1984; Hill, S. A. “Methods in Plant Virology”, Blackwell, Oxford, 1984; Walkey, D. G. A. “Applied Plant Virology”, Wiley, New York, 1985; and Kado and Agrawa, eds. “Principles and Techniques in Plant Virology”, Van Nostrand-Reinhold, New York.

In addition to the above, the polynucleotide of the present invention can also be introduced into a chloroplast genome thereby enabling chloroplast expression.

A technique for introducing exogenous polynucleotide sequences to the genome of the chloroplasts is known. This technique involves the following procedures. First, plant cells are chemically treated so as to reduce the number of chloroplasts per cell to about one. Then, the exogenous polynucleotide is introduced via particle bombardment into the cells with the aim of introducing at least one exogenous polynucleotide molecule into the chloroplasts. The exogenous polynucleotides selected such that it is integratable into the chloroplast's genome via hom*ologous recombination which is readily effected by enzymes inherent to the chloroplast. To this end, the exogenous polynucleotide includes, in addition to a gene of interest, at least one polynucleotide stretch which is derived from the chloroplast's genome. In addition, the exogenous polynucleotide includes a selectable marker, which serves by sequential selection procedures to ascertain that all or substantially all of the copies of the chloroplast genomes following such selection will include the exogenous polynucleotide. Further details relating to this technique are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,945,050; and 5,693,507 which are incorporated herein by reference. A polypeptide can thus be produced by the protein expression system of the chloroplast and become integrated into the chloroplast's inner membrane.

According to some embodiments, there is provided a method of improving nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, oil yield, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a grafted plant, the method comprising providing a scion that does not transgenically express a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least 80% hom*ologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629 and a plant rootstock that transgenically expresses a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% hom*ologous (or identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629 (e.g., in a constitutive, tissue specific or inducible, e.g., in an abiotic stress responsive manner), thereby improving the nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance of the grafted plant.

In some embodiments, the plant scion is non-transgenic.

Several embodiments relate to a grafted plant exhibiting improved nitrogen use efficiency, yield, growth rate, biomass, vigor, oil content, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, and/or abiotic stress tolerance, comprising a scion that does not transgenically express a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least 80% hom*ologous to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629 and a plant rootstock that transgenically expresses a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% hom*ologous (or identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629.

In some embodiments, the plant root stock transgenically expresses a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% hom*ologous (or identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629 in a stress responsive manner.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant root stock transgenically expresses a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant root stock transgenically expresses a polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant root stock transgenically expresses a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

Since processes which increase nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, oil content, yield, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, growth rate, biomass, vigor and/or abiotic stress tolerance of a plant can involve multiple genes acting additively or in synergy (see, for example, in Quesda et al., Plant Physiol. 130:951-063, 2002), the present invention also envisages expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single host plant to thereby achieve superior effect on nitrogen use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, oil content, yield, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, growth rate, biomass, vigor and/or abiotic stress tolerance.

Expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single host plant can be effected by co-introducing multiple nucleic acid constructs, each including a different exogenous polynucleotide, into a single plant cell. The transformed cell can then be regenerated into a mature plant using the methods described hereinabove.

Alternatively, expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single host plant can be effected by co-introducing into a single plant-cell a single nucleic-acid construct including a plurality of different exogenous polynucleotides. Such a construct can be designed with a single promoter sequence which can transcribe a polycistronic messenger RNA including all the different exogenous polynucleotide sequences. To enable co-translation of the different polypeptides encoded by the polycistronic messenger RNA, the polynucleotide sequences can be inter-linked via an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) sequence which facilitates translation of polynucleotide sequences positioned downstream of the IRES sequence. In this case, a transcribed polycistronic RNA molecule encoding the different polypeptides described above will be translated from both the capped 5′ end and the two internal IRES sequences of the polycistronic RNA molecule to thereby produce in the cell all different polypeptides. Alternatively, the construct can include several promoter sequences each linked to a different exogenous polynucleotide sequence.

The plant cell transformed with the construct including a plurality of different exogenous polynucleotides, can be regenerated into a mature plant, using the methods described hereinabove.

Alternatively, expressing a plurality of exogenous polynucleotides in a single host plant can be effected by introducing different nucleic acid constructs, including different exogenous polynucleotides, into a plurality of plants. The regenerated transformed plants can then be cross-bred and resultant progeny selected for superior abiotic stress tolerance, water use efficiency, fertilizer use efficiency, growth, biomass, yield and/or vigor traits, using conventional plant breeding techniques.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotide under the abiotic stress.

Non-limiting examples of abiotic stress conditions include, salinity, osmotic stress, drought, water deprivation, excess of water (e.g., flood, waterlogging), etiolation, low temperature (e.g., cold stress), high temperature, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, nutrient deficiency (e.g., nitrogen deficiency or nitrogen limitation), nutrient excess, atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the method further comprising growing the plant expressing the exogenous polynucleotide under fertilizer limiting conditions (e.g., nitrogen-limiting conditions). Non-limiting examples include growing the plant on soils with low nitrogen content (40-50% Nitrogen of the content present under normal or optimal conditions), or even under sever nitrogen deficiency (0-10% Nitrogen of the content present under normal or optimal conditions), wherein the normal or optimal conditions include about 6-15 mM Nitrogen, e.g., 6-10 mM Nitrogen).

Thus, the invention encompasses plants exogenously expressing the polynucleotide(s), the nucleic acid constructs and/or polypeptide(s) of the invention.

Once expressed within the plant cell or the entire plant, the level of the polypeptide encoded by the exogenous polynucleotide can be determined by methods well known in the art such as, activity assays, Western blots using antibodies capable of specifically binding the polypeptide, Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA), radio-immuno-assays (RIA), immunohistochemistry, immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence and the like.

Methods of determining the level in the plant of the RNA transcribed from the exogenous polynucleotide are well known in the art and include, for example, Northern blot analysis, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis (including quantitative, semi-quantitative or real-time RT-PCR) and RNA-in situ hybridization.

The sequence information and annotations uncovered by the present teachings can be harnessed in favor of classical breeding. Thus, sub-sequence data of those polynucleotides described above, can be used as markers for marker assisted selection (MAS), in which a marker is used for indirect selection of a genetic determinant or determinants of a trait of interest (e.g., biomass, growth rate, oil content, yield, abiotic stress tolerance, water use efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency and/or fertilizer use efficiency). Nucleic acid data of the present teachings (DNA or RNA sequence) may contain or be linked to polymorphic sites or genetic markers on the genome such as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), microsatellites and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), DNA fingerprinting (DFP), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), expression level polymorphism, polymorphism of the encoded polypeptide and any other polymorphism at the DNA or RNA sequence.

Examples of marker assisted selections include, but are not limited to, selection for a morphological trait (e.g., a gene that affects form, coloration, male sterility or resistance such as the presence or absence of awn, leaf sheath coloration, height, grain color, aroma of rice); selection for a biochemical trait (e.g., a gene that encodes a protein that can be extracted and observed; for example, isozymes and storage proteins);

selection for a biological trait (e.g., pathogen races or insect biotypes based on host pathogen or host parasite interaction can be used as a marker since the genetic constitution of an organism can affect its susceptibility to pathogens or parasites).

The polynucleotides and polypeptides described hereinabove can be used in a wide range of economical plants, in a safe and cost effective manner.

Plant lines exogenously expressing the polynucleotide or the polypeptide of the invention are screened to identify those that show the greatest increase of the desired plant trait.

Thus, according to an additional embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of evaluating a trait of a plant, the method comprising: (a) expressing in a plant or a portion thereof the nucleic acid construct of some embodiments of the invention; and (b) evaluating a trait of a plant as compared to a wild type plant of the same type (e.g., a plant not transformed with the claimed biomolecules); thereby evaluating the trait of the plant.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop of a plant expressing an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% hom*ologous (e.g., identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629, wherein the plant is derived from a plant (parent plant) that has been transformed to express the exogenous polynucleotide and that has been selected for increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a control plant, thereby producing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide at least 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% hom*ologous (e.g., identical) to the amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629, wherein the crop plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency), thereby producing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the polypeptide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop of a plant expressing an exogenous polynucleotide which comprises a nucleic acid sequence which is at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028, wherein the plant is derived from a plant selected for increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a control plant, thereby producing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing a crop comprising growing a crop plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide at least 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, or more say 100% identical to the nucleic acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028, wherein the crop plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a wild type plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and the crop plant having the increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency), thereby producing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the invention there is provided a method of growing a crop comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide of the invention, e.g., the polynucleotide which encodes the polypeptide of some embodiments of the invention, wherein the plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a non-transformed plant.

According to some embodiments of the invention the method of growing a crop comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to SEQ ID NO: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 or 10629, wherein the plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a non-transformed plant, thereby growing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the method of growing a crop comprising seeding seeds and/or planting plantlets of a plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising the nucleic acid sequence at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to SEQ ID NO: 1-82, 84-174, 176-222, 224-229, 231-235, 238-302, 304-387, 389-473, 475-519, 521-526, 528-532, 535-551, 898-2468, 2485, 2492-2493, 2495, 2507-2508, 2510-2512, 2523-2524, 2526, 2528, 2533, 2537, 2541, 2545-2546, 2551-2553, 2557, 2564, 2567, 2573-2574, 2576-2577, 2583, 2594, 2599, 2602, 2611, 2613-2614, 2616-2617, 2619, 2635-2638, 2640-2642, 2648, 2652, 2655, 2660, 2662, 2666, 2668, 2673-2674, 2677, 2679, 2681, 2683-2688, 2691, 2693, 2695-2698, 2700, 2707-2708, 2713-2714, 2716-2717, 2719-2720, 2724-2726, 2728, 2730-2731, 2736-2742, 2744-2746, 2751-2753, 2757, 2759-2762, 2764-2766, 2769-2776, 2780-2783, 2785-2788, 2791, 2793-2795, 2798, 2805, 2807-2808, 2812, 2814-2815, 2818-2820, 2823, 2829, 2834-2838, 2840-2842, 2844-2846, 2848, 2852-2858, 2860-2872, 2874, 2876-3244, 3246, 3248-4015, 4017-4426, 4449-5012, 5015-5071, 5073-5090, 5101, 5255, 5267-5304, 5306-5307, 5309-5539, 5541, 5543-5976, 5994-5999, 6003-6027 and 6028, wherein the plant is derived from plants which have been transformed with the exogenous polynucleotide and which have been selected for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of increased abiotic stress tolerance, increased water use efficiency, increased growth rate, increased vigor, increased biomass, increased oil content, increased yield, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, and/or increased fertilizer use efficiency (e.g., increased nitrogen use efficiency) as compared to a non-transformed plant, thereby growing the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of growing a crop comprising:

(a) selecting a parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and

(b) growing a progeny crop plant of the parent plant, wherein the progeny crop plant which comprises the exogenous polynucleotide has the increased yield, the increased growth rate, the increased biomass, the increased vigor, the increased oil content, the increased seed yield, the increased fiber yield, the increased fiber quality, the increased fiber length, the increased photosynthetic capacity, the increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or the increased abiotic stress,

thereby growing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing seeds of a crop comprising:

(a) selecting parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide at least about 80%, at least about 81%, at least about 82%, at least about 83%, at least about 84%, at least about 85%, at least about 86%, at least about 87%, at least about 88%, at least about 89%, at least about 90%, at least about 91%, at least about 92%, at least about 93%, at least about 93%, at least about 94%, at least about 95%, at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at least about 98%, at least about 99%, e.g., 100% identical to the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 552-633, 635-725, 727-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-889, 891-897, 6029-7467, 7481, 7487, 7498-7499, 7501-7503, 7512-7513, 7515, 7517, 7522, 7525, 7529, 7533-7534, 7539-7541, 7545, 7549, 7552, 7555-7556, 7558, 7563, 7576, 7579, 7588, 7590, 7592-7593, 7595, 7609-7612, 7614-7615, 7620, 7624, 7627, 7631, 7633, 7637, 7639, 7643-7644, 7647, 7649, 7651, 7653-7658, 7660, 7662, 7664, 7666, 7672-7673, 7677-7678, 7680-7681, 7683-7684, 7688-7690, 7692, 7694, 7699-7703, 7705-7706, 7709-7711, 7716-7719, 7721-7723, 7726-7732, 7736-7738, 7740-7742, 7745, 7747-7748, 7751, 7758, 7760-7762, 7765-7766, 7769, 7773, 7777-7781, 7783-7785, 7787-7789, 7791, 7795-7800, 7802-7811, 7813, 7815-8160, 8162, 8164-8853, 8855-9215, 9238-9749, 9751-9803, 9805-9818, 9828, 9935-9968, 9970-9971, 9973-10187, 10189, 10191-10585, 10600-10605, 10609-10628 and 10629 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions,

(b) growing a seed producing plant from the parent plant resultant of step (a), wherein the seed producing plant which comprises the exogenous polynucleotide having the increased yield, the increased growth rate, the increased biomass, the increased vigor, the increased oil content, the increased seed yield, the increased fiber yield, the increased fiber quality, the increased fiber length, the increased photosynthetic capacity, the increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or the increased abiotic stress, and

thereby producing seeds of the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the seeds produced from the seed producing plant comprise the exogenous polynucleotide.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of growing a crop comprising:

(a) selecting a parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629, for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress tolerance as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions, and

(b) growing progeny crop plant of the parent plant, wherein the progeny crop plant which comprises the exogenous polynucleotide has the increased yield, the increased growth rate, the increased biomass, the increased vigor, the increased oil content, the increased seed yield, the increased fiber yield, the increased fiber quality, the increased fiber length, the increased photosynthetic capacity, the increased nitrogen use efficiency, and/or the increased abiotic stress,

thereby growing the crop.

According to an aspect of some embodiments of the present invention there is provided a method of producing seeds of a crop comprising:

(a) selecting parent plant transformed with an exogenous polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide selected from the group consisting of set forth in SEQ ID NOs: 552-773, 775-780, 782-786, 789-885, 887-897, 6029-7781, 7783-9818, 9820-9823, 9827-9828, 9840-9841, 9849, 9852-9854, 9856, 9858-9859, 9867, 9870, 9872, 9874-9875, 9881, 9883-9885, 9887, 9891, 9893, 9896, 9898-9902, 9904, 9906-9908, 9911, 9915, 9917, 9919, 9921-9922, 9924-9926, 9929, 9933-10585, 10589, 10593, 10599-10605, 10607-10628 and 10629 for at least one trait selected from the group consisting of: increased yield, increased growth rate, increased biomass, increased vigor, increased oil content, increased seed yield, increased fiber yield, increased fiber quality, increased fiber length, increased photosynthetic capacity, increased nitrogen use efficiency, and increased abiotic stress as compared to a non-transformed plant of the same species which is grown under the same growth conditions,

thereby producing seeds of the crop.

According to some embodiments of the invention the exogenous polynucleotide is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 1-551, 898-6027 and 6028.

The effect of the transgene (the exogenous polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide) on abiotic stress tolerance can be determined using known methods such as detailed below and in the Examples section which follows.

Abiotic stress tolerance—Transformed (i.e., expressing the transgene) and non-transformed (wild type) plants are exposed to an abiotic stress condition, such as water deprivation, suboptimal temperature (low temperature, high temperature), nutrient deficiency (e.g., nitrogen deficiency or limiting nitrogen conditions), nutrient excess, a salt stress condition, osmotic stress, heavy metal toxicity, anaerobiosis, atmospheric pollution and UV irradiation.

Salinity tolerance assay—Transgenic plants with tolerance to high salt concentrations are expected to exhibit better germination, seedling vigor or growth in high salt. Salt stress can be effected in many ways such as, for example, by irrigating the plants with a hyperosmotic solution, by cultivating the plants hydroponically in a hyperosmotic growth solution (e.g., Hoagland solution), or by culturing the plants in a hyperosmotic growth medium [e.g., 50% Murashige-Skoog medium (MS medium)]. Since different plants vary considerably in their tolerance to salinity, the salt concentration in the irrigation water, growth solution, or growth medium can be adjusted according to the specific characteristics of the specific plant cultivar or variety, so as to inflict a mild or moderate effect on the physiology and/or morphology of the plants (for guidelines as to appropriate concentration see, Bernstein and Kafkafi, Root Growth Under Salinity Stress In: Plant Roots, The Hidden Half 3rd ed. Waisel Y, Eshel A and Kafkafi U. (editors) Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 2002, and reference therein).

For example, a salinity tolerance test can be performed by irrigating plants at different developmental stages with increasing concentrations of sodium chloride (for example 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, 400 mM NaCl) applied from the bottom and from above to ensure even dispersal of salt. Following exposure to the stress condition the plants are frequently monitored until substantial physiological and/or morphological effects appear in wild type plants. Thus, the external phenotypic appearance, degree of wilting and overall success to reach maturity and yield progeny are compared between control and transgenic plants.

Quantitative parameters of tolerance measured include, but are not limited to, the average wet and dry weight, growth rate, leaf size, leaf coverage (overall leaf area), the weight of the seeds yielded, the average seed size and the number of seeds produced per plant. Transformed plants not exhibiting substantial physiological and/or morphological effects, or exhibiting higher biomass than wild-type plants, are identified as abiotic stress tolerant plants.

Osmotic tolerance test—Osmotic stress assays (including sodium chloride and mannitol assays) are conducted to determine if an osmotic stress phenotype was sodium chloride-specific or if it was a general osmotic stress related phenotype. Plants which are tolerant to osmotic stress may have more tolerance to drought and/or freezing. For salt and osmotic stress germination experiments, the medium is supplemented for example with 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM NaCl or 100 mM, 200 mM NaCl, 400 mM mannitol.

Drought tolerance assay/Osmoticum assay—Tolerance to drought is performed to identify the genes conferring better plant survival after acute water deprivation. To analyze whether the transgenic plants are more tolerant to drought, an osmotic stress produced by the non-ionic osmolyte sorbitol in the medium can be performed. Control and transgenic plants are germinated and grown in plant-agar plates for 4 days, after which they are transferred to plates containing 500 mM sorbitol. The treatment causes growth retardation, then both control and transgenic plants are compared, by measuring plant weight (wet and dry), yield, and by growth rates measured as time to flowering.

Conversely, soil-based drought screens are performed with plants overexpressing the polynucleotides detailed above. Seeds from control Arabidopsis plants, or other transgenic plants overexpressing the polypeptide of the invention are germinated and transferred to pots. Drought stress is obtained after irrigation is ceased accompanied by placing the pots on absorbent paper to enhance the soil-drying rate. Transgenic and control plants are compared to each other when the majority of the control plants develop severe wilting. Plants are re-watered after obtaining a significant fraction of the control plants displaying a severe wilting. Plants are ranked comparing to controls for each of two criteria: tolerance to the drought conditions and recovery (survival) following re-watering. Additional drought assays are described in the Examples section which follows (e.g., Examples 29 and 30 below).

Cold stress tolerance—To analyze cold stress, mature (25 day old) plants are transferred to 4° C. chambers for 1 or 2 weeks, with constitutive light. Later on plants are moved back to greenhouse. Two weeks later damages from chilling period, resulting in growth retardation and other phenotypes, are compared between both control and transgenic plants, by measuring plant weight (wet and dry), and by comparing growth rates measured as time to flowering, plant size, yield, and the like.

Heat stress tolerance—Heat stress tolerance is achieved by exposing the plants to temperatures above 34° C. for a certain period. Plant tolerance is examined after transferring the plants back to 22° C. for recovery and evaluation after 5 days relative to internal controls (non-transgenic plants) or plants not exposed to neither cold or heat stress.

Water use efficiency—can be determined as the biomass produced per unit transpiration. To analyze WUE, leaf relative water content can be measured in control and transgenic plants. Fresh weight (FW) is immediately recorded; then leaves are soaked for 8 hours in distilled water at room temperature in the dark, and the turgid weight (TW) is recorded. Total dry weight (DW) is recorded after drying the leaves at 60° C. to a constant weight. Relative water content (RWC) is calculated according to the following Formula I:
RWC=[(FW−DW)/(TW−DW)]×100 Formula I

Fertilizer use efficiency—To analyze whether the transgenic plants are more responsive to fertilizers, plants are grown in agar plates or pots with a limited amount of fertilizer, as described, for example, in Yanagisawa et al (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2004; 101:7833-8). The plants are analyzed for their overall size, time to flowering, yield, protein content of shoot and/or grain. The parameters checked are the overall size of the mature plant, its wet and dry weight, the weight of the seeds yielded, the average seed size and the number of seeds produced per plant. Other parameters that may be tested are: the chlorophyll content of leaves (as nitrogen plant status and the degree of leaf verdure is highly correlated), amino acid and the total protein content of the seeds or other plant parts such as leaves or shoots, oil content, etc. Similarly, instead of providing nitrogen at limiting amounts, phosphate or potassium can be added at increasing concentrations. Again, the same parameters measured are the same as listed above. In this way, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), phosphate use efficiency (PUE) and potassium use efficiency (KUE) are assessed, checking the ability of the transgenic plants to thrive under nutrient restraining conditions.

Nitrogen use efficiency—To analyze whether the transgenic plants (e.g., Arabidopsis plants) are more responsive to nitrogen, plant are grown in 0.75-3 mM (nitrogen deficient conditions) or 6-10 mM (optimal nitrogen concentration). Plants are allowed to grow for additional 25 days or until seed production. The plants are then analyzed for their overall size, time to flowering, yield, protein content of shoot and/or grain/seed production. The parameters checked can be the overall size of the plant, wet and dry weight, the weight of the seeds yielded, the average seed size and the number of seeds produced per plant. Other parameters that may be tested are: the chlorophyll content of leaves (as nitrogen plant status and the degree of leaf greenness is highly correlated), amino acid and the total protein content of the seeds or other plant parts such as leaves or shoots and oil content. Transformed plants not exhibiting substantial physiological and/or morphological effects, or exhibiting higher measured parameters levels than wild-type plants, are identified as nitrogen use efficient plants.

Nitrogen limiting conditions and Nitrogen Use efficiency assay using plantlets—The assay is done according to Yanagisawa-S. et al. with minor modifications (“Metabolic engineering with Dof1 transcription factor in plants: Improved nitrogen assimilation and growth under low-nitrogen conditions” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101, 7833-7838). Briefly, transgenic plants which are grown for 7-10 days in 0.5×MS [Murashige-Skoog] supplemented with a selection agent are transferred to two nitrogen-limiting conditions: MS media in which the combined nitrogen concentration (NH₄NO₃and KNO₃) was 0.75 mM (nitrogen deficient conditions) or 6-15 mM (optimal nitrogen concentration). Plants are allowed to grow for additional 30-40 days and then photographed, individually removed from the Agar (the shoot without the roots) and immediately weighed (fresh weight) for later statistical analysis. Constructs for which only T1 seeds are available are sown on selective media and at least 20 seedlings (each one representing an independent transformation event) are carefully transferred to the nitrogen-limiting media. For constructs for which T2 seeds are available, different transformation events are analyzed. Usually, 20 randomly selected plants from each event are transferred to the nitrogen-limiting media allowed to grow for 3-4 additional weeks and individually weighed at the end of that period. Transgenic plants are compared to control plants grown in parallel under the same conditions. Mock-transgenic plants expressing the uidA reporter gene (GUS) under the same promoter or transgenic plants carrying the same promoter but lacking a reporter gene are used as control. Additional assays for measuring tolerance to nitrogen limiting (deficient) conditions are described in Examples 29-32 in the Examples section which follows).

Nitrogen determination—The procedure for N (nitrogen) concentration determination in the structural parts of the plants involves the potassium persulfate digestion method to convert organic N to NO₃⁻ (Purcell and King 1996 Argon. J. 88:111-113, the modified Cd⁻ mediated reduction of NO₃⁻ to NO₂⁻ (Vodovotz 1996 Biotechniques 20:390-394) and the measurement of nitrite by the Griess assay (Vodovotz 1996, supra). The absorbance values are measured at 550 nm against a standard curve of NaNO₂. The procedure is described in details in Samonte et al. 2006 Agron. J. 98:168-176.

Germination tests—Germination tests compare the percentage of seeds from transgenic plants that could complete the germination process to the percentage of seeds from control plants that are treated in the same manner. Normal conditions are considered for example, incubations at 22° C. under 22-hour light 2-hour dark daily cycles. Evaluation of germination and seedling vigor is conducted between 4 and 14 days after planting. The basal media is 50% MS medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962 Plant Physiology 15, 473-497).

Germination is checked also at unfavorable conditions such as cold (incubating at temperatures lower than 10° C. instead of 22° C.) or using seed inhibition solutions that contain high concentrations of an osmolyte such as sorbitol (at concentrations of 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, 300 mM, 500 mM, and up to 1000 mM) or applying increasing concentrations of salt (of 50 mM, 100 mM, 200 mM, 300 mM, 500 mM NaCl).

The effect of the transgene on plant's vigor, growth rate, biomass, yield and/or oil content can be determined using known methods.

Plant vigor—The plant vigor can be calculated by the increase in growth parameters such as leaf area, fiber length, rosette diameter, plant fresh weight and the like per time.

Growth rate—The growth rate can be measured using digital analysis of growing plants. For example, images of plants growing in greenhouse on plot basis can be captured every 3 days and the rosette area can be calculated by digital analysis. Rosette area growth is calculated using the difference of rosette area between days of sampling divided by the difference in days between samples.

It should be noted that an increase in rosette parameters such as rosette area, rosette diameter and/or rosette growth rate in a plant model such as Arabidopsis predicts an increase in canopy coverage and/or plot coverage in a target plant such as Brassica sp., soy, corn, wheat, Barley, oat, cotton, rice, tomato, sugar beet, and vegetables such as lettuce.

Evaluation of growth rate can be done by measuring plant biomass produced, rosette area, leaf size or root length per time (can be measured in cm²per day of leaf area).

Relative growth area can be calculated using Formula II.
Relative growth rate area=Regression coefficient of area along time course Formula II:

Thus, the relative growth area rate is in units of area units (e.g., mm²/day or cm²/day) and the relative length growth rate is in units of length units (e.g., cm/day or mm/day).

For example, RGR can be determined for plant height (Formula III), SPAD (Formula IV), Number of tillers (Formula V), root length (Formula VI), vegetative growth (Formula VII), leaf number (Formula VIII), rosette area (Formula IX), rosette diameter (Formula X), plot coverage (Formula XI), leaf blade area (Formula XII), and leaf area (Formula XIII)
Relative growth rate of Plant height=Regression coefficient of Plant height along time course (measured in cm/day). Formula III:
Relative growth rate of SPAD=Regression coefficient of SPAD measurements along time course. Formula IV:
Relative growth rate of Number of tillers=Regression coefficient of Number of tillers along time course (measured in units of “number of tillers/day”). Formula V:
Relative growth rate of root length=Regression coefficient of root length along time course (measured in cm per day). Formula VI:

Vegetative growth rate analysis—was calculated according to Formula VII below.
Relative growth rate of vegetative growth=Regression coefficient of vegetative dry weight along time course (measured in grams per day). Formula VII:
Relative growth rate of leaf number=Regression coefficient of leaf number along time course (measured in number per day). Formula VIII:
Relative growth rate of rosette area=Regression coefficient of rosette area along time course (measured in cm²per day). Formula IX:
Relative growth rate of rosette diameter=Regression coefficient of rosette diameter along time course (measured in cm per day). Formula X:
Relative growth rate of plot coverage=Regression coefficient of plot (measured in cm²per day). Formula XI:
Relative growth rate of leaf blade area=Regression coefficient of leaf area along time course (measured in cm²per day). Formula XII:
Relative growth rate of leaf area=Regression coefficient of leaf area along time course (measured in cm²per day). Formula XIII:
1000 Seed Weight=number of seed in sample/sample weight×1000 Formula XIV:

The Harvest Index can be calculated using Formulas XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII and LXV below.
Harvest Index (seed)=Average seed yield per plant/Average dry weight. Formula XV:
Harvest Index (Sorghum)=Average grain dry weight per Head/(Average vegetative dry weight per Head+Average Head dry weight) Formula XVI:
Harvest Index (Maize)=Average grain weight per plant/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant plus Average grain weight per plant) Formula XVII:

Harvest Index (for barley)—The harvest index is calculated using Formula XVIII.
Harvest Index (for barley and wheat)=Average spike dry weight per plant/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant+Average spike dry weight per plant) Formula XVIII:

Following is a non-limited list of additional parameters which can be detected in order to show the effect of the transgene on the desired plant's traits:
Grain circularity=4×3.14 (grain area/perimeter²) Formula XIX:
Internode volume=3.14×(d/2)²×1 Formula XX:
Total dry matter (kg)=Normalized head weight per plant+vegetative dry weight. Formula XXI:
Root/Shoot Ratio=total weight of the root at harvest/total weight of the vegetative portion above ground at harvest. (=RBiH/BiH) Formula XXII:
Ratio of the number of pods per node on main stem at pod set=Total number of pods on main stem/Total number of nodes on main stem. Formula XXIII:
Ratio of total number of seeds in main stem to number of seeds on lateral branches=Total number of seeds on main stem at pod set/Total number of seeds on lateral branches at pod set. Formula XXIV:
Petiole Relative Area=(Petiole area)/Rosette area (measured in %). Formula XXV:
percentage of reproductive tiller=Number of Reproductive tillers/number of tillers)×100. Formula XXVI:
Spikes Index=Average Spikes weight per plant/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant plus Average Spikes weight per plant). Formula XXVII:
Relative growth rate of root coverage=Regression coefficient of root coverage along time course. Formula XXVIII:
Seed Oil yield=Seed yield per plant (gr.)*Oil % in seed. Formula XXIX:
shoot/root Ratio=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground at harvest/total weight of the root at harvest. Formula XXX:
Spikelets Index=Average Spikelets weight per plant/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant plus Average Spikelets weight per plant). Formula XXXI:
% Canopy coverage=(1−(PAR_DOWN/PAR_UP))×100 measured using AccuPAR Ceptometer Model LP-80. Formula XXXII:
leaf mass fraction=Leaf area/shoot FW. Formula XXXIII:
Relative growth rate based on dry weight=Regression coefficient of dry weight along time course. Formula XXXIV:
Dry matter partitioning (ratio)—At the end of the growing period 6 plants heads as well as the rest of the plot heads were collected, threshed and grains were weighted to obtain grains yield per plot. Dry matter partitioning was calculated by dividing grains yield per plot to vegetative dry weight per plot. Formula XXXV:
1000 grain weight filling rate (gr/day)—The rate of grain filling was calculated by dividing 1000 grain weight by grain fill duration. Formula XXXVI:
Specific leaf area (cm²/gr)—Leaves were scanned to obtain leaf area per plant, and then were dried in an oven to obtain the leaves dry weight. Specific leaf area was calculated by dividing the leaf area by leaf dry weight. Formula XXXVII:
Vegetative dry weight per plant at flowering/water until flowering (gr/lit)—Calculated by dividing vegetative dry weight (excluding roots and reproductive organs) per plant at flowering by the water used for irrigation up to flowering Formula XXXVIII:
Yield filling rate (gr/day)—The rate of grain filling was calculated by dividing grains Yield by grain fill duration. Formula XXXIX:
Yield per dunam/water until tan (kg/lit)—Calculated by dividing Grains yield per dunam by water used for irrigation until tan. Formula XXXX:
Yield per plant/water until tan (gr/lit)—Calculated by dividing Grains yield per plant by water used for irrigation until tan Formula XXXXI:
Yield per dunam/water until maturity (gr/lit)—Calculated by dividing grains yield per dunam by the water used for irrigation up to maturity. “Lit”=Liter. Formula XXXXII:
Vegetative dry weight per plant/water until maturity (gr/lit): Calculated by dividing vegetative dry weight per plant (excluding roots and reproductive organs) at harvest by the water used for irrigation up to maturity. Formula XXXXIII:
Total dry matter per plant/water until maturity (gr/lit): Calculated by dividing total dry matter at harvest (vegetative and reproductive, excluding roots) per plant by the water used for irrigation up to maturity. Formula XXXXIV:
Total dry matter per plant/water until flowering (gr/lit): Calculated by dividing total dry matter at flowering (vegetative and reproductive, excluding roots) per plant by the water used for irrigation up to flowering. Formula XXXXV:
Heads index (ratio): Average heads weight/(Average vegetative dry weight per plant plus Average heads weight per plant). Formula XXXXVI:
Yield/SPAD (kg/SPAD units)—Calculated by dividing grains yield by average SPAD measurements per plot. Formula XXXXVH:
Stem water content (percentage)—stems were collected and fresh weight (FW) was weighted. Then the stems were oven dry and dry weight (DW) was recorded. Stems dry weight was divided by stems fresh weight, subtracted from 1 and multiplied by 100. Formula XXXXVIII:
Leaf water content (percentage)—Leaves were collected and fresh weight (FW) was weighted. Then the leaves were oven dry and dry weight (DW) was recorded. Leaves dry weight was divided by leaves fresh weight, subtracted from 1 and multiplied by 100. Formula XXXXIX:
stem volume (cm³)—The average stem volume was calculated by multiplying the average stem length by (3.14*((mean lower and upper stem width)/2){circumflex over ( )}2). Formula L:
NUE—is the ratio between total grain yield per total nitrogen (applied+content) in soil. Formula LI:
NUpE—Is the ratio between total plant N content per total N (applied+content) in soil. Formula LII:
Total NUtE—Is the ratio between total dry matter per N content of total dry matter. Formula LIII:
Stem density—is the ratio between internode dry weight and internode volume. Formula LIV:
Grain NUtE—Is the ratio between grain yield per N content of total dry matter Formula LV:
N harvest index (Ratio)—Is the ratio between nitrogen content in grain per plant and the nitrogen of whole plant at harvest. Formula LVI:
Biomass production efficiency—is the ratio between plant biomass and total shoot N. Formula LVH:
Harvest index (plot) (ratio)—Average seed yield per plot/Average dry weight per plot. Formula LVIII:
Relative growth rate of petiole relative area—Regression coefficient of petiole relative area along time course (measured in cm²per day). Formula LIX:
Yield per spike filling rate (gr/day)—spike filling rate was calculated by dividing grains yield per spike to grain fill duration. Formula LX:
Yield per micro plots filling rate (gr/day)—micro plots filling rate was calculated by dividing grains yield per micro plots to grain fill duration. Formula LXI:
Grains yield per hectare [ton/ha]—all spikes per plot were harvested threshed and grains were weighted after sun dry. The resulting value was divided by the number of square meters and multiplied by 10,000 (10,000 square meters=1 hectare). Formula LXII:
Total dry matter (for Maize)=Normalized ear weight per plant+vegetative dry weight. Formula LXIII:

Formula LXIV::

Agronomical N U E = \frac{\begin{matrix} Yield per plant {(Kg .)}^{X Nitrogen Fertilization} - \\ Yield per plant {(Kg .)}^{0 % Nitrogen Fertilization} \end{matrix}}{{Fertilizer}^{X}}

Harvest Index (brachypodium)=Average grain weight/average dry (vegetative+spikelet) weight per plant. Formula LXV:
Harvest Index for Sorghum* (* when the plants were not dried)=FW (fresh weight) Heads/(FW Heads+FW Plants) Formula LXVI:

Grain protein concentration—Grain protein content (g grain protein m⁻²) is estimated as the product of the mass of grain N (g grain N m⁻²) multiplied by the N/protein conversion ratio of k-5.13 (Mosse 1990, supra). The grain protein concentration is estimated as the ratio of grain protein content per unit mass of the grain (g grain protein kg⁻¹grain).

Fiber length—Fiber length can be measured using fibrograph. The fibrograph system was used to compute length in terms of “Upper Half Mean” length. The upper half mean (UHM) is the average length of longer half of the fiber distribution. The fibrograph measures length in span lengths at a given percentage point (cottoninc (dot) com/ClassificationofCotton/?Pg=4#Length).

According to some embodiments of the invention, increased yield of corn may be manifested as one or more of the following: increase in the number of plants per growing area, increase in the number of ears per plant, increase in the number of rows per ear, number of kernels per ear row, kernel weight, thousand kernel weight (1000-weight), ear length/diameter, increase oil content per kernel and increase starch content per kernel.

As mentioned, the increase of plant yield can be determined by various parameters. For example, increased yield of rice may be manifested by an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of panicles per plant, number of spikelets per panicle, number of flowers per panicle, increase in the seed filling rate, increase in thousand kernel weight (1000-weight), increase oil content per seed, increase starch content per seed, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Similarly, increased yield of soybean may be manifested by an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, increase in the seed filling rate, increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), reduce pod shattering, increase oil content per seed, increase protein content per seed, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Increased yield of canola may be manifested by an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, increase in the seed filling rate, increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), reduce pod shattering, increase oil content per seed, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Increased yield of cotton may be manifested by an increase in one or more of the following: number of plants per growing area, number of bolls per plant, number of seeds per boll, increase in the seed filling rate, increase in thousand seed weight (1000-weight), increase oil content per seed, improve fiber length, fiber strength, among others. An increase in yield may also result in modified architecture, or may occur because of modified architecture.

Oil content—The oil content of a plant can be determined by extraction of the oil from the seed or the vegetative portion of the plant. Briefly, lipids (oil) can be removed from the plant (e.g., seed) by grinding the plant tissue in the presence of specific solvents (e.g., hexane or petroleum ether) and extracting the oil in a continuous extractor. Indirect oil content analysis can be carried out using various known methods such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy, which measures the resonance energy absorbed by hydrogen atoms in the liquid state of the sample [See for example, Conway TF. and Earle FR., 1963, Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society; Springer Berlin/Heidelberg, ISSN: 0003-021X (Print) 1558-9331 (Online)]; the Near Infrared (NI) Spectroscopy, which utilizes the absorption of near infrared energy (1100-2500 nm) by the sample; and a method described in WO/2001/023884, which is based on extracting oil a solvent, evaporating the solvent in a gas stream which forms oil particles, and directing a light into the gas stream and oil particles which forms a detectable reflected light.

Thus, the present invention is of high agricultural value for promoting the yield of commercially desired crops (e.g., biomass of vegetative organ such as poplar wood, or reproductive organ such as number of seeds or seed biomass).

Any of the transgenic plants described hereinabove or parts thereof may be processed to produce a feed, meal, protein or oil preparation, such as for ruminant animals.

The transgenic plants described hereinabove, which exhibit an increased oil content can be used to produce plant oil (by extracting the oil from the plant).

The plant oil (including the seed oil and/or the vegetative portion oil) produced according to the method of the invention may be combined with a variety of other ingredients. The specific ingredients included in a product are determined according to the intended use. Exemplary products include animal feed, raw material for chemical modification, biodegradable plastic, blended food product, edible oil, biofuel, cooking oil, lubricant, biodiesel, snack food, cosmetics, and fermentation process raw material. Exemplary products to be incorporated to the plant oil include animal feeds, human food products such as extruded snack foods, breads, as a food binding agent, aquaculture feeds, fermentable mixtures, food supplements, sport drinks, nutritional food bars, multi-vitamin supplements, diet drinks, and cereal foods. According to some embodiments of the invention, the oil comprises a seed oil.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the oil comprises a vegetative portion oil (oil of the vegetative portion of the plant).

According to some embodiments of the invention, the plant cell forms a part of a plant.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a food or feed comprising the plants or a portion thereof of the present invention.

As used herein the term “about” refers to ±10%.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “having” and their conjugates mean “including but not limited to”.

The term “consisting of” means “including and limited to”.

The term “consisting essentially of” means that the composition, method or structure may include additional ingredients, steps and/or parts, but only if the additional ingredients, steps and/or parts do not materially alter the basic and novel characteristics of the claimed composition, method or structure.

As used herein, the singular form “a”, “an” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, the term “a compound” or “at least one compound” may include a plurality of compounds, including mixtures thereof.

Throughout this application, various embodiments of this invention may be presented in a range format. It should be understood that the description in range format is merely for convenience and brevity and should not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the description of a range should be considered to have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well as individual numerical values within that range. For example, description of a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specifically disclosed subranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from 2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numbers within that range, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This applies regardless of the breadth of the range.

Whenever a numerical range is indicated herein, it is meant to include any cited numeral (fractional or integral) within the indicated range. The phrases “ranging/ranges between” a first indicate number and a second indicate number and “ranging/ranges from” a first indicate number “to” a second indicate number are used herein interchangeably and are meant to include the first and second indicated numbers and all the fractional and integral numerals therebetween.

As used herein the term “method” refers to manners, means, techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readily developed from known manners, means, techniques and procedures by practitioners of the chemical, pharmacological, biological, biochemical and medical arts.

When reference is made to particular sequence listings, such reference is to be understood to also encompass sequences that substantially correspond to its complementary sequence as including minor sequence variations, resulting from, e.g., sequencing errors, cloning errors, or other alterations resulting in base substitution, base deletion or base addition, provided that the frequency of such variations is less than 1 in 50 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 100 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 200 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 500 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 1000 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 5,000 nucleotides, alternatively, less than 1 in 10,000 nucleotides.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other described embodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the context of various embodiments are not to be considered essential features of those embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without those elements.

Various embodiments and aspects of the present invention as delineated hereinabove and as claimed in the claims section below find experimental support in the following examples.

Reference is now made to the following examples, which together with the above descriptions illustrate some embodiments of the invention in a non limiting fashion.

Generally, the nomenclature used herein and the laboratory procedures utilized in the present invention include molecular, biochemical, microbiological and recombinant DNA techniques. Such techniques are thoroughly explained in the literature. See, for example, “Molecular Cloning: A laboratory Manual” Sambrook et al., (1989); “Current Protocols in Molecular Biology” Volumes I-III Ausubel, R. M., ed. (1994); Ausubel et al., “Current Protocols in Molecular Biology”, John Wiley and Sons, Baltimore, Md. (1989); Perbal, “A Practical Guide to Molecular Cloning”, John Wiley & Sons, New York (1988); Watson et al., “Recombinant DNA”, Scientific American Books, New York; Birren et al. (eds) “Genome Analysis: A Laboratory Manual Series”, Vols. 1-4, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York (1998); methodologies as set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,666,828; 4,683,202; 4,801,531; 5,192,659 and 5,272,057; “Cell Biology: A Laboratory Handbook”, Volumes I-III Cellis, J. E., ed. (1994); “Current Protocols in Immunology” Volumes I-III Coligan J. E., ed. (1994); Stites et al. (eds), “Basic and Clinical Immunology” (8th Edition), Appleton & Lange, Norwalk, Conn. (1994); Mishell and Shiigi (eds), “Selected Methods in Cellular Immunology”, W. H. Freeman and Co., New York (1980); available immunoassays are extensively described in the patent and scientific literature, see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,791,932; 3,839,153; 3,850,752; 3,850,578; 3,853,987; 3,867,517; 3,879,262; 3,901,654; 3,935,074; 3,984,533; 3,996,345; 4,034,074; 4,098,876; 4,879,219; 5,011,771 and 5,281,521; “Oligonucleotide Synthesis” Gait, M. J., ed. (1984); “Nucleic Acid Hybridization” Hames, B. D., and Higgins S. J., eds. (1985); “Transcription and Translation” Hames, B. D., and Higgins S. J., Eds. (1984); “Animal Cell Culture” Freshney, R. I., ed. (1986); “Immobilized Cells and Enzymes” IRL Press, (1986); “A Practical Guide to Molecular Cloning” Perbal, B., (1984) and “Methods in Enzymology” Vol. 1-317, Academic Press; “PCR Protocols: A Guide To Methods And Applications”, Academic Press, San Diego, Calif. (1990); Marshak et al., “Strategies for Protein Purification and Characterization—A Laboratory Course Manual” CSHL Press (1996); all of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. Other general references are provided throughout this document. The procedures therein are believed to be well known in the art and are provided for the convenience of the reader. All the information contained therein is incorporated herein by reference.

General Experimental and Bioinformatics Methods

RNA extraction—Tissues growing at various growth conditions (as described below) were sampled and RNA was extracted using TRIzol Reagent from Invitrogen [invitrogen (dot) com/content (dot)cfm?pageid=469]. Approximately 30-50 mg of tissue was taken from samples. The weighed tissues were ground using pestle and mortar in liquid nitrogen and resuspended in 500 μl of TRIzol Reagent. To the hom*ogenized lysate, 100 μl of chloroform was added followed by precipitation using isopropanol and two washes with 75% ethanol. The RNA was eluted in 30 μl of RNase-free water. RNA samples were cleaned up using Qiagen's RNeasy minikit clean-up protocol as per the manufacturer's protocol (QIAGEN Inc, CA USA). For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received an expression Set ID.

Correlation analysis—was performed for selected genes according to some embodiments of the invention, in which the characterized parameters (measured parameters according to the correlation IDs) were used as “X axis” for correlation with the tissue transcriptome, which was used as the “Y axis”. For each gene and measured parameter a correlation coefficient “R” was calculated (using Pearson correlation) along with a p-value for the significance of the correlation. When the correlation coefficient (R) between the levels of a gene's expression in a certain tissue and a phenotypic performance across ecotypes/variety/hybrid is high in absolute value (between 0.5-1), there is an association between the gene (specifically the expression level of this gene) and the phenotypic characteristic (e.g., improved yield, growth rate, nitrogen use efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance and the like).

The present inventors have identified polynucleotides which expression thereof in plants can increase yield, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, growth rate, vigor, biomass, growth rate, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance (ABST), fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) such as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and water use efficiency (WUE) of a plant, as follows.

All nucleotide sequence datasets used here were originated from publicly available databases or from performing sequencing using the Solexa technology (e.g. Barley and Sorghum). Sequence data from 100 different plant species was introduced into a single, comprehensive database. Other information on gene expression, protein annotation, enzymes and pathways were also incorporated.

Major databases used include:

Genomes

Arabidopsis genome [TAIR genome version 6 (arabidopsis (dot) org/)];

Rice genome [IRGSP build 4.0 (rgp (dot) dna (dot) affrc (dot) go (dot) jp/IRGSP/)];

Poplar [Populus trichocarpa release 1.1 from JGI (assembly release v1.0) (genome (dot) jgi-psf (dot) org/)];

Brachypodium [JGI 4× assembly, brachpodium (dot) org)];

Soybean [DOE-JGI SCP, version Glyma0 (phytozome (dot) net/)];

Grape [French-Italian Public Consortium for Grapevine Genome Characterization grapevine genome (genoscope (dot) cns (dot) fr/)];

Castobean [TIGR/J Craig Venter Institute 4× assembly [msc (dot) jcvi (dot) org/r communis];

Sorghum [DOE-JGI SCP, version Sbil [phytozome (dot) net/)];

Partially assembled genome of Maize [maizesequence (dot) org/];

Expressed EST and mRNA Sequences were Extracted from the Following Databases:

GenBank ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/dbEST;

RefSeq (ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/RefSeq/);

TAIR (arabidopsis (dot) org/);

Protein and Pathway Databases

Uniprot [uniprot (dot) org/];

AraCyc [arabidopsis (dot) org/biocyc/index (dot) jsp];

ENZYME [expasy (dot) org/enzyme/];

Microarray Datasets were Downloaded from:

GEO (ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/geo/);

TAIR (Arabidopsis (dot) org/);

Proprietary microarray data (WO2008/122980);

QTL and SNPs Information

Gramene [gramene (dot) org/qtl/];

Panzea [panzea (dot) org/index (dot) html];

Database Assembly—was performed to build a wide, rich, reliable annotated and easy to analyze database comprised of publicly available genomic mRNA, ESTs DNA sequences, data from various crops as well as gene expression, protein annotation and pathway data QTLs, and other relevant information.

Database assembly is comprised of a toolbox of gene refining, structuring, annotation and analysis tools enabling to construct a tailored database for each gene discovery project. Gene refining and structuring tools enable to reliably detect splice variants and antisense transcripts, generating understanding of various potential phenotypic outcomes of a single gene. The capabilities of the “LEADS” platform of Compugen LTD for analyzing human genome have been confirmed and accepted by the scientific community [see e.g., “Widespread Antisense Transcription”, Yelin, et al. (2003) Nature Biotechnology 21, 379-85; “Splicing of Alu Sequences”, Lev-Maor, et al. (2003) Science 300 (5623), 1288-91; “Computational analysis of alternative splicing using EST tissue information”, Xie H et al. Genomics 2002], and have been proven most efficient in plant genomics as well.

EST clustering and gene assembly—For gene clustering and assembly of organisms with available genome sequence data (arabidopsis, rice, castorbean, grape, brachypodium, poplar, soybean, sorghum) the genomic LEADS version (GANG) was employed. This tool allows most accurate clustering of ESTs and mRNA sequences on genome, and predicts gene structure as well as alternative splicing events and anti-sense transcription.

For organisms with no available full genome sequence data, “expressed LEADS” clustering software was applied.

Gene annotation—Predicted genes and proteins were annotated as follows: BLAST® search [BLAST® (dot) ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/BLAST® (dot) cgi] against all plant UniProt [uniprot (dot) org/] sequences was performed. Open reading frames of each putative transcript were analyzed and longest ORF with higher number of hom*ologues was selected as predicted protein of the transcript. The predicted proteins were analyzed by InterPro [ebi (dot) ac (dot) uk/interproa

BLAST® against proteins from AraCyc and ENZYME databases was used to map the predicted transcripts to AraCyc pathways.

Predicted proteins from different species were compared using BLAST® algorithm [ncbi (dot) nlm (dot) nih (dot) gov/BLAST® (dot) cgi] to validate the accuracy of the predicted protein sequence, and for efficient detection of orthologs.

Gene expression profiling—Several data sources were exploited for gene expression profiling, namely microarray data and digital expression profile (see below).

According to gene expression profile, a correlation analysis was performed to identify genes which are co-regulated under different development stages and environmental conditions and associated with different phenotypes.

Publicly available microarray datasets were downloaded from TAIR and NCBI GEO sites, renormalized, and integrated into the database. Expression profiling is one of the most important resource data for identifying genes important for yield.

A digital expression profile summary was compiled for each cluster according to all keywords included in the sequence records comprising the cluster. Digital expression, also known as electronic Northern Blot, is a tool that displays virtual expression profile based on the EST sequences forming the gene cluster. The tool provides the expression profile of a cluster in terms of plant anatomy (e.g., the tissue/organ in which the gene is expressed), developmental stage (the developmental stages at which a gene can be found) and profile of treatment (provides the physiological conditions under which a gene is expressed such as drought, cold, pathogen infection, etc.). Given a random distribution of ESTs in the different clusters, the digital expression provides a probability value that describes the probability of a cluster having a total of N ESTs to contain X ESTs from a certain collection of libraries. For the probability calculations, the following is taken into consideration: a) the number of ESTs in the cluster, b) the number of ESTs of the implicated and related libraries, c) the overall number of ESTs available representing the species. Thereby clusters with low probability values are highly enriched with ESTs from the group of libraries of interest indicating a specialized expression.

Recently, the accuracy of this system was demonstrated by Portnoy et al., 2009 (Analysis Of The Melon Fruit Transcriptome Based On 454 Pyrosequencing) in: Plant & Animal Genomes XVII Conference, San Diego, Calif. Transcriptomeic analysis, based on relative EST abundance in data was performed by 454 pyrosequencing of cDNA representing mRNA of the melon fruit. Fourteen double strand cDNA samples obtained from two genotypes, two fruit tissues (flesh and rind) and four developmental stages were sequenced. GS FLX pyrosequencing (Roche/454 Life Sciences) of non-normalized and purified cDNA samples yielded 1,150,657 expressed sequence tags, that assembled into 67,477 unigenes (32,357 singletons and 35,120 contigs). Analysis of the data obtained against the Cucurbit Genomics Database [icugi (dot) org/] confirmed the accuracy of the sequencing and assembly. Expression patterns of selected genes fitted well their qRT-PCR data.

The genes listed in Table 1 below were identified to have a major impact on plant yield, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, growth rate, photosynthetic capacity, vigor, biomass, growth rate, oil content, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency and/or fertilizer use efficiency when expression thereof is increased in plants. The identified genes, their curated polynucleotide and polypeptide sequences, their updated sequences according to Genbank database and the sequences of the cloned genes and proteins are summarized in Table 1, hereinbelow.

TABLE I

Identified genes for increasing yield, seed yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, growth rate, oil content,
fiber yield, fiber quality, photosynthetic capacity, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency,
water use efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency of a plant Provided are the identified genes, their
annotation, organism and polynucleotide and polypeptide sequence identifiers.

Gene			Polyn. SEQ	Polyp. SEQ
Name	Cluster Name	Organism	ID NO:	ID NO:

LBY16	arabidopsis\|13v2\|AT1G22970	arabidopsis	1	552
LBY17	arabidopsis\|13v2\|AT2G33210	arabidopsis	2	553
LBY18	barley\|12v1\|AJ461405	barley	3	554
LBY19	barley\|12v1\|AJ480517	barley	4	555
LBY20	barley\|12v1\|AV833663	barley	5	556
LBY21	barley\|12v1\|BE602565	barley	6	557
LBY22	barley\|12v1\|BE603141	barley	7	558
LBY23	barley\|12v1\|BF260749	barley	8	559
LBY24	barley\|12v1\|BF623324	barley	9	560
LBY25	barley\|12v1\|BF628509	barley	10	561
LBY26	barley\|12v1\|BG309426	barley	11	562
LBY27	barley\|12v1\|BG414966	barley	12	563
LBY28	barley\|12v1\|BI947919	barley	13	564
LBY29	barley\|12v1\|BI950637	barley	14	565
LBY30	barley\|12v1\|BI957144	barley	15	566
LBY31	barley\|12v1\|BM370880	barley	16	567
LBY32	barley\|12v1\|BU981749	barley	17	568
LBY33	bean\|13v1\|CA912900	bean	18	569
LBY34	bean\|13v1\|HO799852	bean	19	570
LBY35	bean\|13v1\|SRR001335X308983	bean	20	571
LBY36	bean\|13v1\|SRR001335X369026	bean	21	572
LBY37	brachypodium\|13v2\|BRADI1G10360	brachypodium	22	573
LBY39	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|AF016902	chlamydomonas	23	574
LBY40	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|AV389131	chlamydomonas	24	575
LBY41	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|BE024238	chlamydomonas	25	576
LBY42	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|BE056699	chlamydomonas	26	577
LBY43	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|BE238232	chlamydomonas	27	578
LBY44	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|BG859395	chlamydomonas	28	579
LBY45	cotton\|11v1\|AI728213	cotton	29	580
LBY46	cotton\|11v1\|AW187962	cotton	30	581
LBY47	cotton\|11v1\|BE054714	cotton	31	582
LBY48	cotton\|11v1\|CA992719	cotton	32	583
LBY49	cotton\|11v1\|CD485858	cotton	33	584
LBY50	cotton\|11v1\|CO094458	cotton	34	585
LBY51	cotton\|11v1\|CO097155XX2	cotton	35	586
LBY52	cotton\|11v1\|DT048759XX2	cotton	36	587
LBY53	cotton\|11v1\|DT551860	cotton	37	588
LBY54	cotton\|11v1\|DT569254	cotton	38	589
LBY55	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|EC612531	foxtail_millet	39	590
LBY56	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|PHY7SI011949M	foxtail_millet	40	591
LBY57	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|PHY7SI024118M	foxtail_millet	41	592
LBY58	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|PHY7SI031876M	foxtail_millet	42	593
LBY59	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|PHY7SI032418M	foxtail_millet	43	594
LBY61	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X103005	foxtail_millet	44	595
LBY62	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X10518	foxtail_millet	45	596
LBY63	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X107681	foxtail_millet	46	597
LBY64	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X10799	foxtail_millet	47	598
LBY65	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X10909	foxtail_millet	48	599
LBY66	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X113858	foxtail_millet	49	600
LBY67	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X115271	foxtail_millet	50	601
LBY68	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X117047	foxtail_millet	51	602
LBY69	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X122695	foxtail_millet	52	603
LBY70	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X123794	foxtail_millet	53	604
LBY71	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X12932	foxtail_millet	54	605
LBY72	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X130312	foxtail_millet	55	606
LBY73	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X132820	foxtail_millet	56	607
LBY74	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X135074	foxtail_millet	57	608
LBY75	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X141269	foxtail_millet	58	609
LBY76	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X15437	foxtail_millet	59	610
LBY77	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X157828	foxtail_millet	60	611
LBY78	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X17296	foxtail_millet	61	612
LBY79	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X177567	foxtail_millet	62	613
LBY80	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X191757	foxtail_millet	63	614
LBY81	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X196210	foxtail_millet	64	615
LBY82	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X196859	foxtail_millet	65	616
LBY83	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X218671	foxtail_millet	66	617
LBY84	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X306788	foxtail_millet	67	618
LBY85	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X349819	foxtail_millet	68	619
LBY86	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X406093	foxtail_millet	69	620
LBY87	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X410798	foxtail_millet	70	621
LBY88	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X59197	foxtail_millet	71	622
LBY89	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X77704	foxtail_millet	72	623
LBY90	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350549X116153	foxtail_millet	73	624
LBY91	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350549X131202	foxtail_millet	74	625
LBY92	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350549X154401	foxtail_millet	75	626
LBY93	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|AI055109	gossypium_raimondii	76	627
LBY94	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|AW187415	gossypium_raimondii	77	628
LBY95	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|BG440368	gossypium_raimondii	78	629
LBY96	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|CA993797	gossypium_raimondii	79	630
LBY97	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|DW518098	gossypium_raimondii	80	631
LBY98	grape\|13v1\|GSVIVT01008767001	grape	81	632
LBY99	grape\|13v1\|GSVIVT01022545001	grape	82	633
LBY100	grape\|13v1\|GSVIVT01027185001	grape	83	634
LBY102	grape\|13v1\|GSVIVT01033774001	grape	84	635
LBY103	maize\|13v2\|AI391771	maize	85	636
LBY104	maize\|13v2\|AI391832	maize	86	637
LBY105	maize\|13v2\|AI629879	maize	87	638
LBY106	maize\|13v2\|AI629976	maize	88	639
LBY107	maize\|13v2\|AI649422	maize	89	640
LBY108	maize\|13v2\|AI665281	maize	90	641
LBY109	maize\|13v2\|AI714974	maize	91	642
LBY110	maize\|13v2\|AI783421	maize	92	643
LBY111	maize\|13v2\|AI857222	maize	93	644
LBY112	maize\|13v2\|AW066591	maize	94	645
LBY113	maize\|13v2\|BE511523	maize	95	646
LBY114	maize\|13v2\|BG320464	maize	96	647
LBY115	maize\|13v2\|BG836613	maize	97	648
LBY116	maize\|13v2\|BM416753	maize	98	649
LBY117	maize\|13v2\|BM895232	maize	99	650
LBY118	maize\|13v2\|CF648041	maize	100	651
LBY119	maize\|13v2\|DW918922	maize	101	652
LBY120	maize\|13v2\|W21655	maize	102	653
LBY121	maize\|13v2\|W21748	maize	103	654
LBY122	maize\|13v2\|W49461	maize	104	655
LBY123	maize\|13v2\|X81831	maize	105	656
LBY125	medicago\|13v1\|AW696074	medicago	106	657
LBY126	medicago\|13v1\|BG457785	medicago	107	658
LBY127	medicago\|13v1\|BQ147900	medicago	108	659
LBY128	peanut\|13v1\|EE125510	peanut	109	660
LBY129	peanut\|13v1\|ES722517	peanut	110	661
LBY131	physcomitrella\|13v1\|AW738860	physcomitrella	111	662
LBY132	pine\|10v2\|BM492830	pine	112	663
LBY133	plantago\|11v2\|SRR066373X397343	plantago	113	664
LBY134	poplar\|13v1\|AI164180	poplar	114	665
LBY135	potato\|10v1\|BE919981	potato	115	666
LBY136	potato\|10v1\|BF460221	potato	116	667
LBY137	potato\|10v1\|BG595100	potato	117	668
LBY138	rice\|11v1\|AU069467	rice	118	669
LBY139	rice\|13v2\|AA750185	rice	119	670
LBY140	rice\|13v2\|AA750741	rice	120	671
LBY141	rice\|13v2\|AU077650	rice	121	672
LBY142	rice\|13v2\|AU173280	rice	122	673
LBY143	rice\|13v2\|BI796376	rice	123	674
LBY144	rice\|13v2\|BQ907720	rice	124	675
LBY145	rice\|13v2\|C28519	rice	125	676
LBY146	rice\|13v2\|GFXAC018727X13	rice	126	677
LBY147	rice\|13v2\|GFXAC090120X15	rice	127	678
LBY148	sorghum\|12v1\|SB03G032710	sorghum	128	679
LBY149	sorghum\|13v2\|AI723863	sorghum	129	680
LBY150	sorghum\|13v2\|AI723986	sorghum	130	681
LBY151	sorghum\|13v2\|AI724085	sorghum	131	682
LBY152	sorghum\|13v2\|AI724262	sorghum	132	683
LBY153	sorghum\|13v2\|AW283496	sorghum	133	684
LBY154	sorghum\|13v2\|AW285663	sorghum	134	685
LBY155	sorghum\|13v2\|AW564408	sorghum	135	686
LBY156	sorghum\|13v2\|AW565627	sorghum	136	687
LBY157	sorghum\|13v2\|AW671774	sorghum	137	688
LBY158	sorghum\|13v2\|AW676719	sorghum	138	689
LBY159	sorghum\|13v2\|AW679798	sorghum	139	690
LBY160	sorghum\|13v2\|AW746324	sorghum	140	691
LBY161	sorghum\|13v2\|AW747557	sorghum	141	692
LBY162	sorghum\|13v2\|BE126058	sorghum	142	693
LBY163	sorghum\|13v2\|BE355844	sorghum	143	694
LBY164	sorghum\|13v2\|BE356001	sorghum	144	695
LBY165	sorghum\|13v2\|BE357267	sorghum	145	696
LBY166	sorghum\|13v2\|BE358756	sorghum	146	697
LBY167	sorghum\|13v2\|BE360790	sorghum	147	698
LBY168	sorghum\|13v2\|BE364917	sorghum	148	699
LBY170	sorghum\|13v2\|BE594760	sorghum	149	700
LBY171	sorghum\|13v2\|BE597213	sorghum	150	701
LBY173	sorghum\|13v2\|BF421040	sorghum	151	702
LBY174	sorghum\|13v2\|BF585682	sorghum	152	703
LBY175	sorghum\|13v2\|BF586554	sorghum	153	704
LBY176	sorghum\|13v2\|BG049624	sorghum	154	705
LBY177	sorghum\|13v2\|BG050660	sorghum	155	706
LBY178	sorghum\|13v2\|BG053630	sorghum	156	707
LBY179	sorghum\|13v2\|BG411492	sorghum	157	708
LBY180	sorghum\|13v2\|BG488154	sorghum	158	709
LBY181	sorghum\|13v2\|BM322245	sorghum	159	710
LBY182	sorghum\|13v2\|CD222102	sorghum	160	711
LBY183	sorghum\|13v2\|CD223986	sorghum	161	712
LBY184	sorghum\|13v2\|CD224850	sorghum	162	713
LBY185	sorghum\|13v2\|CD226020	sorghum	163	714
LBY186	sorghum\|13v2\|CD227545	sorghum	164	715
LBY187	sorghum\|13v2\|CD431650	sorghum	165	716
LBY188	sorghum\|13v2\|CF757269	sorghum	166	717
LBY189	sorghum\|13v2\|CF760555	sorghum	167	718
LBY190	sorghum\|13v2\|CF761959	sorghum	168	719
LBY191	sorghum\|13v2\|XM_002441241	sorghum	169	720
LBY192	sorghum\|13v2\|XM_002457915	sorghum	170	721
LBY193	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMAO5G343	soybean	171	722
LBY194	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMA15G306	soybean	172	723
LBY195	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMA19G40920T2	soybean	173	724
LBY196	spruce\|11v1\|ES252179	spruce	174	725
LBY197	sunflower\|12v1\|AJ829034	sunflower	175	726
LBY199	sunflower\|12v1\|BU021733	sunflower	176	727
LBY200	sunflower\|12v1\|CD847948	sunflower	177	728
LBY201	sunflower\|12v1\|CD852615	sunflower	178	729
LBY202	sunflower\|12v1\|CD853598	sunflower	179	730
LBY203	sunflower\|12v1\|CX948055	sunflower	180	731
LBY204	sunflower\|12v1\|DY904031	sunflower	181	732
LBY205	sunflower\|12v1\|DY904769	sunflower	182	733
LBY206	sunflower\|12v1\|DY914980	sunflower	183	734
LBY207	sunflower\|12v1\|DY918107	sunflower	184	735
LBY208	sunflower\|12v1\|DY928062	sunflower	185	736
LBY209	sunflower\|12v1\|EE609275	sunflower	186	737
LBY210	sunflower\|12v1\|EE613413	sunflower	187	738
LBY211	sunflower\|12v1\|EE625930	sunflower	188	739
LBY212	tomato\|13v1\|BG123297	tomato	189	740
LBY213	tomato\|13v1\|BG129885	tomato	190	741
LBY214	wheat\|12v3\|AL820463	wheat	191	742
LBY215	wheat\|12v3\|AL821230	wheat	192	743
LBY216	wheat\|12v3\|BE402170	wheat	193	744
LBY217	wheat\|12v3\|BE402302	wheat	194	745
LBY218	wheat\|12v3\|BE413931	wheat	195	746
LBY219	wheat\|12v3\|BE415435	wheat	196	747
LBY220	wheat\|12v3\|BE419175	wheat	197	748
LBY221	wheat\|12v3\|BE419414	wheat	198	749
LBY222	wheat\|12v3\|BE422621	wheat	199	750
LBY224	wheat\|12v3\|BE442666	wheat	200	751
LBY225	wheat\|12v3\|BE446154	wheat	201	752
LBY227	wheat\|12v3\|BE515516	wheat	202	753
LBY228	wheat\|12v3\|BE516296	wheat	203	754
LBY230	wheat\|12v3\|CA608701	wheat	204	755
LBY231	wheat\|12v3\|CA662849	wheat	205	756
LBY232	wheat\|12v3\|CA706141	wheat	206	757
LBY233	maize\|13v2\|AI939887	maize	207	758
LBY106_H3	maize\|13v2\|BG320823	maize	208	759
LBY119_H1	sorghum\|13v2\|XM_002458388	sorghum	209	760
LBY219_H9	rice\|13v2\|BM422078	rice	210	761
LBY27_H4	maize\|13v2\|BE050333	maize	211	762
LBY34_H2	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMA09G42190	soybean	212	763
LGN1	wheat\|12v3\|BE405890	wheat	213	764
LGN2	soybean\|12v1\|GLYMA16G27050	soybean	214	765
LGN3	sorghum\|13v2\|CN131173	sorghum	215	766
LGN4	sorghum\|13v2\|BF587229	sorghum	216	767
LGN5	sorghum\|13v2\|BI643690	sorghum	217	768
LGN6	sorghum\|13v2\|BE598356	sorghum	218	769
LGN7	sorghum\|13v2\|BE363875	sorghum	219	770
LGN9	rice\|gb170\|OS02G48000	rice	220	771
LGN13	rice\|11v1\|CV722121	rice	221	772
LGN14	rice\|11v1\|CB663201	rice	222	773
LGN17	maize\|13v2\|CF647382	maize	223	774
LGN18	maize\|13v2\|AW562670	maize	224	775
LGN20	maize\|13v2\|AI920382	maize	225	776
LGN23	maize\|10v1\|CF011727	maize	226	777
LGN24	maize\|10v1\|CD943107	maize	227	778
LGN26	maize\|10v1\|BE051266	maize	228	779
LGN33	maize\|10v1\|AI857219	maize	229	780
LGN34	maize\|10v1\|AI691183	maize	230	781
LGN35	maize\|10v1\|AI668189	maize	231	782
LGN36	maize\|10v1\|AI666136	maize	232	783
LGN39	maize\|10v1\|AA979848	maize	233	784
LGN40	cotton\|11v1\|BG446873	cotton	234	785
LGN41	brachypodium\|12v1\|	brachypodium	235	786
	BRADI1G64560
LGN42	barley\|12v1\|BI951707	barley	236	787
LGN43	barley\|12v1\|BI946826	barley	237	788
LGN44	barley\|12v1\|BF626012	barley	238	789
LGN45	barley\|12v1\|BF624588	barley	239	790
LGN46	barley\|12v1\|BF619715	barley	240	791
LGN47	barley\|10v2\|BI948139	barley	241	792
LGN48	barley\|10v2\|AV833757	barley	242	793
LGN49	maize\|10v1\|AI901839	maize	243	794
LGN52	foxtail_millet\|11v3\|SOLX00022696	foxtail_millet	244	795
LGN54	sorghum\|12v1\|SB01G028500	sorghum	245	796
LGN57	sorghum\|13v2\|BE596729	sorghum	246	797
LGN60	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X10009	foxtail_millet	247	798
LGN61	maize\|13v2\|AI941989	maize	248	799
LGN62	maize\|13v2\|CF626471	maize	249	800
LGN62_H2	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X213481	foxtail_millet	250	801
LBY1	barley\|12v1\|BU976513	barley	251	—
LBY2	cotton\|11v1\|DW509834XX1	cotton	252	—
LBY3	foxtail_millet\|11v3\|PHY7SI024106M	foxtail_millet	253	—
LBY4	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|	gossypium_raimondii	254	—
	GR13V1PRD019042
LBY5	maize\|13v2\|AI001271	maize	255	—
LBY6	maize\|13v2\|BQ528930	maize	256	—
LBY10	maize\|13v2\|EXP1208S11302X009072496D1	maize	257	—
LBY12	maize\|13v2\|SRR014549X246688	maize	258	—
LBY13	maize\|13v2\|SRR014549X57533	maize	259	—
LBY14	sorghum\|13v2\|BE359338	sorghum	260	—
LBY15	maize\|13v2\|ZM13V1RFAM401	maize	261	—
LBY216	wheat\|12v3\|BE402170	wheat	193	813
LBY20	barley\|12v1\|AV833663	barley	262	556
LBY33	bean\|13v1\|CA912900	bean	263	802
LBY36	bean\|13v1\|SRR001335X369026	bean	264	803
LBY43	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|BE238232	chlamydomonas	265	804
LBY52	cotton\|11v1\|DT048759XX2	cotton	266	805
LBY61	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X103005	foxtail_millet	267	595
LBY68	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X117047	foxtail_millet	268	602
LBY69	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X122695	foxtail_millet	269	806
LBY70	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X123794	foxtail_millet	270	604
LBY72	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X130312	foxtail_millet	271	606
LBY73	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X132820	foxtail_millet	272	807
LBY74	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X135074	foxtail_millet	273	608
LBY80	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X191757	foxtail_millet	274	808
LBY84	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X306788	foxtail_millet	275	618
LBY86	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X406093	foxtail_millet	276	620
LBY92	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350549X154401	foxtail_millet	277	809
LBY93	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|AI055109	gossypium_raimondii	278	627
LBY95	gossypium_raimondiil 13v1\|BG440368	gossypium_raimondii	279	629
LBY106	maize\|13v2\|A1629976	maize	280	639
LBY135	potato\|10v1\|BE919981	potato	281	666
LBY140	rice\|13v2\|AA750741	rice	282	671
LBY145	rice\|13v1\|C28519	rice	283	676
LBY151	sorghum\|13v2\|AI724085	sorghum	284	682
LBY156	sorghum\|13v2\|AW565627	sorghum	285	687
LBY157	sorghum\|13v2\|AW671774	sorghum	286	688
LBY159	sorghum\|13v2\|AW679798	sorghum	287	810
LBY165	sorghum\|13v2\|BE357267	sorghum	288	696
LBY178	sorghum\|13v2\|BG053630	sorghum	289	707
LBY201	sunflower\|12v1\|CD852615	sunflower	290	729
LBY204	sunflower\|12v1\|DY904031	sunflower	291	811
LBY206	sunflower\|12v1\|DY914980	sunflower	292	734
LBY208	sunflower\|12v1\|DY928062	sunflower	293	812
LBY215	wheat\|12v3\|AL821230	wheat	294	743
LBY106_H3	maize\|13v2\|BG320823	maize	295	759
LBY119_H1	sorghum\|13v2\|XM_002458388	sorghum	296	814
LBY219_H9	rice\|13v2\|BM422078	rice	297	761
LBY27_H4	maize\|13v2\|BE050333	maize	298	815
LBY34_H2	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMA09G42190	soybean	299	763
LGN1	wheat\|12v3\|BE405890	wheat	300	764
LGN18	maize\|13v2\|AW562670	maize	301	816
LGN23	maize\|10v1\|CF011727	maize	302	777
LGN42	barley\|12v1\|BI951707	barley	303	787
LGN62_H2	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X213481	foxtail_millet	304	801
LBY2	cotton\|11v1\|DW509834XX1	cotton	305	—
LBY3	foxtail_millet\|11v3\|PHY7SI024106M	foxtail_millet	306	—
LBY4	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|	gossypium_raimondii	307	—
	GR13V1PRD019042
LBY5	maize\|13v2\|AI001271	maize	308	—
LBY6	maize\|13v2\|BQ528930	maize	309	—
LBY14	sorghum\|13v2\|BE359338	sorghum	310	—
LBY15	maize\|13v2\|ZM13V1RFAM401	maize	261	—
LBY16	arabidopsis\|13v2\|AT1G22970	arabidopsis	311	552
LBY17	arabidopsis\|13v2\|AT2G33210	arabidopsis	312	553
LBY18	barley\|12v1\|AJ461405	barley	313	554
LBY20	barley\|12v1\|AV833663	barley	314	817
LBY21	barley\|12v1\|BE602565	barley	315	557
LBY22	barley\|12v1\|BE603141	barley	316	558
LBY23	barley\|12v1\|BF260749	barley	317	559
LBY24	barley\|12v1\|BF623324	barley	318	818
LBY25	barley\|12v1\|BF628509	barley	319	561
LBY26	barley\|12v1\|BG309426	barley	320	562
LBY28	barley\|12v1\|BI947919	barley	321	819
LBY29	barley\|12v1\|BI950637	barley	322	565
LBY30	barley\|12v1\|BI957144	barley	323	566
LBY31	barley\|12v1\|BM370880	barley	324	820
LBY32	barley\|12v1\|BU981749	barley	325	568
LBY33	bean\|13v1\|CA912900	bean	326	821
LBY35	bean\|13v1\|SRR001335X308983	bean	327	822
LBY36	bean\|13v1\|SRR001335X369026	bean	328	823
LBY37	brachypodium\|13v2\|BRADI1G10360	brachypodium	329	573
LBY39	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|AF016902	chlamydomonas	330	574
LBY40	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|AV389131	chlamydomonas	331	575
LBY41	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|BE024238	chlamydomonas	332	576
LBY43	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|BE238232	chlamydomonas	333	578
LBY44	chlamydomonas\|13v1\|BG859395	chlamydomonas	334	579
LBY45	cotton\|11v1\|AI728213	cotton	335	580
LBY46	cotton\|11v1\|AW187962	cotton	336	824
LBY47	cotton\|11v1\|BE054714	cotton	337	825
LBY48	cotton\|11v1\|CA992719	cotton	338	826
LBY49	cotton\|11v1\|CD485858	cotton	339	827
LBY50	cotton\|11v1\|CO094458	cotton	340	828
LBY51	cotton\|11v1\|CO097155XX2	cotton	341	586
LBY52	cotton\|11v1\|DT048759XX2	cotton	342	829
LBY53	cotton\|11v1\|DT551860	cotton	343	830
LBY54	cotton\|11v1\|DT569254	cotton	344	589
LBY55	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|EC612531	foxtail_millet	345	590
LBY56	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|PHY7SI011949M	foxtail_millet	346	591
LBY57	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|PHY7SI024118M	foxtail_millet	347	592
LBY58	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|PHY7SI031876M	foxtail_millet	348	593
LBY59	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|PHY7SI032418M	foxtail_millet	349	594
LBY61	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X103005	foxtail_millet	350	595
LBY62	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X10518	foxtail_millet	351	596
LBY63	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X107681	foxtail_millet	352	597
LBY64	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X10799	foxtail_millet	353	598
LBY65	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X10909	foxtail_millet	354	599
LBY66	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X113858	foxtail_millet	355	600
LBY68	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X117047	foxtail_millet	356	602
LBY69	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X122695	foxtail_millet	357	831
LBY70	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X123794	foxtail_millet	358	604
LBY71	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X12932	foxtail_millet	359	605
LBY72	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X130312	foxtail_millet	360	832
LBY73	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X132820	foxtail_millet	361	607
LBY74	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X135074	foxtail_millet	362	833
LBY75	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X141269	foxtail_millet	363	609
LBY76	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X15437	foxtail_millet	364	610
LBY77	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X157828	foxtail_millet	365	611
LBY78	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X17296	foxtail_millet	366	612
LBY79	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X177567	foxtail_millet	367	613
LBY80	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X191757	foxtail_millet	368	614
LBY81	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X196210	foxtail_millet	369	615
LBY82	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X196859	foxtail_millet	370	616
LBY83	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X218671	foxtail_millet	371	617
LBY84	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X306788	foxtail_millet	372	618
LBY85	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X349819	foxtail_millet	373	619
LBY86	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X406093	foxtail_millet	374	620
LBY87	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X410798	foxtail_millet	375	621
LBY88	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X59197	foxtail_millet	376	622
LBY89	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X77704	foxtail_millet	377	623
LBY90	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350549X116153	foxtail_millet	378	624
LBY91	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350549X131202	foxtail_millet	379	625
LBY92	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350549X154401	foxtail_millet	380	626
LBY93	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|	gossypium_raimondii	381	834
	AI055109
LBY94	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|	gossypium_raimondii	382	835
	AW187415
LBY95	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|	gossypium_raimondii	383	836
	BG440368
LBY96	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|	gossypium_raimondii	384	630
	CA993797
LBY97	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|	gossypium_raimondii	385	837
	DW518098
LBY98	grape\|13v1\|GSVIVT01008767001	grape	386	632
LBY99	grape\|13v1\|GSVIVT01022545001	grape	387	633
LBY100	grape\|13v1\|GSVIVT01027185001	grape	388	634
LBY102	grape\|13v1\|GSVIVT01033774001	grape	389	635
LBY103	maize\|13v2\|AI391771	maize	390	636
LBY104	maize\|13v2\|AI391832	maize	391	637
LBY105	maize\|13v2\|AI629879	maize	392	638
LBY107	maize\|13v2\|AI649422	maize	393	640
LBY108	maize\|13v2\|AI665281	maize	394	838
LBY109	maize\|13v2\|AI714974	maize	395	642
LBY110	maize\|13v2\|AI783421	maize	396	643
LBY111	maize\|13v2\|AI857222	maize	397	644
LBY112	maize\|13v2\|AW066591	maize	398	645
LBY113	maize\|13v2\|BE511523	maize	399	646
LBY114	maize\|13v2\|BG320464	maize	400	647
LBY115	maize\|13v2\|BG836613	maize	401	648
LBY116	maize\|13v2\|BM416753	maize	402	839
LBY117	maize\|13v2\|BM895232	maize	403	650
LBY118	maize\|13v2\|CF648041	maize	404	651
LBY120	maize\|13v2\|W21655	maize	405	840
LBY121	maize\|13v2\|W21748	maize	406	841
LBY122	maize\|13v2\|W49461	maize	407	842
LBY123	maize\|13v2\|X81831	maize	408	656
LBY125	medicago\|13v1\|AW696074	medicago	409	657
LBY126	medicago\|13v1\|BG457785	medicago	410	658
LBY127	medicago\|13v1\|BQ147900	medicago	411	843
LBY128	peanut\|13v1\|EE125510	peanut	412	660
LBY129	peanut\|13v1\|ES722517	peanut	413	661
LBY132	pine\|10v2\|BM492830	pine	414	663
LBY133	plantago\|11v2\|SRR066373X397343	plantago	415	664
LBY134	poplar\|13v1\|AI164180	poplar	416	665
LBY135	potato\|10v1\|BE919981	potato	417	666
LBY136	potato\|10v1\|BF460221	potato	418	844
LBY137	potato\|10v1\|BG595100	potato	419	845
LBY138	rice\|11v1\|AU069467	rice	420	669
LBY139	rice\|13v2\|AA750185	rice	421	846
LBY140	rice\|13v2\|AA750741	rice	422	671
LBY141	rice\|13v2\|AU077650	rice	423	672
LBY142	rice\|13v2\|AU173280	rice	424	673
LBY143	rice\|13v2\|BI796376	rice	425	674
LBY144	rice\|13v2\|BQ907720	rice	426	847
LBY145	rice\|13v2\|C28519	rice	427	676
LBY146	rice\|13v2\|GFXAC018727X13	rice	428	848
LBY148	sorghum\|12v1\|SB03G032710	sorghum	429	679
LBY149	sorghum\|13v2\|AI723863	sorghum	430	680
LBY150	sorghum\|13v2\|AI723986	sorghum	431	681
LBY151	sorghum\|13v2\|AI724085	sorghum	432	682
LBY152	sorghum\|13v2\|AI724262	sorghum	433	683
LBY153	sorghum\|13v2\|AW283496	sorghum	434	684
LBY154	sorghum\|13v2\|AW285663	sorghum	435	685
LBY155	sorghum\|13v2\|AW564408	sorghum	436	849
LBY156	sorghum\|13v2\|AW565627	sorghum	437	850
LBY157	sorghum\|13v2\|AW671774	sorghum	438	688
LBY158	sorghum\|13v2\|AW676719	sorghum	439	851
LBY159	sorghum\|13v2\|AW679798	sorghum	440	690
LBY160	sorghum\|13v2\|AW746324	sorghum	441	691
LBY161	sorghum\|13v2\|AW747557	sorghum	442	692
LBY162	sorghum\|13v2\|BE126058	sorghum	443	693
LBY163	sorghum\|13v2\|BE355844	sorghum	444	694
LBY164	sorghum\|13v2\|BE356001	sorghum	445	852
LBY165	sorghum\|13v2\|BE357267	sorghum	446	853
LBY166	sorghum\|13v2\|BE358756	sorghum	447	697
LBY167	sorghum\|13v2\|BE360790	sorghum	448	698
LBY170	sorghum\|13v2\|BE594760	sorghum	449	700
LBY171	sorghum\|13v2\|BE597213	sorghum	450	701
LBY173	sorghum\|13v2\|BF421040	sorghum	451	702
LBY174	sorghum\|13v2\|BF585682	sorghum	452	703
LBY175	sorghum\|13v2\|BF586554	sorghum	453	704
LBY176	sorghum\|13v2\|BG049624	sorghum	454	705
LBY177	sorghum\|13v2\|BG050660	sorghum	455	706
LBY178	sorghum\|13v2\|BG053630	sorghum	456	707
LBY179	sorghum\|13v2\|BG411492	sorghum	457	708
LBY180	sorghum\|13v2\|BG488154	sorghum	458	854
LBY181	sorghum\|13v2\|BM322245	sorghum	459	855
LBY182	sorghum\|13v2\|CD222102	sorghum	460	856
LBY183	sorghum\|13v2\|CD223986	sorghum	461	712
LBY184	sorghum\|13v2\|CD224850	sorghum	462	713
LBY185	sorghum\|13v2\|CD226020	sorghum	463	857
LBY186	sorghum\|13v2\|CD227545	sorghum	464	715
LBY187	sorghum\|13v2\|CD431650	sorghum	465	858
LBY188	sorghum\|13v2\|CF757269	sorghum	466	717
LBY190	sorghum\|13v2\|CF761959	sorghum	467	719
LBY191	sorghum\|13v2\|XM_002441241	sorghum	468	720
LBY192	sorghum\|13v2\|XM_002457915	sorghum	469	859
LBY193	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMA05G34360	soybean	470	860
LBY194	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMA15G30610	soybean	471	723
LBY195	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMA19G40920T2	soybean	472	861
LBY196	spruce\|11v1\|ES252179	spruce	473	725
LBY197	sunflower\|12v1\|AJ829034	sunflower	474	726
LBY199	sunflower\|12v1\|BU021733	sunflower	475	862
LBY200	sunflower\|12v1\|CD847948	sunflower	476	863
LBY201	sunflower\|12v1\|CD852615	sunflower	477	864
LBY202	sunflower\|12v1\|CD853598	sunflower	478	865
LBY203	sunflower\|12v1\|CX948055	sunflower	479	866
LBY204	sunflower\|12v1\|DY904031	sunflower	480	732
LBY205	sunflower\|12v1\|DY904769	sunflower	481	867
LBY206	sunflower\|12v1\|DY914980	sunflower	482	868
LBY207	sunflower\|12v1\|DY918107	sunflower	483	869
LBY208	sunflower\|12v1\|DY928062	sunflower	484	736
LBY209	sunflower\|12v1\|EE609275	sunflower	485	870
LBY210	sunflower\|12v1\|EE613413	sunflower	486	871
LBY211	sunflower\|12v1\|EE625930	sunflower	487	872
LBY212	tomato\|13v1\|BG123297	tomato	488	873
LBY213	tomato\|13v1\|BG129885	tomato	489	874
LBY214	wheat\|12v3\|AL820463	wheat	490	742
LBY216	wheat\|12v3\|BE402170	wheat	491	875
LBY217	wheat\|12v3\|BE402302	wheat	492	876
LBY218	wheat\|12v3\|BE413931	wheat	493	877
LBY220	wheat\|12v3\|BE419175	wheat	494	748
LBY221	wheat\|12v3\|BE419414	wheat	495	749
LBY222	wheat\|12v3\|BE422621	wheat	496	878
LBY224	wheat\|12v3\|BE442666	wheat	497	751
LBY225	wheat\|12v3\|BE446154	wheat	498	879
LBY227	wheat\|12v3\|BE515516	wheat	499	753
LBY228	wheat\|12v3\|BE516296	wheat	500	880
LBY230	wheat\|12v3\|CA608701	wheat	501	881
LBY231	wheat\|12v3\|CA662849	wheat	502	882
LBY232	wheat\|12v3\|CA706141	wheat	503	883
LBY233	maize\|13v2\|AI939887	maize	504	758
LBY106_H3	maize\|13v2\|BG320823	maize	505	884
LBY119_H1	sorghum\|13v2\|XM_002458388	sorghum	506	885
LBY219_H9	rice\|13v2\|BM422078	rice	507	761
LBY27_H4	maize\|13v2\|BE050333	maize	508	762
LBY34_H2	soybean\|13v2\|GLYMA09G42190	soybean	509	763
LGN1	wheat\|12v3\|BE405890	wheat	510	764
LGN2	soybean\|12v1\|GLYMA16G27050	soybean	511	765
LGN3	sorghum\|13v2\|CN131173	sorghum	512	766
LGN4	sorghum\|13v2\|BF587229	sorghum	513	767
LGN5	sorghum\|13v2\|BI643690	sorghum	514	768
LGN6	sorghum\|13v2\|BE598356	sorghum	515	769
LGN7	sorghum\|13v2\|BE363875	sorghum	516	770
LGN9	rice\|gb170\|OS02G48000	rice	517	771
LGN13	rice\|11v1\|CV722121	rice	518	772
LGN14	rice\|11v1\|CB663201	rice	519	773
LGN17	maize\|13v2\|CF647382	maize	520	886
LGN18	maize\|13v2\|AW562670	maize	521	887
LGN20	maize\|13v2\|AI920382	maize	522	888
LGN23	maize\|10v1\|CF011727	maize	523	777
LGN24	maize\|10v1\|CD943107	maize	524	889
LGN26	maize\|10v1\|BE051266	maize	525	779
LGN33	maize\|10v1\|AI857219	maize	526	780
LGN34	maize\|10v1\|AI691183	maize	527	890
LGN35	maize\|10v1\|AI668189	maize	528	782
LGN36	maize\|10v1\|AI666136	maize	529	783
LGN39	maize\|10v1\|AA979848	maize	530	891
LGN40	cotton\|11v1\|BG446873	cotton	531	785
LGN41	brachypodium\|12v1\|BRADI1G64560	brachypodium	532	786
LGN42	barley\|12v1\|BI951707	barley	533	787
LGN43	barley\|12v1\|BI946826	barley	534	788
LGN44	barley\|12v1\|BF626012	barley	535	789
LGN45	barley\|12v1\|BF624588	barley	536	892
LGN46	barley\|12v1\|BF619715	barley	537	791
LGN47	barley\|10v2\|BI948139	barley	538	893
LGN48	barley\|10v2\|AV833757	barley	539	793
LGN49	maize\|10v1\|AI901839	maize	540	894
LGN52	foxtail_millet\|11v3\|SOLX00022696	foxtail_millet	541	795
LGN54	sorghum\|12v1\|SB01G028500	sorghum	542	796
LGN57	sorghum\|13v2\|BE596729	sorghum	543	895
LGN60	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X10009	foxtail_millet	544	798
LGN61	maize\|13v2\|AI941989	maize	545	896
LGN62_H2	foxtail_millet\|13v2\|SRR350548X213481	foxtail_millet	546	897
LBY3	foxtail_millet\|11v3\|PHY7SI024106M	foxtail_millet	547	—
LBY4	gossypium_raimondii\|13v1\|	gossypium_raimondii	548	—
	GR13V1PRD019042
LBY5	maize\|13v2\|AI001271	maize	549	—
LBY6	maize\|13v2\|BQ528930	maize	550	—
LBY14	sorghum\|13v2\|BE359338	sorghum	551	—

“polyn.” = polynucleotide; “polyp.” = polypeptide.

The concepts of orthology and paralogy have recently been applied to functional characterizations and classifications on the scale of whole-genome comparisons. Orthologs and paralogs constitute two major types of hom*ologs: The first evolved from a common ancestor by specialization, and the latter is related by duplication events. It is assumed that paralogs arising from ancient duplication events are likely to have diverged in function while true orthologs are more likely to retain identical function over evolutionary time.

To further investigate and identify putative orthologs of the genes affecting plant yield, seed yield, fiber yield, fiber quality, oil yield, oil content, seed yield, growth rate, vigor, biomass, abiotic stress tolerance, and fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) and/or nitrogen use efficiency of a plant, all sequences were aligned using the BLAST® (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool). Sequences sufficiently similar were tentatively grouped. These putative orthologs were further organized under a Phylogram—a branching diagram (tree) assumed to be a representation of the evolutionary relationships among the biological taxa. Putative ortholog groups were analyzed as to their agreement with the phylogram and in cases of disagreements these ortholog groups were broken accordingly.

Expression data was analyzed and the EST libraries were classified using a fixed vocabulary of custom terms such as developmental stages (e.g., genes showing similar expression profile through development with up regulation at specific stage, such as at the seed filling stage) and/or plant organ (e.g., genes showing similar expression profile across their organs with up regulation at specific organs such as seed). The annotations from all the ESTs clustered to a gene were analyzed statistically by comparing their frequency in the cluster versus their abundance in the database, allowing the construction of a numeric and graphic expression profile of that gene, which is termed “digital expression”. The rationale of using these two complementary methods with methods of phenotypic association studies of QTLs, SNPs and phenotype expression correlation is based on the assumption that true orthologs are likely to retain identical function over evolutionary time. These methods provide different sets of indications on function similarities between two hom*ologous genes, similarities in the sequence level -identical amino acids in the protein domains and similarity in expression profiles.

The search and identification of hom*ologous genes involves the screening of sequence information available, for example, in public databases such as the DNA Database of Japan (DDBJ), Genbank, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory Nucleic Acid Sequence Database (EMBL) or versions thereof or the MIPS database. A number of different search algorithms have been developed, including but not limited to the suite of programs referred to as BLAST® programs. There are five implementations of BLAST®, three designed for nucleotide sequence queries (BLASTN®, BLASTX®, and TBLASTX®) and two designed for protein sequence queries (BLASTP® and TBLASTN®) (Coulson, Trends in Biotechnology: 76-80, 1994; Birren et al., Genome Analysis, I: 543, 1997). Such methods involve alignment and comparison of sequences. The BLAST® algorithm calculates percent sequence identity and performs a statistical analysis of the similarity between the two sequences. The software for performing BLAST® analysis is publicly available through the National Centre for Biotechnology Information. Other such software or algorithms are GAP, BESTFIT, FASTA and TFASTA. GAP uses the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (J. Mol. Biol. 48: 443-453, 1970) to find the alignment of two complete sequences that maximizes the number of matches and minimizes the number of gaps.

The hom*ologous genes may belong to the same gene family. The analysis of a gene family may be carried out using sequence similarity analysis. To perform this analysis one may use standard programs for multiple alignments e.g. Clustal W. A neighbour-joining tree of the proteins hom*ologous to the genes in this invention may be used to provide an overview of structural and ancestral relationships. Sequence identity may be calculated using an alignment program as described above. It is expected that other plants will carry a similar functional gene (ortholog) or a family of similar genes and those genes will provide the same preferred phenotype as the genes presented here. Advantageously, these family members may be useful in the methods of the invention. Example of other plants are included here but not limited to, barley (Hordeum vulgare), Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), maize (Zea mays), cotton (Gossypium), Oilseed rape (Brassica napus), Rice (Oryza sativa), Sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), Soybean (Glycine max), Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), Wheat (Triticum aestivum).

The above-mentioned analyses for sequence hom*ology can be carried out on a full-length sequence, but may also be based on a comparison of certain regions such as conserved domains. The identification of such domains, would also be well within the realm of the person skilled in the art and would involve, for example, a computer readable format of the nucleic acids of the present invention, the use of alignment software programs and the use of publicly available information on protein domains, conserved motifs and boxes. This information is available in the PRODOM (biochem (dot) ucl (dot) ac (dot) uk/bsm/dbbrowser/protocol/prodomqry (dot) html), PR (pir (dot) Georgetown (dot) edu/) or Pfam (sanger (dot) ac (dot) uk/Software/Pfam/) database. Sequence analysis programs designed for motif searching may be used for identification of fragments, regions and conserved domains as mentioned above. Preferred computer programs include, but are not limited to, MEME, SIGNALSCAN, and GENESCAN.

A person skilled in the art may use the hom*ologous sequences provided herein to find similar sequences in other species and other organisms. hom*ologues of a protein encompass, peptides, oligopeptides, polypeptides, proteins and enzymes having amino acid substitutions, deletions and/or insertions relative to the unmodified protein in question and having similar biological and functional activity as the unmodified protein from which they are derived. To produce such hom*ologues, amino acids of the protein may be replaced by other amino acids having similar properties (conservative changes, such as similar hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, antigenicity, propensity to form or break a-helical structures or 3-sheet structures). Conservative substitution tables are well known in the art (see for example Creighton (1984) Proteins. W.H. Freeman and Company). hom*ologues of a nucleic acid encompass nucleic acids having nucleotide substitutions, deletions and/or insertions relative to the unmodified nucleic acid in question and having similar biological and functional activity as the unmodified nucleic acid from which they are derived.

Polynucleotides and polypeptides with significant hom*ology to the identified genes described in Table 1 (Example 1 above) were identified from the databases using BLAST® software with the BLASTP® and tBLASTN® algorithms as filters for the first stage, and the needle (EMBOSS package) or Frame+ algorithm alignment for the second stage. Local identity (BLAST® alignments) was defined with a very permissive cutoff—60% Identity on a span of 60% of the sequences lengths because it is used only as a filter for the global alignment stage. The default filtering of the BLAST® package was not utilized (by setting the parameter “-F F”).

In the second stage, hom*ologs were defined based on a global identity of at least 80% to the core gene polypeptide sequence. Two distinct forms for finding the optimal global alignment for protein or nucleotide sequences were used in this application:

1. Between two proteins (following the BLASTP® filter): EMBOSS-6.0.1 Needleman-Wunsch algorithm with the following modified parameters: gapopen=8 gapextend=2. The rest of the parameters were unchanged from the default options described hereinabove.

2. Between a protein sequence and a nucleotide sequence (following the tBLASTN® filter):

GenCore 6.0 OneModel application utilizing the Frame+ algorithm with the following parameters: model=frame+_p2n.model mode=qglobal -q=protein. sequence -db=nucleotide.sequence. The rest of the parameters are unchanged from the default options described hereinabove.

The query polypeptide sequences were SEQ ID NOs: 552-897 and the query polynucleotides were SEQ ID NOs: 1-551 and the identified orthologous and hom*ologous sequences having at least 80% global sequence identity are provided in Table 2, below. These hom*ologous genes are expected to increase plant yield, seed yield, oil yield, oil content, growth rate, fiber yield, fiber quality, fiber length, photosynthetic capacity, biomass, vigor, ABST and/or NUE of a plant.

Lengthy table referenced here
US10975383-20210413-T00001
Please refer to the end of the specification for access instructions.

The output of the functional genomics approach described herein is a set of genes highly predicted to improve yield and/or other agronomic important traits such as growth rate, vigor, oil content, fiber yield and/or quality, biomass, photosynthetic capacity, growth rate, abiotic stress tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, water use efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency of a plant by increasing their expression. Although each gene is predicted to have its own impact, modifying the mode of expression of more than one gene is expected to provide an additive or synergistic effect on the plant yield and/or other agronomic important yields performance. Altering the expression of each gene described here alone or set of genes together increases the overall yield and/or other agronomic important traits, hence expects to increase agricultural productivity.

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Barley oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 47,500 Barley genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 25 different Barley accessions were analyzed. Among them, 13 accessions encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Experimental Procedures

Four tissues at different developmental stages [meristem, flower, booting spike, stem], representing different plant characteristics were sampled and RNA was extracted as described hereinabove under “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”.

For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 3 below.

TABLE 3

Barley transcriptome expression sets

	Expression Set	Set ID

	Booting spike at flowering stage	1
	under normal conditions
	Flowering spike at flowering stage	2
	under normal conditions
	Meristem at flowering stage	3
	under normal conditions
	Stem at flowering stage under	4
	normal conditions

	Table 3: Provided are the identification (ID) letters of each of the Barley expression sets.

Barley yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—13 Barley accessions in 4 repetitive blocks (named A, B, C, and D), each containing 4 plants per plot were grown at net house under normal conditions as recommended for commercial growth [normal growth conditions included irrigation given 2-3 times a week, and fertilization given in the first 1.5 months of the growth period]; under low Nitrogen (80% percent less Nitrogen); or under drought stress (cycles of drought and re-irrigating were conducted throughout the whole experiment, overall 40% less water were given in the drought treatment). Plants were phenotyped on a daily basis following the standard descriptor of barley (Table 4, below). Harvest was conducted while 50% of the spikes were dry to avoid spontaneous release of the seeds. Plants were separated to the vegetative part and spikes, of them, 5 spikes were threshed (grains were separated from the glumes) for additional grain analysis such as size measurement, grain count per spike and grain yield per spike. All material was oven dried and the seeds were threshed manually from the spikes prior to measurement of the seed characteristics (weight and size) using scanning and image analysis. The image analysis system included a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

TABLE 4

Barley standard descriptors

Trait	Parameter	Range	Description

Growth	Scoring	1-9	Prostrate (1)
habit			or Erect (9)
Hairiness of	Scoring	P (Presence)/	Absence (1)
basal leaves		A (Absence)	or Presence (2)
Stem	Scoring	1-5	Green (1), Basal only
pigmentation			or Half or more (5)
Days to	Days		Days from sowing to
Flowering			emergence of awns
Plant height	Centimeter		Height from
	(cm)		ground level to
			top of the longest
			spike excluding
			awns
Spikes	Number		Terminal
per plant			Counting
Spike	Centimeter		Terminal Counting
length	(cm)		5 spikes per plant
Grains	Number		Terminal Counting
per spike			5 spikes per plant
Vegetative	Gram		Oven-dried for
dry weight			48 hours at 70° C.
Spikes dry	Gram		Oven-dried for
weight			48 hours at 30° C.

Table 4

At the end of the experiment (50% of the spikes were dry) all spikes from plots within blocks A-D were collected, and the following measurements were performed:

(i) Grains per spike—The total number of grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed was counted. The average grain per spike was calculated by dividing the total grain number by the number of spikes.

(ii) Grain average size (cm)—The total grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed were scanned and images were analyzed using the digital imaging system. Grain scanning was done using Brother scanner (model DCP-135), at the 200 dpi resolution and analyzed with Image J software. The average grain size was calculated by dividing the total grain size by the total grain number.

(iii) Grain average weight (mgr)—The total grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed were counted and weight. The average weight was calculated by dividing the total weight by the total grain number.

(iv) Grain yield per spike (gr) (=seed yield of 5 spikes)—The total grains from 5 spikes that were manually threshed were weight. The grain yield was calculated by dividing the total weight by the spike number.

(v) Spike length analysis—The five chosen spikes per plant were measured using measuring tape excluding the awns.

(vi) Spike number analysis—The spikes per plant were counted.

Additional parameters were measured as follows:

Growth habit scoring—At growth stage 10 (booting), each of the plants was scored for its growth habit nature. The scale that was used was “1” for prostate nature till “9” for erect.

Hairiness of basal leaves—At growth stage 5 (leaf sheath strongly erect; end of tillering), each of the plants was scored for its hairiness nature of the leaf before the last. The scale that was used was “1” for prostate nature till “9” for erect.

Plant height—At harvest stage (50% of spikes were dry), each of the plants was measured for its height using measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest spike excluding awns.

Days to flowering—Each of the plants was monitored for flowering date. Days of flowering were calculated from sowing date till flowering date.

Stem pigmentation—At growth stage 10 (booting), each of the plants was scored for its stem color. The scale that was used was “1” for green till “5” for full purple.

Vegetative dry weight and spike yield—At the end of the experiment (50% of the spikes were dry) all spikes and vegetative material from plots within blocks A-D were collected. The biomass and spikes weight of each plot was separated, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours;

Spike yield per plant=total spike weight per plant (gr) after drying at 30° C. in oven for 48 hours.

TABLE 5

Barley correlated parameters (vectors)

	Correlated parameter with	Correlation ID

	Grain weight [milligrams]	1
	Grains size [mm²]	2
	Grains per spike [numbers]	3
	Growth habit [scores 1-9]	4
	Hairiness of basal leaves [scoring 1-2]	5
	Plant height (cm)	6
	Seed yield of 5 spikes [gr/spike]	7
	Spike length [cm]	8
	Spikes per plant [numbers]	9
	Stem pigmentation [scoring 1-5]	10
	Vegetative dry weight [gram]	11
	Days to flowering [days]	12

	Table 5. Provided are the Barley correlated parameters (vectors).

13 different Barley accessions were grown and characterized for 12 parameters as described above. The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 6 and 7 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome expression sets (Table 3) and the average parameters was conducted. Follow, results were integrated to the database (Table 8 below).

TABLE 6

Measured parameters of correlation Ids in Barley accessions

Eco-
type/
Treat-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
ment	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

1	35.05	28.06	28.76	17.87	41.22	29.73	25.22
2	0.27	0.23	0.24	0.17	0.29	0.28	0.22
3	20.23	17.98	17.27	17.73	14.47	16.78	12.12
4	2.60	2.00	1.92	3.17	4.33	2.69	3.60
5	1.53	1.33	1.69	1.08	1.42	1.69	1.30
6	134.27	130.50	138.77	114.58	127.75	129.38	103.89
7	3.56	2.54	2.58	1.57	3.03	2.52	1.55
8	12.04	10.93	11.83	9.90	11.68	11.53	8.86
9	48.85	48.27	37.42	61.92	33.27	41.69	40.00
10	1.13	2.50	1.69	1.75	2.33	2.31	1.70
11	78.87	66.14	68.49	53.39	68.30	74.17	35.35
12	62.40	64.08	65.15	58.92	63.00	70.54	52.80

Table 6. Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (1-7) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 5).

TABLE 7

Barley accessions, additional measured parameters

Ecotype/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Treatment	8	9	10	11	12	13

1	34.99	20.58	27.50	37.13	29.56	19.58
2	0.28	0.19	0.22	0.27	0.27	0.18
3	14.07	21.54	12.10	13.40	15.28	17.07
4	3.50	3.00	3.67	2.47	3.50	3.00
5	1.19	1.00	1.17	1.60	1.08	1.17
6	121.63	126.80	99.83	121.40	118.42	117.17
7	2.62	2.30	1.68	2.68	2.35	1.67
8	11.22	11.11	8.58	10.18	10.51	9.80
9	40.63	62.00	49.33	50.60	43.09	51.40
10	2.19	2.30	1.83	3.07	1.58	2.17
11	58.33	62.23	38.32	68.31	56.15	42.68
12	60.88	58.10	53.00	60.40	64.58	56.00

Table 7. Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Barley accessions (8-13) according to the correlation identifications (see Table 5).

TABLE 8

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some
embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic
performance undernormal fertilization conditions across barley accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY20	0.72	1.32E−02	3	9	LBY21	0.81	2.27E−03	1	2
LBY21	0.75	7.63E−03	1	1	LBY22	0.74	9.92E−03	3	7
LBY25	0.75	7.51E−03	3	9	LBY26	0.88	3.49E−04	3	2
LBY26	0.83	1.63E−03	3	1	LBY26	0.72	1.19E−02	3	7
LBY26	0.81	2.69E−03	3	12	LBY29	0.71	1.47E−02	3	12
LBY30	0.78	4.36E−03	3	9	LBY31	0.79	6.50E−03	2	10
LBY32	0.88	4.12E−04	1	2	LBY32	0.87	5.83E−04	1	1
LBY32	0.70	1.56E−02	3	9	LGN42	0.86	6.89E−04	3	9
LGN43	0.74	8.67E−03	1	9	LGN43	0.72	1.20E−02	1	3

Table 8. Provided are the correlations (R) between the gene expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance “Corr. ID”—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 86. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 84. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis comparing between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a Barley oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60K Barley genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 15 different Barley accessions were analyzed. Among them, 10 accessions encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Analyzed Barley tissues—six tissues at different developmental stages [leaf, meristem, root tip, adventitious root, booting spike and stem], representing different plant characteristics, were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Tables 9-11 below.

TABLE 9

Barley transcriptome expression sets
under drought and recovery conditions

	Expression Set	Set ID

	Booting spike under	1
	drought conditions
	Leaf at reproductive stage	2
	under drought conditions
	Leaf at vegetative stage	3
	under drought conditions
	Meristem at vegetative stage	4
	under drought conditions
	Root tip at vegetative stage	5
	under drought conditions
	Root tip at vegetative	6
	stage under recovery
	from drought conditions

	Table 9. Provided are the barley transcriptome expression sets under drought and recovery conditions.

TABLE 10

Barley transcriptome expression
sets under normal and low
nitrogen conditions (set 1)

	Expression Set	Set ID

	Adventitious roots under	1
	low nitrogen conditions
	Adventitious roots	2
	under normal conditions
	Leaf under low nitrogen	3
	conditions
	Leaf under normal	4
	conditions
	Root tip under low	5
	nitrogen conditions
	Root tip under normal	6
	conditions

	Table 10. Provided are the barley transcriptome expression sets under normal and low nitrogen conditions (set 1-vegetative stage).

TABLE 11

Barley transcriptome expression
sets under normal and low
nitrogen conditions (set 2)

	Expression Set	Set ID

	Booting spike under low	1
	nitrogen conditions
	Booting spike under	2
	normal conditions
	Leaf under low	3
	nitrogen conditions
	Leaf under normal	4
	conditions
	Stem under low nitrogen	5
	conditions
	Stem under normal	6
	conditions

	Table 11. Provided are the barley transcriptome expression sets under normal and low nitrogen conditions (set 2-reproductive stage).

Barley yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—15 Barley accessions in 5 repetitive blocks, each containing 5 plants per pot were grown at net house. Three different treatments were applied: plants were regularly fertilized and watered during plant growth until harvesting as recommended for commercial growth under normal conditions [normal growth conditions included irrigation 2-3 times a week and fertilization given in the first 1.5 months of the growth period]; under low Nitrogen (80% percent less Nitrogen); or under drought stress (cycles of drought and re-irrigating were conducted throughout the whole experiment, overall 40% less water as compared to normal conditions were given in the drought treatment). Plants were phenotyped on a daily basis following the standard descriptor of barley (Tables 12-15, below). Harvest was conducted while all the spikes were dry. All material was oven dried and the seeds were threshed manually from the spikes prior to measurement of the seed characteristics (weight and size) using scanning and image analysis. The image analysis system included a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37 (Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and freely available on the internet [rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/]. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Grain yield (gr.)—At the end of the experiment all spikes of the pots were collected. The total grains from all spikes that were manually threshed were weighted. The grain yield was calculated by per plot or per plant.

Spike length and width analysis—At the end of the experiment the length and width of five chosen spikes per plant were measured using measuring tape excluding the awns.

Spike number analysis—The spikes per plant were counted.

Plant height—Each of the plants was measured for its height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest spike excluding awns at two time points at the Vegetative growth (30 days after sowing) and at harvest.

Spike weight—The biomass and spikes weight of each plot were separated, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours at two time points at the Vegetative growth (30 days after sowing) and at harvest.

Spikelet per spike=number of spikelets per spike was counted.

Root/Shoot Ratio—The Root/Shoot Ratio is calculated using Formula XXII (above).

Total No. of tillers—all tillers were counted per plot at two time points at the Vegetative growth (30 days after sowing) and at harvest.

Percent of reproductive tillers—was calculated based on Formula XXVI (above).

SPAD [SPAD unit]—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta

SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at time of flowering. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Root FW (gr.), root length (cm) and No. of lateral roots—3 plants per plot were selected for measurement of root weight, root length and for counting the number of lateral roots formed.

Shoot FW (fresh weight)—weight of 3 plants per plot were recorded at different time-points.

Average Grain Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the spike. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Average Grain Length and width (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the spike. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain lengths or width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains

Average Grain perimeter (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the spike. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain perimeter was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Heading date—the day in which booting stage was observed was recorded and number of days from sowing to heading was calculated.

Relative water content—was calculated based on Formula I.

Harvest Index (for barley)—The harvest index is calculated using Formula XVIII (above).

Relative growth rate: the relative growth rates (RGR) of Plant Height, SPAD and number of tillers were calculated based on Formulas III, IV and V respectively.

RATIO Drought/Normal: Represent ratio for the specified parameter of Drought condition results divided by Normal conditions results (maintenance of phenotype under drought in comparison to normal conditions).

Data parameters collected are summarized in Table 12-15, hereinbelow

TABLE 12

Barley correlated parameters (vectors)
under drought and recovery conditions

		Correlation
	Correlated parameter with	ID

	Chlorophyll levels SPAD [unit]	1
	Dry weight at harvest [gr]	2
	Dry weight vegetative	3
	growth [gr/day]
	Fresh weight [gr]	4
	Grain number [num]	5
	Grain weight [gr]	6
	Harvest index	7
	[yield/(yield + biomass)]
	Heading date [days]	8
	Height Relative growth	9
	rate [cm/day]
	Number of tillers Relative	10
	growth rate [num/day]
	Plant height T2 [cm]	11
	Root/shoot [ratio]	12
	Relative water content [%]	13
	Root dry weight [gr]	14
	Root fresh weight [gr]	15
	Root length [cm]	16
	SPAD Relative growth rate	17
	SPAD [unit/day]
	Spike length [cm]	18
	Spike number [num]	19
	Spike weight per plant [gr]	20
	Spike width [cm]	21
	Tillers number T2 [num]	22
	Lateral root number [num]	23

	Table 12. Provided are the barley correlated parameters.

TABLE 13

Barley correlated parameters (vectors) for maintenance
of performance under drought conditions

	Correlated	Correlation
	parameter with	ID

	Chlorophyll	1
	levels [ratio]
	Dry weight at	2
	harvest [ratio]
	Dry weight vegetative	3
	growth [ratio]
	Fresh weight [ratio]	4
	Grain number [ratio]	5
	Grain weight [ratio]	6
	Harvest index [ratio]	7
	Heading date [ratio]	8
	Plant height [ratio]	9
	Root/shoot [ratio]	10
	Relative water	11
	content [ratio]
	Root dry weight [ratio]	12
	Root fresh weight [ratio]	13
	Root length [ratio]	14
	Spike length [ratio]	15
	Spike number [ratio]	16
	Spike weight per	17
	plant [ratio]
	Spike width [ratio]	18
	Tillers number [ratio]	19
	Lateral root	20
	number [ratio]

Table 13. Provided are the barley correlated parameters. “ratio”-ratio for the specified parameter of Drought condition results divided by Normal conditions results (maintenance of phenotype under drought in comparison to normal conditions.

TABLE 14

Barley correlated parameters (vectors) under
low nitrogen and normal conditions (set 1)

	Correlation
Correlated parameter with	ID

Lateral Roots under Normal growth conditions [number]	1
Leaf Area, under Normal growth conditions [mm²]	2
Leaf Number, TP4, under Low N	3
growth conditions [number]
Max Length, under Normal growth conditions [mm]	4
Max Width, under Normal growth conditions [mm]	5
Max Length, TP4, under Low N growth conditions [mm]	6
Max Width, TP4, under Low N growth conditions [mm]	7
No of lateral roots, under Low N	8
growth conditions, TP2 [number]
No of tillers, under Low N growth conditions, TP2 [number]	9
Num Leaves, under Normal growth conditions [number]	10
Num Seeds, under Normal growth conditions [number]	11
Number of Spikes, under Normal	12
growth conditions [number]
Num Tillers, under Normal growth conditions[number]	13
Plant Height, under Normal growth conditions, T2 [cm]	14
Plant Height, under Low N growth conditions [cm]	15
Plant Height, under Low N growth conditions, TP2 [cm]	16
Root FW, under Normal growth conditions [gr.]	17
Root Length, under Normal growth conditions [cm]	18
Root FW, under Low N growth conditions, TP2 [gr.]	19
Root length, under Low N growth conditions, TP2 [cm]	20
SPAD, under Normal growth conditions SPAD [unit]	21
SPAD, under Low N growth conditions, TP2 SPAD [unit]	22
Seed Yield, under Normal growth conditions [gr.]	23
Seed Number (per plot) under Low N	24
growth conditions [number]
Seed Yield, under Low N growth conditions [gr.]	25
Seed Yield, under Normal growth conditions [gr.]	26
Shoot FW, under Normal growth conditions [gr.]	27
Spike Length, under Normal growth conditions [cm]	28
Spike Width, under Normal growth conditions [cm]	29
Spike weight, under Normal growth conditions [gr.]	30
Spike Length, under Low N growth conditions [cm]	31
Spike Width, under Low N growth conditions [cm]	32
Spike total weight (per plot) under Low N	33
growth conditions [gr.]
Total Tillers, under Normal growth conditions [number]	34
Total Leaf Area, TP4, under	35
Low N growth conditions [mm²]
Total No of Spikes (per plot) under Low N	36
growth conditions [number]
Total No of tillers (per plot) under Low N	37
growth conditions [number]
Shoot FW, under Low N growth conditions, TP2 [gr.]	38

Table 14. Provided are the barley correlated parameters. “TP” = time point; “DW” = dry weight; “FW” = fresh weight; “Low N” = Low Nitrogen; “Normal” = regular growth conditions. “Max” = maximum.

TABLE 15

Barley correlated parameters (vectors) under
low nitrogen and normal conditions (set 2)

	Correlated	Correlation
	parameter with	ID

	Grain Perimeter (cm)	1
	Grain area (cm²)	2
	Grain length (cm)	3
	Grain width (cm)	4
	Grains DW/Shoots DW (ratio)	5
	Grains per plot (number)	6
	Grains weight per plant (gr.)	7
	Grains weight per plot (gr.)	8
	Plant Height (cm)	9
	Roots DW (mg)	10
	Row number (number)	11
	Spikes FW (Harvest) (gr.)	12
	Spikes num (number)	13
	Tillering (Harvest) (number)	14
	Vegetative DW (Harvest) (gr.)	15
	percent of reproductive tillers (%)	16
	shoot/root ratio (ratio)	17

	Table 15. Provided are the barley correlated parameters. “TP” = time point; “DW” = dry weight; “FW” = fresh weight; “Low N” = Low Nitrogen; “Normal” = regular growth conditions. “Max” = maximum. Note that each of the parameters described in this Table was measured under both low N growth conditions and normal growth conditions.

15 different Barley accessions were grown and characterized for different parameters as described above. Tables 12-15 above describe the Barley correlated parameters. The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 16-25 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets and the average parameters (Tables 16-25) was conducted. Follow, results were integrated to the database (Tables 26-29).

TABLE 16

Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley
accessions under drought and recovery conditions

Corr.
ID/
Line	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12

Line-1	41.33	6.15	0.21	1.90	170.00	5.55	0.47	75.00	0.27	0.070	46.00	0.013
Line-2	33.57	5.05	0.21	1.52	267.50	9.80	0.66	71.00	0.86	0.097	52.80	0.012
Line-3	36.57	3.20		1.17	111.00	3.55	0.53	65.00	0.73	0.059	35.00	0.008
Line-4	40.50	3.28		1.95	205.33	7.20	0.69		0.88	0.071	38.00	0.006
Line-5	45.07	4.76		1.90	153.60	5.28	0.53	66.75	0.40	0.164	45.20	0.025
Line-6	39.73	3.55	0.17	1.22	252.50	7.75	0.69	90.00	0.94	0.061	48.00	0.020
Line-7	38.33	4.52		1.75	288.40	9.92	0.69	90.00	0.70	0.104	37.67	0.008
Line-8	36.17	3.38		1.58	274.50	10.25	0.75		0.71	0.049	41.20	0.008
Line-9	42.13	5.67	0.25	1.88	348.50	8.50	0.60	90.00	0.77	0.100	40.80	0.012
Line-10	31.77	3.31		1.73	358.00	14.03	0.81		0.80	0.061	49.86	0.007
Line-11	33.47	2.65		1.00	521.39	17.52	0.87		0.92	0.063	43.00	0.016
Line-12	42.37	5.12	0.13	0.90	71.50	2.05	0.29	90.00	0.39	0.183	47.40	0.023
Line-13	42.27	6.86	0.19	0.90	160.13	5.38	0.44	81.60	0.88	0.149	64.80	0.012
Line-14	36.77	3.11	0.22	1.43	376.67	11.00	0.78	90.00	0.13	0.022	52.60	0.012
Line-15	40.63	3.74		0.83	105.00	2.56	0.41		0.20	0.442	32.00	0.026

Table 16. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 12) measured in Barley accessions (line) under drought growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 17

Additional measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley
accessions under drought and recovery conditions

Corr.
ID/
Line	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23

Line-1	80.60	77.52	2.07	21.67	0.087	16.70	4.20	17.72	8.64	11.68	8.33
Line-2	53.40	60.19	1.48	20.33	0.123	16.85	4.36	24.24	9.07	9.04	8.67
Line-3	55.87	27.13	1.12	22.00	0.001	13.27	7.60	18.20	7.82	10.92	7.33
Line-4		18.62	1.87	24.00	0.010	13.55	8.44	18.00	7.32	10.16	7.67
Line-5	43.21	117.42	1.67	20.67	0.037	14.19	4.92	19.50	8.74	10.32	6.67
Line-6	69.78	70.72	1.68	18.33	0.072	15.64	3.43	15.00	7.62	8.78	6.67
Line-7	45.49	37.34	1.62	21.00	0.013	15.66	6.90	23.40	6.98	13.00	7.67
Line-8	76.51	25.56	0.85	20.33	0.003	17.49	5.80	28.16	8.05	7.44	6.67
Line-9	87.41	66.18	1.45	21.67	0.063	16.00	8.55	21.96	6.06	13.92	6.00
Line-10		22.13	1.38	19.67	0.035	18.31	9.67	33.03	6.73	11.00	8.67
Line-11		41.12	0.82	16.67	0.050	17.42	5.42	34.80	9.55	6.78	7.67
Line-12	58.32	116.95	0.58	17.00	0.004	14.23	3.05	11.73	7.84	8.45	6.33
Line-13	80.58	84.10	0.63	15.17	0.072	14.81	4.07	18.78	7.81	9.15	7.00
Line-14	73.09	37.46	1.07	27.00	0.025	16.54	3.72	21.00	8.35	5.12	7.00
Line-15		98.86	0.70	15.00	0.063	12.72	3.21	9.88	5.47	16.13	6.67

Table 17. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 12) measured in Barley accessions (line) under drought growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 18

Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions)
for maintenance of performance under drought conditions

Corr. ID/
Line	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

Line-1	0.98	0.61	0.93	0.60	0.12	0.08	0.54	0.00	0.51	1.55
Line-2	0.72	0.45	0.71	0.50	0.22	0.17	0.79	1.12	0.61	0.97
Line-3	1.30	0.59	0.00	0.47	0.11	0.06	0.58	1.30	0.67	1.12
Line-4	1.06	0.67	0.00	0.68	0.19	0.14	0.75	0.00	0.72	0.56
Line-5	1.03	0.41	0.00	0.46	0.17	0.15	0.70	1.00	0.61	1.72
Line-6	0.95	0.54	0.65	0.47	0.21	0.14	0.77	1.06	0.59	1.97
Line-7	0.82	0.75	0.00	0.58	0.22	0.15	0.75	1.37	0.70	0.67
Line-8	0.93	0.65	0.92	0.62	0.24	0.20	0.83	1.22	0.63	0.96
Line-9	0.93	0.77	1.01	0.74	0.25	0.14	0.67	0.00	0.66	1.14
Line-10	0.80	0.80	0.00		0.58	0.47	0.92		0.87	1.08
Line-11	0.94	0.68	0.00	0.81	0.43	0.32	0.93		0.86	1.38
Line-12	0.96	0.42	0.94	0.72	0.10	0.07	0.41	1.20	0.64	1.84
Line-13	1.01	0.65	0.00	0.37	0.10	0.07	0.50	1.00	0.79	1.31
Line-14	0.93	0.52	0.70	0.40	0.28	0.20	0.87		0.56	2.06
Line-15	1.03	0.46	0.00		0.43	0.32	0.82		0.51	1.46

Table 18. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 13) measured in Barley accessions (line) for maintenance of performance under drought (calculated as % of change under drought vs. normal growth conditions). Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 19

Additional measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions)
for maintenance of performance under drought conditions

Corr. ID/
Line	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	19	20

Line-1	0.78	0.94	1.10	0.66	0.83	0.73	0.16	0.75	1.87	1.87	1.09
Line-2	0.58	0.44	1.00	0.74	0.82	0.96	0.23	0.77	1.57	1.57	0.74
Line-3	0.90	0.66	1.02	1.16	0.86	1.11	0.19	0.68	1.72	1.72	0.79
Line-4	0.00	0.37	1.67	0.78	0.77	1.30	0.23	0.67	1.80	1.80	0.88
Line-5	0.65	0.71	0.80	0.76	0.78	0.83	0.25	0.87	1.60	1.60	0.71
Line-6	0.56	1.06	0.81	0.76	0.94	0.62	0.18	0.66	1.61	1.61	0.65
Line-7	0.78	0.50	1.13	0.68	0.83	0.87	0.23	0.75	1.63	1.63	0.85
Line-8	0.83	0.62	0.34	0.77	0.89	1.12	0.34	0.74	1.59	1.59	0.77
Line-9	0.50	0.88	0.85	1.12	0.78	1.09	0.22	0.74	1.75	1.75	0.58
Line-10		0.87	0.58	0.56	0.94	1.09	0.68	0.86	1.33	1.33	0.96
Line-11	0.00	0.94	0.07	0.42	0.88	0.92	0.55	0.85	1.62	1.62	0.88
Line-12	0.00	0.77	1.06	0.82	0.77	0.49	0.18	0.79	1.33	1.33	0.95
Line-13	0.78	0.85	0.30	0.43	0.86	0.65	0.18	0.72	1.40	1.40	0.78
Line-14	0.55	1.06	0.44	0.71	0.97	0.99	0.27	0.72	1.22	1.22	0.66
Line-15		0.68	0.93	0.80	0.78	0.52	0.25	0.88	1.96	1.96	0.87

Table 19. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 13) measured in Barley accessions (line) for maintenance of performance under drought (calculated as % of change under drought vs. normal growth conditions). Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 20

Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions) under
low nitrogen and normal conditions (set 1)

Line/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Corr. ID	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

3	8.00	8.00	7.50	8.50	10.00	11.50	8.60	6.33	7.50	10.00
6	102.90	107.78	111.57	142.42	152.38	149.33	124.08	95.00	124.12	135.17
7	5.25	5.17	5.12	5.30	5.20	5.33	5.32	5.10	5.15	5.10
8	5.00	6.00	4.33	6.00	6.33	6.00	6.67	4.67	5.67	7.33
9	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
15	41.00	82.00	61.40	59.40	65.80	47.80	53.80	56.40	81.80	44.60
16	16.33	18.83	17.33	26.00	22.50	18.17	19.67	19.83	19.17	19.17
19	0.38	0.23	0.12	0.40	0.88	0.50	0.43	0.32	0.30	0.55
20	24.67	21.67	22.00	21.67	22.17	23.00	30.50	22.83	23.83	24.50
22	24.03	23.30	26.47	23.90	26.63	23.20	25.43	24.23	25.03	26.07
24	230.20	164.60	88.25	133.60	106.00	222.60	219.20	143.45	201.80	125.00
25	9.76	7.31	3.30	5.06	6.02	9.74	7.35	5.80	7.83	6.29
26	46.37	19.81	10.84	22.58	30.30	54.13	36.98	42.04	35.37	38.25
31	15.19	19.61	16.30	19.32	90.22	16.44	20.44	18.84	18.77	16.65
32	7.95	8.13	9.43	4.94	9.60	7.16	7.06	8.51	10.01	9.40
33	13.74	13.44	9.15	11.64	11.34	15.06	12.18	10.95	12.18	10.62
35	39.40	46.27	51.51	57.07	67.78	64.15	52.42	46.15	68.02	57.91
36	12.20	9.00	11.60	25.00	7.80	14.50	15.00	7.00	5.40	8.40
37	16.20	14.60	16.00	20.75	12.50	18.80	21.20	11.00	6.75	14.00
38	0.43	0.43	0.33	0.58	0.78	0.53	0.45	0.43	0.50	0.62

Table 20. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 14) measured in Barley accessions (line) under low N and normal growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 21

Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions) under normal conditions (set 1)

Line/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Corr. ID	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

1	7.00	8.67	8.33	9.67	10.70	9.67	9.67	8.67	10.00	9.67
2	294.0	199.0	273.0	276.0	313.0	309.0	259.0	291.0	299.0	296.0
4	502.0	348.0	499.0	594.0	535.0	551.0	479.0	399.0	384.0	470.0
5	5.77	5.45	5.80	6.03	4.63	5.33	5.83	5.43	5.75	6.03
10	24.2	18.2	22.7	25.5	23.2	28.3	22.2	19.0	17.3	22.0
11	1090.0	510.0	242.0	582.0	621.0	1070.0	903.0	950.0	984.0	768.0
12	41.5	32.0	36.0	71.4	34.2	45.6	49.8	28.0	19.3	38.0
13	2.00	2.00	1.00	2.33	2.33	3.33	2.33	1.33	1.33	1.67
14	64.7	84.0	67.4	82.0	72.0	56.6	65.8	62.8	91.6	66.2
17	0.27	0.27	0.25	0.35	0.62	0.27	0.35	0.32	0.23	0.27
18	21.30	15.00	21.80	20.30	27.20	16.00	24.00	13.50	21.50	15.20
21	39.10	41.40	35.20	33.70	34.20	42.80	37.00	36.90	35.00	36.80
23	46.4	19.8	10.8	22.6	30.3	54.1	37.0	42.0	35.4	38.3
27	2.17	1.90	1.25	3.00	15.60	3.02	2.58	1.75	2.18	1.82
28	16.5	19.2	18.3	20.4	17.2	19.1	20.3	21.7	16.5	16.1
29	9.54	9.05	8.25	6.55	10.50	8.83	7.38	10.40	10.20	10.30
30	69.40	39.40	34.90	50.30	60.80	79.10	62.70	60.00	55.90	59.70
34	46.7	41.6	40.0	48.8	34.6	48.6	49.2	29.0	27.5	38.8

Table 21. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 15) measured in Barley accessions (line) under normal growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 22

Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions) under normal conditions (set 2)

Line/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Corr. ID	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8

1	2.239	2.243	2.182	2.047	2.083	2.028	2.247	1.878
2	0.246	0.241	0.238	0.232	0.237	0.248	0.244	0.218
3	0.887	0.874	0.863	0.796	0.825	0.778	0.901	0.717
4	0.352	0.350	0.350	0.369	0.365	0.406	0.346	0.387
5	0.398	0.156	1.010	0.793	0.413	0.987	0.665	0.614
6	683.4	510.5	1093.5	767.6	621.0	1069.0	987.8	903.2
7	6.65	3.96	9.27	7.65	6.06	10.83	7.94	7.40
8	33.24	19.81	46.37	38.25	30.30	54.13	39.69	36.98
9	76.40	84.00	64.67	66.20	72.00	56.60	68.00	65.80
10	118.30	150.68	86.28	85.19	120.31	90.70	40.58	90.51
11	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	2.8	6.0	2.0
12	69.84	39.86	69.40	59.72	60.83	79.12	63.50	62.74
13	38.60	32.00	41.50	38.00	34.20	45.60	30.00	49.80
14	44.25	41.60	46.67	38.80	34.60	48.60	32.40	55.20
15	89.20	99.65	45.79	49.39	74.32	55.11	47.29	60.32
16	82.30	77.75	86.69	94.23	89.74	93.73	89.49	90.27
17	1.48	0.64	0.84	0.82	1.15	0.69	1.26	0.72

Table 22. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 15) measured in Barley accessions (line) under normal growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 23

Additional measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley
accessions) under normal conditions (set 2)

Line/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Corr. ID	9	10	11	12	13	14	15

1	2.094	2.028	2.018	1.984	1.688	1.979	1.891
2	0.232	0.223	0.235	0.213	0.177	0.191	0.174
3	0.823	0.794	0.797	0.799	0.650	0.824	0.773
4	0.359	0.356	0.374	0.337	0.346	0.294	0.287
5	0.282	1.037	0.116	0.859	0.576	0.050	0.079
6	581.8	904.4	242.4	928.4	984.2	157.7	263.3
7	4.52	8.41	2.00	8.05	7.07	0.75	1.14
8	22.58	39.68	10.84	40.26	35.37	3.73	5.68
9	82.00	62.80	67.40	76.20	91.60	44.00	52.75
10	92.59	63.95	286.63	95.79	34.04	121.27	206.75
11	2.0	5.2	6.0	6.0	6.0	4.7	4.0
12	50.30	59.95	34.92	60.08	55.88	16.93	21.70
13	71.40	28.00	36.00	27.60	23.60	54.67	48.00
14	50.60	29.00	40.00	28.50	27.50	26.00
15	88.01	38.89	97.71	48.33	62.52	57.97	72.78
16	91.21	92.50	91.73	85.31
17	1.17	0.71	0.38	0.51	2.16	0.67	0.39

Table 23. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 15) measured in Barley accessions (line) under normal growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 24

Measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions)
under low nitrogen conditions (set 2)

Line/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Corr. ID	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

1	2.28	2.33	2.28	2.08	2.13	1.96	2.09
2	0.250	0.251	0.255	0.235	0.249	0.227	0.227
3	0.90	0.92	0.93	0.82	0.86	0.76	0.83
4	0.351	0.346	0.349	0.364	0.366	0.381	0.347
5	0.39	0.42	1.25	0.69	0.43	0.87	0.77
6	153.2	164.6	230.2	125.0	100.0	222.6	159.4
7	1.34	1.46	1.95	1.26	1.13	1.95	1.28
8	6.68	7.31	9.76	6.29	5.67	9.74	6.40
9	75.20	82.00	41.00	44.60	65.80	47.80	60.60
10	39.91	26.24	17.31	32.91	33.87	83.84	29.65
11	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0	2.0	6.0
12	11.40	13.44	13.74	10.62	11.34	15.06	11.64
13	10.80	9.00	12.20	8.40	7.80	14.50	8.40
14	16.00	14.60	16.20	14.00	12.50	18.80	11.60
15	17.42	17.76	8.25	7.28	13.25	11.32	8.95
16	68.68	61.85	76.94	59.63	65.63	79.84	73.85
17	0.69	1.08	0.77	0.38	0.83	0.42	0.28

Table 24. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 15) measured in Barley accessions (line) under low N growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 25

Additional measured parameters of correlation IDs in Barley accessions)
under low nitrogen conditions (set 2)

Line/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Corr. ID	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15

1	1.88	2.19	1.88	2.03	2.11	1.77	2.00	1.90
2	0.205	0.235	0.201	0.222	0.234	0.193	0.190	0.170
3	0.73	0.86	0.73	0.81	0.85	0.68	0.81	0.79
4	0.355	0.345	0.349	0.348	0.348	0.360	0.295	0.275
5	0.53	0.34	0.87	0.15	0.58	0.76	0.05	0.07
6	219.2	133.6	134.4	88.3	174.3	201.8	86.7	61.6
7	1.47	0.98	1.16	0.92	1.33	1.57	0.29	0.22
8	7.35	5.06	5.43	4.62	6.67	7.83	1.44	1.12
9	53.80	59.40	56.40	61.40	65.60	81.80	69.00	57.40
10	37.21	44.38	14.46	41.54	23.75	20.87	49.69	54.02
11	2.0	2.0	5.2	6.0	6.0	6.0	2.0	2.0
12	12.18	11.64	8.76	9.15	12.42	12.18	5.68	5.04
13	15.00	25.00	7.00	11.60	7.60	5.40	16.40	12.00
14	21.20	23.50	11.00	16.00	10.75	6.75	35.00
15	14.18	15.68	6.42	55.92	11.54	10.88	58.92	17.05
16	71.01	95.83	64.87	68.75	74.24	81.40	37.14
17	0.57	0.60	0.55	2.88	1.36	0.89	2.49	0.40

Table 25. Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above in Table 15) measured in Barley accessions (line) under low N growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 26

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some
embodiments of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic
performance under drought stress conditions across Barley accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY18	0.73	1.00E−01	1	23	LBY18	0.70	5.29E−02	3	11
LBY18	0.79	2.04E−02	3	12	LBY18	0.77	4.21E−02	2	23
LBY18	0.82	1.32E−02	5	11	LBY18	0.80	1.75E−02	5	14
LBY19	0.82	1.19E−02	3	19	LBY19	0.75	5.33E−02	2	7
LBY19	0.75	5.10E−02	2	21	LBY19	0.82	2.51E−02	2	5
LBY19	0.83	2.12E−02	2	6	LBY19	0.71	7.32E−02	2	9
LBY19	0.77	4.11E−02	2	12	LBY19	0.74	5.55E−02	2	20
LBY20	0.75	8.51E−02	1	7	LBY20	0.89	1.89E−02	1	11
LBY20	0.89	1.78E−02	1	18	LBY20	0.71	1.15E−01	1	5
LBY20	0.79	6.03E−02	1	6	LBY20	0.86	2.77E−02	1	20
LBY20	0.91	4.26E−03	2	23	LBY21	0.74	9.14E−02	1	11
LBY21	0.78	6.50E−02	1	20	LBY21	0.75	1.94E−02	6	4
LBY22	0.88	4.03E−03	3	19	LBY22	0.84	1.87E−02	2	11
LBY22	0.72	6.63E−02	2	23	LBY22	0.74	5.84E−02	2	20
LBY22	0.76	1.66E−02	4	19	LBY23	0.90	1.56E−02	1	11
LBY23	0.80	5.62E−02	1	18	LBY23	0.91	1.09E−02	1	5
LBY23	0.82	4.70E−02	1	6	LBY23	0.75	8.69E−02	1	20
LBY23	0.83	2.12E−02	2	12	LBY23	0.75	4.98E−02	2	14
LBY24	0.82	4.61E−02	1	11	LBY24	0.77	7.62E−02	1	16
LBY24	0.74	8.98E−02	1	18	LBY24	0.76	7.93E−02	1	1
LBY24	0.72	1.06E−01	1	20	LBY24	0.76	1.81E−02	6	7
LBY24	0.80	1.01E−02	6	5	LBY24	0.81	7.77E−03	6	6
LBY24	0.72	2.75E−02	6	20	LBY24	0.81	5.18E−02	5	8
LBY24	0.80	9.03E−03	4	19	LBY24	0.80	9.83E−03	4	22
LBY24	0.71	3.05E−02	4	4	LBY25	0.76	7.88E−02	5	13
LBY26	0.82	4.74E−02	1	11	LBY26	0.82	4.40E−02	1	18
LBY26	0.70	1.20E−01	1	6	LBY26	0.95	3.89E−03	1	12
LBY26	0.83	4.04E−02	1	2	LBY26	0.93	6.61E−03	1	14
LBY26	0.77	7.07E−02	1	20	LBY26	0.76	4.81E−02	2	5
LBY26	0.75	4.99E−02	2	12	LBY26	0.75	5.45E−02	2	14
LBY26	0.71	4.76E−02	5	19	LBY26	0.77	7.38E−02	5	8
LBY26	0.80	1.73E−02	5	4	LBY26	0.84	4.32E−03	4	22
LBY26	0.80	9.77E−03	4	4	LBY26	0.74	2.27E−02	4	15
LBY27	0.92	1.01E−02	1	21	LBY27	0.78	3.87E−02	3	13
LBY27	0.75	5.29E−02	6	8	LBY28	0.79	6.17E−02	1	11
LBY28	0.80	5.60E−02	1	23	LBY28	0.77	7.31E−02	1	6
LBY28	0.73	9.69E−02	1	20	LBY28	0.82	1.34E−02	3	19
LBY28	0.76	2.86E−02	3	7	LBY28	0.83	2.22E−02	2	11
LBY28	0.77	2.68E−02	5	19	LBY28	0.83	5.45E−03	4	19
LBY28	0.75	1.89E−02	4	22	LBY29	0.72	1.10E−01	1	17
LBY29	0.72	4.59E−02	3	19	LBY29	0.73	2.52E−02	6	1
LBY29	0.80	3.08E−02	2	11	LBY29	0.80	3.11E−02	2	23
LBY30	0.87	2.34E−02	1	16	LBY30	0.75	8.62E−02	1	9
LBY30	0.77	7.08E−02	1	1	LBY30	0.75	3.10E−02	3	21
LBY30	0.78	1.30E−02	6	7	LBY30	0.87	2.10E−03	6	5
LBY30	0.90	9.76E−04	6	6	LBY30	0.91	5.90E−04	6	20
LBY30	0.80	3.14E−02	2	16	LBY30	0.81	2.64E−02	2	1
LBY31	0.85	7.08E−03	3	4	LBY31	0.75	2.03E−02	6	7
LBY31	0.88	1.74E−03	6	5	LBY31	0.89	1.41E−03	6	6
LBY31	0.84	1.87E−02	6	8	LBY31	0.74	2.29E−02	6	20
LBY31	0.75	5.39E−02	2	5	LBY31	0.95	1.31E−03	2	12
LBY31	0.80	1.63E−02	5	17	LBY31	0.77	1.62E−02	4	19
LBY32	0.71	4.86E−02	3	20	LBY32	0.85	1.61E−02	2	21
LBY32	0.85	1.58E−02	4	8	LGN42	0.80	5.78E−02	1	7
LGN42	0.79	6.30E−02	1	18	LGN42	0.75	8.76E−02	1	20
LGN42	0.86	6.55E−03	3	21	LGN42	0.71	3.31E−02	6	5
LGN42	0.71	3.13E−02	6	6	LGN42	0.83	1.07E−02	5	11
LGN42	0.73	3.93E−02	5	14	LGN42	0.77	4.47E−02	4	13
LGN43	0.74	9.43E−02	1	21	LGN43	0.86	2.70E−02	1	23
LGN43	0.81	4.93E−02	1	17	LGN43	0.82	1.34E−02	3	21
LGN43	0.74	2.25E−02	6	19	LGN43	0.76	4.63E−02	2	16
LGN44	0.92	1.02E−02	1	12	LGN44	0.87	2.37E−02	1	2
LGN44	0.92	8.31E−03	1	14	LGN44	0.77	2.62E−02	3	12
LGN44	0.71	3.34E−02	4	21	LGN45	0.79	1.19E−02	6	15
LGN45	0.95	8.48E−04	2	16	LGN45	0.71	7.10E−02	2	1
LGN46	0.90	1.32E−02	1	12	LGN46	0.88	2.20E−02	1	2
LGN46	0.92	8.53E−03	1	14	LGN46	0.72	4.39E−02	3	19
LGN46	0.79	1.98E−02	3	5	LGN46	0.86	1.24E−02	3	8
LGN46	0.73	3.86E−02	3	20	LGN46	0.81	2.88E−02	2	2
LGN46	0.89	6.58E−03	2	14	LGN46	0.73	2.43E−02	4	19
LGN47	0.83	4.18E−02	1	16	LGN47	0.82	1.20E−02	3	20
LGN47	0.75	2.07E−02	6	14	LGN47	0.73	2.66E−02	6	1
LGN47	0.71	7.40E−02	2	7	LGN47	0.87	1.16E−02	2	21
LGN47	0.74	5.78E−02	2	5	LGN47	0.77	4.14E−02	2	6
LGN47	0.71	7.14E−02	2	17	LGN47	0.85	1.45E−02	2	12
LGN47	0.83	1.97E−02	2	20	LGN47	0.73	4.03E−02	5	10
LGN47	0.77	7.12E−02	5	13	LGN47	0.76	2.91E−02	5	2
LGN47	0.97	4.74E−05	5	14	LGN47	0.73	3.92E−02	5	1
LGN47	0.85	1.64E−02	4	13	LGN47	0.80	1.00E−02	4	14
LGN47	0.93	3.28E−04	4	1	LGN48	0.72	4.35E−02	3	18
LGN48	0.72	4.29E−02	3	6	LGN48	0.87	5.41E−03	3	20
LGN48	0.74	5.87E−02	2	21	LGN48	0.83	4.06E−02	5	13

Table 26 Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 12. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 9. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

TABLE 27

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments
of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance of
maintenance of performance under drought conditions across Barley accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY1	0.78	6.96E−02	1	15	LBY1	0.92	1.31E−03	3	15
LBY1	0.89	7.36E−03	2	16	LBY18	0.85	3.23E−02	1	1
LBY18	0.95	3.79E−03	1	14	LBY18	0.77	2.63E−02	3	10
LBY19	0.77	2.60E−02	3	16	LBY19	0.74	5.55E−02	2	9
LBY19	0.70	7.88E−02	2	18	LBY19	0.78	2.17E−02	5	1
LBY20	0.79	5.90E−02	1	6	LBY20	0.79	6.23E−02	1	17
LBY20	0.78	6.89E−02	1	5	LBY20	0.73	9.86E−02	1	18
LBY20	0.79	5.92E−02	1	7	LBY20	0.73	6.22E−02	2	6
LBY20	0.73	6.40E−02	2	17	LBY20	0.73	6.33E−02	2	15
LBY20	0.83	1.96E−02	2	20	LBY20	0.70	7.89E−02	2	9
LBY20	0.77	2.50E−02	5	6	LBY20	0.71	4.90E−02	5	17
LBY20	0.78	2.28E−02	5	5	LBY21	0.83	4.21E−02	1	6
LBY21	0.90	1.51E−02	1	17	LBY21	0.94	5.11E−03	1	15
LBY21	0.79	6.41E−02	1	5	LBY21	0.74	9.34E−02	1	9
LBY21	0.78	6.99E−02	1	18	LBY21	0.93	6.84E−04	3	15
LBY21	0.90	6.41E−03	2	16	LBY21	0.74	3.64E−02	5	5
LBY21	0.77	2.48E−02	5	12	LBY22	0.79	1.95E−02	3	2
LBY22	0.90	5.10E−03	2	6	LBY22	0.89	8.08E−03	2	17
LBY22	0.92	3.00E−03	2	5	LBY22	0.87	9.93E−03	2	9
LBY22	0.88	9.01E−03	2	18	LBY22	0.81	1.48E−02	5	15
LBY22	0.77	1.49E−02	4	6	LBY22	0.73	2.43E−02	4	17
LBY22	0.76	1.78E−02	4	5	LBY23	0.80	5.42E−02	1	6
LBY23	0.74	9.18E−02	1	17	LBY23	0.88	2.12E−02	1	5
LBY23	0.88	2.11E−02	1	18	LBY23	0.89	1.70E−02	1	2
LBY23	0.75	8.32E−02	1	12	LBY23	0.83	2.22E−02	3	4
LBY23	0.72	1.04E−01	2	4	LBY23	0.85	7.72E−03	5	1
LBY24	0.72	1.07E−01	1	17	LBY24	0.80	5.62E−02	1	19
LBY24	0.83	3.95E−02	1	13	LBY24	0.74	3.62E−02	3	14
LBY24	0.73	4.01E−02	3	13	LBY24	0.77	4.45E−02	6	8
LBY24	0.75	2.09E−02	6	7	LBY24	0.88	2.23E−02	2	11
LBY24	0.79	1.89E−02	5	19	LBY24	0.74	2.36E−02	4	2
LBY25	0.73	4.10E−02	5	12	LBY26	0.70	1.21E−01	1	6
LBY26	0.72	1.06E−01	1	7	LBY26	0.80	1.61E−02	3	15
LBY26	0.74	3.77E−02	3	14	LBY26	0.71	3.31E−02	6	13
LBY26	0.84	1.83E−02	2	16	LBY26	0.86	1.25E−02	2	12
LBY26	0.80	1.81E−02	5	6	LBY26	0.80	1.83E−02	5	5
LBY26	0.82	2.37E−02	5	4	LBY26	0.71	5.07E−02	5	2
LBY26	0.85	3.87E−03	4	19	LBY26	0.70	5.13E−02	4	4
LBY26	0.71	3.11E−02	4	3	LBY27	0.85	7.44E−03	5	1
LBY28	0.89	1.78E−02	1	6	LBY28	0.87	2.53E−02	1	17
LBY28	0.90	1.57E−02	1	5	LBY28	0.93	7.37E−03	1	9
LBY28	0.88	2.10E−02	1	18	LBY28	0.70	1.19E−01	1	7
LBY28	0.79	2.04E−02	3	6	LBY28	0.81	1.55E−02	3	17
LBY28	0.83	1.05E−02	3	5	LBY28	0.71	4.70E−02	3	2
LBY28	0.82	2.47E−02	2	6	LBY28	0.75	5.02E−02	2	17
LBY28	0.80	3.20E−02	2	5	LBY28	0.77	1.58E−02	4	2
LBY29	0.71	1.14E−01	1	15	LBY29	0.76	2.94E−02	3	17
LBY29	0.88	9.55E−03	2	6	LBY29	0.83	1.97E−02	2	17
LBY29	0.73	6.16E−02	2	15	LBY29	0.86	1.37E−02	2	5
LBY29	0.77	4.23E−02	2	9	LBY29	0.79	3.55E−02	2	18
LBY29	0.78	2.36E−02	5	15	LBY29	0.76	1.65E−02	4	10
LBY29	0.74	2.20E−02	4	1	LBY30	0.81	5.04E−02	1	16
LBY30	0.73	9.66E−02	1	19	LBY30	0.76	2.91E−02	3	3
LBY30	0.74	2.20E−02	6	6	LBY30	0.82	6.23E−03	6	17
LBY30	0.77	1.52E−02	6	5	LBY30	0.71	4.75E−02	6	4
LBY30	0.82	6.84E−03	6	9	LBY30	0.80	8.90E−03	6	18
LBY30	0.71	3.11E−02	6	7	LBY30	0.76	4.88E−02	2	19
LBY30	0.86	1.26E−02	2	14	LBY30	0.90	2.17E−03	5	1
LBY30	0.86	6.48E−03	5	3	LBY31	0.72	1.06E−01	1	9
LBY31	0.81	2.73E−02	3	4	LBY31	0.74	5.67E−02	2	10
LBY31	0.73	4.10E−02	5	6	LBY31	0.81	1.46E−02	5	17
LBY31	0.76	2.74E−02	5	5	LBY32	0.83	4.19E−02	1	16
LBY32	0.86	2.84E−02	1	1	LBY32	0.81	1.56E−02	3	6
LBY32	0.87	4.91E−03	3	17	LBY32	0.75	3.23E−02	3	5
LBY32	0.75	3.23E−02	3	18	LBY32	0.71	5.01E−02	5	6
LBY32	0.77	2.46E−02	5	10	LBY32	0.72	4.51E−02	5	17
LBY32	0.72	4.19E−02	5	15	LBY32	0.75	3.06E−02	5	5
LBY32	0.89	3.29E−03	5	12	LGN42	0.80	5.73E−02	1	7
LGN43	0.81	4.85E−02	1	16	LGN43	0.88	1.93E−02	1	20
LGN43	0.74	2.29E−02	6	16	LGN43	0.89	6.74E−03	2	1
LGN43	0.73	2.67E−02	4	15	LGN44	0.73	9.79E−02	1	3
LGN44	0.86	5.94E−03	3	10	LGN44	0.82	1.20E−02	3	12
LGN44	0.75	2.04E−02	6	9	LGN44	0.82	2.34E−02	2	19
LGN44	0.81	1.42E−02	5	1	LGN45	0.75	5.31E−02	2	16
LGN45	0.72	6.72E−02	2	14	LGN45	0.76	4.90E−02	2	13
LGN46	0.77	7.35E−02	1	12	LGN46	0.85	6.91E−03	3	6
LGN46	0.91	1.91E−03	3	17	LGN46	0.86	6.03E−03	3	5
LGN46	0.74	5.74E−02	3	4	LGN46	0.76	2.73E−02	3	2
LGN46	0.74	2.35E−02	6	10	LGN46	0.82	6.62E−03	6	15
LGN46	0.75	5.38E−02	6	8	LGN46	0.85	8.19E−03	5	1
LGN46	0.78	1.35E−02	4	2	LGN47	0.74	9.16E−02	1	19
LGN47	0.77	7.20E−02	1	13	LGN47	0.92	1.16E−03	3	6
LGN47	0.97	9.54E−05	3	17	LGN47	0.89	2.94E−03	3	5
LGN47	0.83	9.98E−03	3	18	LGN47	0.76	4.68E−02	2	6
LGN47	0.86	1.20E−02	2	10	LGN47	0.87	1.16E−02	2	17
LGN47	0.72	6.78E−02	2	15	LGN47	0.77	4.37E−02	2	5
LGN47	0.85	1.48E−02	2	9	LGN47	0.82	2.37E−02	2	18
LGN47	0.70	7.79E−02	2	7	LGN47	0.75	5.21E−02	2	12
LGN48	0.92	1.30E−03	3	6	LGN48	0.96	1.83E−04	3	17
LGN48	0.89	2.83E−03	3	5	LGN48	0.88	3.88E−03	3	18

Table 27. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 13. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 9. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

TABLE 28

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments
of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal
and low nitrogen growth conditions across Barley accessions (set 1)

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY1	0.71	3.15E−02	2	34	LBY1	0.70	3.44E−02	2	11
LBY18	0.77	2.51E−02	4	28	LBY18	0.71	3.32E−02	2	18
LBY18	0.90	1.05E−03	2	27	LBY18	0.86	3.24E−03	2	17
LBY19	0.70	2.36E−02	5	19	LBY19	0.83	3.14E−03	5	38
LBY19	0.72	2.90E−02	2	27	LBY19	0.78	1.30E−02	3	31
LBY19	0.80	9.83E−03	3	19	LBY19	0.89	1.28E−03	3	38
LBY19	0.85	4.12E−03	3	6	LBY19	0.71	3.25E−02	3	16
LBY20	0.71	3.15E−02	1	32	LBY21	0.83	5.99E−03	3	24
LBY21	0.73	2.69E−02	3	25	LBY21	0.82	6.55E−03	3	33
LBY22	0.74	3.63E−02	4	10	LBY22	0.85	3.54E−03	2	27
LBY22	0.87	2.26E−03	2	17	LBY23	0.79	1.20E−02	1	31
LBY23	0.81	8.03E−03	1	19	LBY23	0.80	9.98E−03	1	35
LBY23	0.87	2.05E−03	1	38	LBY23	0.78	1.26E−02	1	6
LBY23	0.92	4.36E−04	2	27	LBY23	0.84	4.29E−03	2	17
LBY24	0.77	2.63E−02	6	28	LBY24	0.73	4.06E−02	6	27
LBY24	0.77	2.56E−02	6	17	LBY24	0.73	2.67E−02	1	7
LBY24	0.71	5.06E−02	4	12	LBY24	0.74	1.42E−02	5	8
LBY24	0.80	5.91E−03	5	20	LBY25	0.88	1.81E−03	2	21
LBY26	0.71	3.17E−02	1	20	LBY26	0.82	7.15E−03	2	28
LBY26	0.80	9.94E−03	3	16	LBY27	0.73	4.17E−02	6	21
LBY27	0.81	1.59E−02	6	27	LBY27	0.97	6.16E−05	6	13
LBY27	0.70	2.40E−02	5	8	LBY27	0.74	1.38E−02	5	20
LBY27	0.90	8.31E−04	2	21	LBY27	0.82	6.71E−03	3	3
LBY27	0.78	1.26E−02	3	8	LBY28	0.76	2.89E−02	6	18
LBY28	0.86	1.35E−03	5	7	LBY28	0.75	1.31E−02	5	24
LBY28	0.70	2.36E−02	5	33	LBY28	0.99	1.21E−06	2	27
LBY28	0.93	3.28E−04	2	17	LBY28	0.85	3.52E−03	3	7
LBY28	0.78	1.38E−02	3	20	LBY29	0.70	2.31E−02	5	19
LBY29	0.93	2.63E−04	3	31	LBY29	0.86	3.19E−03	3	19
LBY29	0.72	2.74E−02	3	3	LBY29	0.82	7.14E−03	3	38
LBY30	0.80	1.81E−02	4	12	LBY30	0.71	2.12E−02	5	7
LBY30	0.77	1.60E−02	3	32	LBY31	0.81	1.44E−02	6	17
LBY31	0.79	7.10E−03	5	36	LBY32	0.72	4.35E−02	6	34
LBY32	0.74	3.75E−02	6	10	LBY32	0.70	5.14E−02	6	27
LBY32	0.85	8.13E−03	6	13	LBY32	0.83	5.58E−03	2	21
LGN42	0.75	1.32E−02	5	24	LGN42	0.73	1.67E−02	5	25
LGN43	0.79	1.93E−02	6	21	LGN43	0.81	1.50E−02	6	13
LGN43	0.88	1.66E−03	1	32	LGN43	0.70	3.41E−02	2	29
LGN43	0.86	3.26E−03	2	27	LGN43	0.81	8.55E−03	2	17
LGN43	0.87	2.05E−03	3	31	LGN43	0.78	1.37E−02	3	38
LGN44	0.76	1.14E−02	5	8	LGN44	0.72	2.92E−02	2	18
LGN44	0.97	1.76E−05	2	27	LGN44	0.94	1.29E−04	2	17
LGN45	0.71	4.90E−02	4	21	LGN46	0.79	2.04E−02	6	17
LGN46	0.88	1.77E−03	1	31	LGN46	0.84	4.20E−03	1	19
LGN46	0.86	3.14E−03	1	38	LGN46	0.80	1.67E−02	4	18
LGN46	0.84	2.44E−03	5	3	LGN46	0.74	2.24E−02	2	14
LGN46	0.75	2.09E−02	3	35	LGN46	0.79	1.17E−02	3	38
LGN47	0.94	4.33E−04	6	12	LGN47	0.72	4.30E−02	6	18
LGN47	0.77	2.68E−02	6	4	LGN47	0.78	2.28E−02	6	17
LGN47	1.00	3.30E−09	1	31	LGN47	0.79	1.08E−02	1	19
LGN47	0.76	1.78E−02	1	38	LGN47	0.72	2.86E−02	1	36
LGN47	0.84	4.27E−03	1	16	LGN47	0.73	4.11E−02	4	10
LGN47	0.83	1.15E−02	4	30	LGN47	0.91	1.52E−03	4	13
LGN47	0.74	3.45E−02	4	23	LGN47	0.82	3.71E−03	5	36
LGN47	0.80	9.17E−03	2	34	LGN47	0.90	9.98E−04	2	12
LGN47	0.70	3.45E−02	2	10	LGN47	0.71	3.16E−02	2	14
LGN47	0.73	2.51E−02	2	13	LGN47	0.83	5.37E−03	3	36
LGN47	0.75	1.97E−02	3	16	LGN48	0.80	5.58E−03	5	7
LGN48	0.72	1.84E−02	5	37	LGN48	0.81	8.00E−03	3	19
LGN48	0.72	2.86E−02	3	3	LGN48	0.75	2.08E−02	3	38

Table 28. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified Table 14. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 10. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

TABLE 29

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low nitrogen and
normal growth conditions across Barley accessions (set 2)

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY1	0.77	9.07E−03	5	14	LBY1	0.73	1.68E−02	5	13
LBY18	0.81	4.82E−03	1	13	LBY18	0.76	1.10E−02	1	16
LBY19	0.71	2.06E−02	5	17	LBY19	0.77	9.36E−03	4	17
LBY20	0.80	5.61E−03	6	13	LBY21	0.70	2.35E−02	5	14
LBY21	0.74	1.46E−02	5	13	LBY21	0.74	1.53E−02	1	17
LBY22	0.81	4.84E−03	5	17	LBY23	0.74	1.51E−02	2	4
LBY24	0.71	2.12E−02	2	9	LBY25	0.71	2.26E−02	2	6
LBY26	0.74	1.52E−02	3	1	LBY26	0.80	5.88E−03	4	1
LBY26	0.78	7.38E−03	4	3	LBY27	0.81	4.78E−03	5	17
LBY32	0.81	4.28E−03	5	17	LGN42	0.76	1.07E−02	5	9
LGN42	0.73	1.58E−02	1	11	LGN43	0.75	1.24E−02	2	9
LGN43	0.70	2.38E−02	3	1	LGN44	0.76	1.09E−02	3	13
LGN44	0.74	1.36E−02	4	15	LGN45	0.72	1.96E−02	2	5
LGN45	0.74	1.35E−02	3	2	LGN45	0.72	1.82E−02	3	3
LGN46	0.83	3.08E−03	3	5	LGN47	0.74	1.38E−02	3	14
LGN47	0.81	4.94E−03	5	17	LGN48	0.93	1.22E−04	2	6
LGN48	0.72	2.00E−02	2	5	LGN48	0.74	1.51E−02	2	7
LGN48	0.73	1.72E−02	2	8	LGN48	0.80	5.51E−03	3	13
LGN48	0.78	8.39E−03	3	16	LGN48	0.79	6.04E−03	5	17

Table 29. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 15. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 11 (Exp. Set 1, 3, 5 under low N growth conditions. Exp. Set 2, 4, 6 under normal growth conditions). “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

To produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized an Arabidopsis thaliana oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 40,000 A. thaliana genes and transcripts designed based on data from the TIGR ATH1 v.5 database and Arabidopsis MPSS (University of Delaware) databases. To define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield, biomass components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 15 different Arabidopsis ecotypes were analyzed. Among them, nine ecotypes encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

Analyzed Arabidopsis tissues—Five tissues at different developmental stages including root, leaf, flower at anthesis, seed at 5 days after flowering (DAF) and seed at 12 DAF, representing different plant characteristics, were sampled and RNA was extracted as described as described hereinabove under “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”. For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 30 below.

TABLE 30

Tissues used for Arabidopsis
transcriptome expression sets

	Expression Set	Set ID

	Leaf	1
	Root	2
	Seed 5 DAF	3
	Flower	4
	Seed 12 DAF	5

	Table 30: Provided are the identification (ID) digits of each of the Arabidopsis expression sets (1-5). DAF = days after flowering.

Yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—Eight out of the nine Arabidopsis ecotypes were used in each of 5 repetitive blocks (named A, B, C, D and E), each containing 20 plants per plot. The plants were grown in a greenhouse at controlled conditions in 22° C., and the N:P:K [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)] fertilizer (20:20:20; weight ratios) was added. During this time data was collected, documented and analyzed. Additional data was collected through the seedling stage of plants grown in a tissue culture in vertical grown transparent agar plates. Most of chosen parameters were analyzed by digital imaging.

Digital imaging in Tissue culture (seedling assay)—A laboratory image acquisition system was used for capturing images of plantlets sawn in square agar plates. The image acquisition system consists of a digital reflex camera (Canon EOS 300D) attached to a 55 mm focal length lens (Canon EF-S series), mounted on a reproduction device (Kaiser RS), which included 4 light units (4×150 Watts light bulb) and located in a darkroom.

Digital imaging in Greenhouse—The image capturing process was repeated every 3-4 days starting at day 7 till day 30. The same camera attached to a 24 mm focal length lens (Canon EF series), placed in a custom made iron mount, was used for capturing images of larger plants sawn in white tubs in an environmental controlled greenhouse. The white tubs were square shape with measurements of 36×26.2 cm and 7.5 cm deep. During the capture process, the tubs were placed beneath the iron mount, while avoiding direct sun light and casting of shadows. This process was repeated every 3-4 days for up to 30 days.

An image analysis system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing program, which was developed at the U.S National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 6 Mega Pixels (3072×2048 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, analyzed data was saved to text files and processed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Leaf analysis—Using the digital analysis leaves data was calculated, including leaf number, area, perimeter, length and width. On day 30, 3-4 representative plants were chosen from each plot of blocks A, B and C. The plants were dissected, each leaf was separated and was introduced between two glass trays, a photo of each plant was taken and the various parameters (such as leaf total area, laminar length etc.) were calculated from the images. The blade circularity was calculated as laminar width divided by laminar length.

Root analysis—During 17 days, the different ecotypes were grown in transparent agar plates. The plates were photographed every 3 days starting at day 7 in the photography room and the roots development was documented (see examples in FIGS. 3A-3F). The growth rate of root coverage was calculated according to Formula XXVIII above.

Vegetative growth rate analysis—was calculated according to Formula VII above. The analysis was ended with the appearance of overlapping plants.

For comparison between ecotypes the calculated rate was normalized using plant developmental stage as represented by the number of true leaves. In cases where plants with 8 leaves had been sampled twice (for example at day 10 and day 13), only the largest sample was chosen and added to the Anova comparison.

Seeds in siliques analysis—On day 70, 15-17 siliques were collected from each plot in blocks D and E. The chosen siliques were light brown color but still intact. The siliques were opened in the photography room and the seeds were scatter on a glass tray, a high resolution digital picture was taken for each plot. Using the images the number of seeds per silique was determined.

Seeds average weight—At the end of the experiment all seeds from plots of blocks A-C were collected. An average weight of 0.02 grams was measured from each sample, the seeds were scattered on a glass tray and a picture was taken. Using the digital analysis, the number of seeds in each sample was calculated.

Oil percentage in seeds—At the end of the experiment all seeds from plots of blocks A-C were collected. Columbia seeds from 3 plots were mixed grounded and then mounted onto the extraction chamber. 210 ml of n-Hexane (Cat No. 080951 Biolab Ltd.) were used as the solvent. The extraction was performed for 30 hours at medium heat 50° C. Once the extraction has ended the n-Hexane was evaporated using the evaporator at 35° C. and vacuum conditions. The process was repeated twice. The information gained from the Soxhlet extractor (Soxhlet, F. Die gewichtsanalytische Bestimmung des Milchfettes, Polytechnisches J. (Dingler's) 1879, 232, 461) was used to create a calibration curve for the Low Resonance NMR. The content of oil of all seed samples was determined using the Low Resonance NMR (MARAN Ultra-Oxford Instrument) and its MultiQuant software package.

Silique length analysis—On day 50 from sowing, 30 siliques from different plants in each plot were sampled in block A. The chosen siliques were green-yellow in color and were collected from the bottom parts of a grown plant's stem. A digital photograph was taken to determine silique's length.

Dry weight and seed yield—On day 80 from sowing, the plants from blocks A-C were harvested and left to dry at 30° C. in a drying chamber. The vegetative portion above ground was separated from the seeds. The total weight of the vegetative portion above ground and the seed weight of each plot were measured and divided by the number of plants.

Dry weight (vegetative biomass)=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 30° C. in a drying chamber; all the above ground biomass that is not yield.

Seed yield per plant=total seed weight per plant (gr).

Oil yield—The oil yield was calculated using Formula XXIX above.

Harvest Index (seed)—The harvest index was calculated using Formula XV (described above).

Nine different Arabidopsis ecotypes were grown and characterized for 18 parameters (named as vectors).

TABLE 31

Arabidopsis correlated parameters (vectors)

		Correlation
	Correlated parameter with	ID

	Blade circularity (cm)	1
	Dry matter per plant (gr)	2
	Harvest Index (value)	3
	Lamina length (cm)	4
	Lamina width (cm)	5
	Leaf width/length (ratio)	6
	Oil % per seed (percent)	7
	Oil yield per plant (mg)	8
	Seeds per silique (number)	9
	Silique length (cm)	10
	Total Leaf Area per plant (cm²)	11
	Vegetative growth rate (cm²/day)	12
	Until leaves were in overlap
	Fresh weight (gr) (at bolting stage)	13
	Relative root growth (cm/day)	14
	in early seedling stages
	Root length day 13 (cm)	15
	Root length day 7 (cm)	16
	1000 Seed weight (gr)	17
	Seed yield per plant (gr)	18

	Table 31. Provided are the Arabidopsis correlated parameters (correlation ID Nos. 1-18). Abbreviations: Cm = centimeter(s); gr = gram(s); mg = milligram(s).

The characterized values are summarized in Table 32. Correlation analysis is provided in Table 52 below.

TABLE 32

Measured parameters in Arabidopsis ecotypes

Ecotype/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Treatment	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

1	0.51	0.48	0.45	0.37	0.50	0.38	0.39	0.49	0.41
2	0.64	1.27	1.05	1.28	1.69	1.34	0.81	1.21	1.35
3	0.53	0.35	0.56	0.33	0.37	0.32	0.45	0.51	0.41
4	2.77	3.54	3.27	3.78	3.69	4.60	3.88	3.72	4.15
5	1.38	1.70	1.46	1.37	1.83	1.65	1.51	1.82	1.67
6	0.35	0.29	0.32	0.26	0.36	0.27	0.30	0.34	0.31
7	34.42	31.19	38.05	27.76	35.49	32.91	31.56	30.79	34.02
8	118.63	138.73	224.06	116.26	218.27	142.11	114.15	190.06	187.62
9	45.44	53.47	58.47	35.27	48 .56	37.00	39.38	40.53	25.53
10	1.06	1.26	1.31	1.47	1.24	1.09	1.18	1.18	1.00
11	46.86	109.89	58.36	56.80	114.66	110.82	88.49	121.79	93.04
12	0.31	0.38	0.48	0.47	0.43	0.64	0.43	0.38	0.47
13	1.51	3.61	1.94	2.08	3.56	4.34	3.47	3.48	3.71
14	0.63	0.66	1.18	1.09	0.91	0.77	0.61	0.70	0.78
15	4.42	8.53	5.62	4.83	5.96	6.37	5.65	7.06	7.04
16	0.94	1.76	0.70	0.73	0.99	1.16	1.28	1.41	1.25
17	0.02	0.02	0.03	0.03	0.02	0.03	0.02	0.02	0.02
18	0.34	0.44	0.59	0.42	0.61	0.43	0.36	0.62	0.55

Table 32. Provided are the values of each of the parameters measured in Arabidopsis ecotypes.

TABLE 33

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments
of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal
conditions across Arabidopsis accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY16	0.82	1.37E−02	5	4	LBY16	0.72	4.38E−02	5	12
LBY16	0.76	2.78E−02	1	18	LBY16	0.86	6.45E−03	1	7
LBY16	0.87	4.99E−03	1	8	LBY17	0.78	2.22E−02	2	17
LBY17	0.79	2.04E−02	2	14	LBY17	0.73	3.98E−02	1	1

Table 33. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their hom*ologues in tissues [leaf, flower, seed and root; Expression sets (Exp)] and the phenotypic performance in various yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Correlation vector (corr.)] under normal conditions across Arabidopsis accessions. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 31. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 30. “R” = Pearson correlation
coefficient; “P” = p value.

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a sorghum oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 44,000 sorghum genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with ABST, yield and NUE components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 17 different sorghum hybrids were analyzed. Among them, 10 hybrids encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

I. Correlation of Sorghum Varieties Across Ecotypes Grown Under Regular Growth Conditions, Severe Drought Conditions and Low Nitrogen Conditions

17 Sorghum varieties were grown in 3 repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows:

1. Regular growth conditions: Sorghum plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols (370,000 liter per dunam (1000 square meters), fertilization of 14 units of nitrogen per dunam entire growth period).

2. Drought conditions: Sorghum seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal condition until around 35 days from sowing, around stage V8 (eight green leaves are fully expanded, booting not started yet). At this point, irrigation was stopped, and severe drought stress was developed.

3. Low Nitrogen fertilization conditions: Sorghum plants were fertilized with 50% less amount of nitrogen in the field than the amount of nitrogen applied in the regular growth treatment. All the fertilizer was applied before flowering.

Analyzed Sorghum tissues—All 10 selected Sorghum hybrids were sampled per each treatment. Tissues [Flag leaf, Flower meristem and Flower] from plants growing under normal conditions, severe drought stress and low nitrogen conditions were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 34 below.

TABLE 34

Sorghum transcriptome expression sets

	Expression Set	Set ID

	Flag leaf at flowering stage under	1
	drought growth conditions
	Flag leaf at flowering stage under	2
	low nitrogen growth conditions
	Flag leaf at flowering stage under	3
	normal growth conditions
	Flower meristem at flowering stage	4
	under drought growth conditions
	Flower meristem at flowering stage	5
	under low nitrogen growth conditions
	Flower meristem at flowering stage	6
	under normal growth conditions
	Flower at flowering stage under	7
	drought growth conditions
	Flower at flowering stage under low	8
	nitrogen growth conditions
	Flower at flowering stage under	9
	normal growth conditions

	Table 34: Provided are the sorghum transcriptome expression sets 1-9. Flag leaf = the leaf below the flower; Flower meristem = Apical meristem following panicle initiation; Flower = the flower at the anthesis day. Expression sets 3, 6, and 9 are from plants grown under normal conditions; Expression sets 2, 5 and 8 are from plants grown under Nitrogen-limiting conditions; Expression sets 1, 4 and 7 are from plants grown under drought conditions.

The following parameters were collected using digital imaging system:

At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the Plant ‘Head’ and the following parameters were measured and collected:

Average Grain Area (cm²)—A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Upper and Lower Ratio Average of Grain Area, width, length, diameter and perimeter—Grain projection of area, width, diameter and perimeter were extracted from the digital images using open source package imagej (nih). Seed data was analyzed in plot average levels as follows:

Average of all seeds;

Average of upper 20% fraction—contained upper 20% fraction of seeds;

Average of lower 20% fraction—contained lower 20% fraction of seeds;

Further on, ratio between each fraction and the plot average was calculated for each of the data parameters.

At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system.

(i) Head Average Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

(ii) Head Average Length (cm)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ length (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

(iii) Head Average width (cm)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ width was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

(iv) Head Average perimeter (cm)—At the end of the growing period 5 ‘Heads’ were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The ‘Head’ perimeter was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ‘Heads’.

The image processing system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing software, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processing output data for seed area and seed length was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling 5 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

Total Grain Weight/Head (gr.) (grain yield)—At the end of the experiment (plant ‘Heads’) heads from plots within blocks A-C were collected. 5 heads were separately threshed and grains were weighted, all additional heads were threshed together and weighted as well. The average grain weight per head was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by number of total heads per plot (based on plot). In case of 5 heads, the total grains weight of 5 heads was divided by 5.

FW Head/Plant gram—At the end of the experiment (when heads were harvested) total and 5 selected heads per plots within blocks A-C were collected separately. The heads (total and 5) were weighted (gr.) separately and the average fresh weight per plant was calculated for total (FW Head/Plant gr. based on plot) and for 5 (FW Head/Plant gr. based on 5 plants) plants.

Plant height—Plants were characterized for height during growing period at 5 time points. In each measure, plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest leaf.

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 64 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

Vegetative fresh weight and Heads—At the end of the experiment (when Inflorescence were dry) all Inflorescence and vegetative material from plots within blocks A-C were collected. The biomass and Heads weight of each plot was separated, measured and divided by the number of Heads.

Plant biomass (Fresh weight)—At the end of the experiment (when Inflorescence were dry) the vegetative material from plots within blocks A-C were collected. The plants biomass without the Inflorescence were measured and divided by the number of Plants.

FW Heads/(FW Heads+FW Plants)—The total fresh weight of heads and their respective plant biomass were measured at the harvest day. The heads weight was divided by the sum of weights of heads and plants.

17 different sorghum varieties were grown and characterized for different parameters: The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software (Tables 36-37) and a subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets (Table 34) and the average parameters, was conducted (Table 38). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 35

Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors)

	Correlation
Correlated parameter with	ID

Average Grain Area (cm²), Drought	1
Average Grain Area (cm²), Low N	2
Average Grain Area (cm²), Normal	3
FW-Head/Plant (gr) (based on plot), Drought	4
FW-Head/Plant (gr.) (based on plot), Low N	5
FW-Head/Plant (gr.) (based on plot), Normal	6
FW-Head/Plant (gr.) (based on 5 plants), Low N	7
FW-Head/Plant (gr.) (based on 5 plants), Normal	8
FW Heads/(FW Heads + FW Plants)	9
(all plot), Drought
FW Heads/(FW Heads + FW Plants)	10
(all plot), Low N
FW Heads/(FW Heads + FW Plants)	11
(all plot), Normal
FW/Plant (gr) (based on plot), Drought	12
FW/Plant (gr.) (based on plot), Low N	13
FW/Plant (gr.) (based on plot), Normal	14
Final Plant Height (cm), Drought	15
Final Plant Height (cm), Low N	16
Final Plant Height (cm), Normal	17
Head Average Area (cm²), Drought	18
Head Average Area (cm²), Low N	19
Head Average Area (cm²), Normal	20
Head Average Length (cm), Drought	21
Head Average Length (cm), Low N	22
Head Average Length (cm), Normal	23
Head Average Perimeter (cm), Drought	24
Head Average Perimeter (cm), Low N	25
Head Average Perimeter (cm), Normal	26
Head Average Width (cm), Drought	27
Head Average Width (cm), Low N	28
Head Average Width (cm), Normal	29
Leaf SPAD 64 DPS (Days Post Sowing), Drought	30
Leaf SPAD 64 DPS (Days Post Sowing), Low N	31
Leaf SPAD 64 DPS (Days Post Sowing), Normal	32
Lower Ratio Average Grain Area (value), Low N	33
Lower Ratio Average Grain Area (value), Normal	34
Lower Ratio Average Grain Length (value),	35
Low N
Lower Ratio Average Grain Length (value),	36
Normal
Lower Ratio Average Grain Perimeter (value),	37
Low N
Lower Ratio Average Grain Perimeter, (value)	38
Normal
Lower Ratio Average Grain Width (value),	39
Low N
Lower Ratio Average Grain Width (value),	40
Normal
Total grain weight/Head (based on plot)	41
(gr.), Low N
Total grain weight/Head (gr.) (based on 5 heads),	42
Low N
Total grain weight/Head (gr.) (based on 5 heads),	43
Normal
Total grain weight/Head (gr.) (based on plot),	44
Normal
Total grain weight/Head (gr.) (based on plot),	45
Drought
Upper Ratio Average Grain Area,	46
Drought (value)
Upper Ratio Average Grain Area (value),	47
Low N
Upper Ratio Average Grain Area (value),	48
Normal
[Grain Yield + plant biomass/SPAD 64 DPS]	49
(gr.), Normal
[Grain Yield + plant biomass/SPAD 64 DPS]	50
(gr.), Low N
[Grain yield/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr.), Low N	51
[Grain yield/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr.), Normal	52
[Plant biomass (FW)/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr)	53
Drought
[Plant biomass (FW)/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr.),	54
Low N
[Plant biomass (FW)/SPAD 64 DPS] (gr.),	55
Normal

Table 35. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors). “gr.” = grams; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “normal” = standard growth conditions.

TABLE 36

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions

Ecotype/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Treatment	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

1	0.10	0.11	0.11	0.09	0.09	0.11
2	0.11	0.11	0.14	0.12	0.14	0.13	0.12	0.12	0.12
3	0.105	0.112	0.131	0.129	0.139	0.141	0.110	0.113	0.102
4	154.90	122.02	130.51	241.11	69.03	186.41	62.11	39.02	58.94
5	214.78	205.05	73.49	122.96	153.07	93.23	134.11	77.43	129.63
6	175.15	223.49	56.40	111.62	67.34	66.90	126.18	107.74	123.86
7	388.00	428.67	297.67	280.00	208.33	303.67	436.00	376.33	474.67
8	406.50	518.00	148.00	423.00	92.00	101.33	423.50	386.50	409.50
9	0.42	0.47	0.42	0.37	0.23	0.31	0.41	0.44	0.40
10	0.51	0.51	0.17	0.39	0.21	0.19	0.48	0.37	0.42
11	0.51	0.51	0.12	0.26	0.12	0.18	0.46	0.43	0.42
12	207.99	138.02	255.41	402.22	233.55	391.75	89.31	50.61	87.02
13	204.78	199.64	340.51	240.60	537.78	359.40	149.20	129.06	178.71
14	162.56	212.59	334.83	313.46	462.28	318.26	151.13	137.60	167.98
15	89.40	75.73	92.10	94.30	150.80	110.73	99.20	84.00	99.00
16	104.00	80.93	204.73	125.40	225.40	208.07	121.40	100.27	121.13
17	95.25	79.20	197.85	234.20	189.40	194.67	117.25	92.80	112.65
18	83.14	107.79	88.68	135.91	90.76	123.95	86.06	85.20	113.10
19	96.24	214.72	98.59	182.83	119.64	110.19	172.36	84.81	156.25
20	120.14	167.60	85.14	157.26	104.00	102.48	168.54	109.32	135.13
21	21.63	21.94	21.57	22.01	20.99	28.60	21.35	20.81	24.68
22	23.22	25.58	20.93	28.43	24.32	22.63	32.11	20.38	26.69
23	25.58	26.84	21.02	26.84	23.14	21.82	31.33	23.18	25.70
24	52.78	64.49	56.59	64.37	53.21	71.66	55.61	52.96	69.83
25	56.32	79.20	53.25	76.21	67.27	59.49	79.28	51.52	69.88
26	61.22	67.90	56.26	65.38	67.46	67.46	74.35	56.16	61.64
27	4.83	6.31	5.16	7.78	5.28	5.49	5.04	5.07	5.77
28	5.26	10.41	5.93	8.25	6.19	6.12	6.80	5.25	7.52
29	5.97	7.92	4.87	7.43	5.58	5.88	6.78	5.99	6.62
30	40.58	40.88	45.01	42.30	45.24	40.56	44.80	45.07	40.65
31	38.33	38.98	42.33	40.90	43.15	39.85	42.68	43.31	39.01
32	43.01	.	43.26	44.74	45.76	41.61	45.21	45.14	43.03
33	0.82	0.77	0.81	0.79	0.78	0.80	0.83	0.79	0.81
34	0.825	0.740	0.778	0.802	0.697	0.699	0.827	0.805	0.841
35	0.91	0.90	0.92	0.90	0.91	0.93	0.92	0.89	0.90
36	0.914	0.884	0.921	0.908	0.890	0.877	0.913	0.903	0.920
37	0.90	0.88	0.92	0.90	0.92	0.92	0.92	0.89	0.90
38	0.91	0.87	0.91	0.95	0.90	0.91	0.91	0.91	0.92
39	0.90	0.85	0.89	0.88	0.86	0.87	0.91	0.89	0.90
40	0.91	0.83	0.85	0.87	0.79	0.80	0.90	0.89	0.91
41	25.95	30.57	19.37	35.62	25.18	22.18	49.96	27.48	51.12
42	50.27	50.93	36.13	73.10	37.87	36.40	71.67	35.00	76.73
43	47.40	46.30	28.37	70.40	32.15	49.23	63.45	44.45	56.65
44	31.12	26.35	18.72	38.38	26.67	28.84	47.67	31.00	39.99
45	22.11	16.77	9.19	104.44	3.24	22.00	9.97	18.58	29.27
46	1.31	1.19	1.29	1.46	1.21	1.21
47	1.18	1.31	1.11	1.21	1.19	1.18	1.16	1.23	1.17
48	1.22	1.30	1.13	1.14	1.16	1.15	1.19	1.23	1.25
49	4.50	8.17	7.87	10.68	8.34	4.40	3.74	4.83	3.67
50	6.02	5.91	8.50	6.75	13.05	9.58	4.67	3.61	5.89
51	0.68	0.78	0.46	0.87	0.58	0.56	1.17	0.63	1.31
52	3.78	7.74	7.01	10.10	7.65	3.34	3.05	3.90	2.83
53	5.13	3.38	5.67	9.51	5.16	9.66	1.99	1.12	2.14
54	5.34	5.12	8.05	5.88	12.46	9.02	3.50	2.98	4.58
55	0.72	0.43	0.86	0.58	0.69	1.05	0.69	0.93	0.84

Table 36: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (ecotype) under normal, low nitrogen and drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 37

Additional measured parameters in Sorghum accessions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12	Line-13	Line-14	Line-15	Line-16	Line-17

2	0.13	0.13	0.12	0.12	0.11	0.11	0.12	0.11
3	0.118	0.121	0.111	0.117	0.108	0.105	0.110	0.105
4	76.37	33.47	42.20	41.53	131.67	60.84	44.33	185.44
5	99.83	76.95	84.25	92.24	138.83	113.32	95.50	129.49
6	102.75	82.33	77.59	91.17	150.44	109.10	107.58	130.88
7	437.67	383.00	375.00	425.00	434.00	408.67	378.50	432.00
8	328.95	391.00	435.75	429.50	441.00	415.75	429.50	428.50
9	0.44	0.47	0.47	0.48	0.35	0.35	0.23	0.33
10	0.44	0.43	0.39	0.44	0.44	0.44	0.43	0.42
11	0.44	0.46	0.45	0.45	0.51	0.46	0.44	0.39
12	120.43	37.21	48.18	44.20	231.60	116.01	123.08	342.50
13	124.27	101.33	132.12	117.90	176.99	143.67	126.98	180.45
14	128.97	97.62	99.32	112.24	157.42	130.55	135.66	209.21
15	92.20	81.93	98.80	86.47	99.60	83.00	83.53	92.30
16	94.53	110.00	115.07	104.73	173.67	115.60	138.80	144.40
17	97.50	98.00	100.00	105.60	151.15	117.10	124.45	126.50
18	100.79	80.41	126.89	86.41	92.29	77.89	76.93
19	136.71	137.70	96.54	158.19	163.95	138.39	135.46	165.64
20	169.03	156.10	112.14	154.74	171.70	168.51	162. 51	170.46
21	24.28	21.95	24.98	19.49	20.42	16.81	18.88
22	26.31	25.43	23.11	27.87	28.88	27.64	25.52	30.33
23	28.82	28.13	22.97	28.09	30.00	30.54	27.17	29.26
24	65.14	55.27	69.06	53.32	56.29	49.12	51.88
25	66.17	67.37	57.90	70.61	73.76	66.87	65.40	75.97
26	71.40	68.56	56.44	67.79	71.54	78.94	67.03	74.11
27	5.37	4.66	6.35	5.58	5.76	5.86	5.10
28	6.59	6.85	5.32	7.25	7.19	6.27	6.57	6.82
29	7.42	6.98	6.19	7.02	7.18	7.00	7.39	7.35
30	45.43	42.58	44.18	44.60	42.41	43.25	40.30	40.75
31	42.71	40.08	43.98	45.44	44.75	42.58	43.81	46.73
32	45.59	44.83	45.33	46.54	43.99	45.09	45.14	43.13
33	0.77	0.74	0.80	0.79	0.82	0.80	0.81	0.81
34	0.788	0.765	0.803	0.806	0.821	0.814	0.818	0.817
35	0.91	0.89	0.90	0.89	0.91	0.89	0.89	0.90
36	0.923	0.893	0.913	0.907	0.911	0.904	0.903	0.913
37	0.91	0.89	0.90	0.90	0.91	0.89	0.90	0.90
38	0.93	0.91	0.92	0.90	0.91	0.90	0.91	0.91
39	0.86	0.84	0.90	0.89	0.91	0.90	0.90	0.90
40	0.85	0.86	0.88	0.90	0.90	0.91	0.90	0.90
41	36.84	29.45	26.70	29.42	51.12	37.04	39.85	41.78
42	57.58	42.93	36.47	68.60	71.80	49.27	43.87	52.07
43	60.00	45.45	58.19	70.60	70.10	53.95	59.87	52.65
44	38.36	32.10	32.69	32.79	51.53	35.71	38.31	42.44
45	10.45	14.77	12.86	18.24	11.60	18.65	16.36
46
47	1.22	1.24	1.19	1.23	1.16	1.34	1.21	1.21
48	1.24	1.32	1.22	1.18	1.18	1.22	1.25	1.22
49	2.89	2.91	3.12	4.75	3.69	3.85	5.84
50	3.77	3.26	3.61	3.24	5.10	4.25	3.81	4.76
51	0.86	0.73	0.61	0.65	1.14	0.87	0.91	0.89
52	2.18	2.19	2.41	3.58	2.90	3.01	4.85
53	2.65	0.87	1.09	0.99	5.46	2.68	3.05	8.40
54	2.91	2.53	3.00	2.60	3.96	3.38	2.90	3.86
55	0.72	0.72	0.70	1.17	0.79	0.85	0.98

Table 37: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (ecotype) under normal, low nitrogen and drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 38

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments
of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low
nitrogen, normal or drought stress conditions across Sorghum accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY14	0.72	1.91E−02	6	17	LBY14	0.80	5.97E−03	6	44
LBY14	0.74	1.41E−02	2	47	LBY14	0.83	2.89E−03	4	53
LBY14	0.73	1.74E−02	4	4	LBY14	0.83	2.86E−03	4	12
LBY14	0.79	6.98E−03	5	5	LBY14	0.83	3.07E−03	5	50
LBY14	0.79	6.21E−03	5	54	LBY14	0.89	6.00E−04	5	13
LBY148	0.71	2.02E−02	6	52	LBY148	0.70	2.30E−02	6	49
LBY148	0.73	1.58E−02	6	3	LBY148	0.77	9.54E−03	2	47
LBY148	0.73	1.70E−02	5	2	LBY149	0.72	2.82E−02	4	18
LBY149	0.72	2.83E−02	4	24	LBY149	0.73	2.69E−02	4	21
LBY149	0.78	7.48E−03	5	5	LBY149	0.71	2.10E−02	5	50
LBY149	0.77	9.23E−03	5	10	LBY149	0.70	2.35E−02	5	13
LBY150	0.80	5.82E−03	5	2	LBY150	0.71	3.06E−02	3	55
LBY150	0.75	1.32E−02	1	53	LBY150	0.74	1.40E−02	1	12
LBY151	0.73	1.61E−02	8	5	LBY151	0.84	2.25E−03	8	50
LBY151	0.77	9.57E−03	8	54	LBY151	0.73	1.60E−02	8	35
LBY151	0.81	4.63E−03	8	13	LBY151	0.95	1.08E−04	3	52
LBY151	0.82	3.54E−03	3	6	LBY151	0.92	3.92E−04	3	49
LBY151	0.84	2.50E−03	3	8	LBY152	0.81	4.52E−03	2	16
LBY152	0.78	7.77E−03	8	31	LBY152	0.81	4.63E−03	3	17
LBY152	0.78	7.80E−03	3	44	LBY153	0.84	2.15E−03	9	17
LBY153	0.71	2.03E−02	9	40	LBY153	0.74	1.48E−02	9	38
LBY153	0.84	2.36E−03	9	44	LBY153	0.74	1.34E−02	9	34
LBY153	0.83	2.75E−03	4	53	LBY153	0.72	1.83E−02	4	4
LBY153	0.83	2.73E−03	4	12	LBY153	0.74	1.45E−02	7	15
LBY154	0.79	6.58E−03	6	17	LBY154	0.71	2.11E−02	6	23
LBY154	0.79	6.33E−03	6	44	LBY154	0.80	5.44E−03	2	16
LBY154	0.74	2.28E−02	4	18	LBY154	0.75	2.10E−02	4	27
LBY154	0.73	1.59E−02	4	53	LBY154	0.72	2.84E−02	4	24
LBY154	0.74	1.39E−02	4	12	LBY154	0.72	1.86E−02	5	50
LBY154	0.72	1.92E−02	5	13	LBY155	0.75	1.31E−02	6	3
LBY156	0.89	4.92E−04	6	52	LBY156	0.70	2.33E−02	6	14
LBY156	0.90	4.08E−04	6	49	LBY156	0.80	5.60E−03	2	31
LBY156	0.88	1.63E−03	7	18	LBY156	0.72	2.77E−02	7	27
LBY156	0.80	9.08E−03	7	24	LBY156	0.77	1.61E−02	7	21
LBY157	0.72	1.81E−02	6	6	LBY157	0.76	1.13E−02	2	47
LBY158	0.87	1.09E−03	4	53	LBY158	0.87	9.17E−04	4	4
LBY158	0.87	1.01E−03	4	12	LBY159	0.74	1.53E−02	7	9
LBY159	0.76	1.65E−02	1	18	LBY159	0.74	1.53E−02	1	15
LBY160	0.79	6.72E−03	6	48	LBY160	0.85	1.70E−03	6	3
LBY160	0.72	1.78E−02	5	2	LBY161	0.92	1.65E−04	4	53
LBY161	0.84	2.25E−03	4	4	LBY161	0.92	1.73E−04	4	12
LBY161	0.91	2.66E−04	8	35	LBY161	0.70	2.31E−02	8	42
LBY161	0.71	2.22E−02	8	37	LBY161	0.86	1.51E−03	5	5
LBY161	0.89	5.33E−04	5	50	LBY161	0.88	7.10E−04	5	54
LBY161	0.91	2.41E−04	5	13	LBY161	0.76	1.03E−02	1	53
LBY161	0.81	4.72E−03	1	4	LBY161	0.77	8.76E−03	1	12
LBY162	0.71	2.06E−02	6	3	LBY162	0.73	1.73E−02	2	31
LBY162	0.77	9.20E−03	8	37	LBY162	0.91	2.88E−04	3	32
LBY162	0.72	1.85E−02	3	40	LBY162	0.77	1.52E−02	3	55
LBY162	0.80	5.47E−03	3	38	LBY162	0.73	1.69E−02	3	36
LBY163	0.76	1.79E−02	3	52	LBY163	0.74	2.41E−02	3	49
LBY163	0.78	8.21E−03	3	8	LBY164	0.89	6.23E−04	4	53
LBY164	0.83	3.15E−03	4	4	LBY164	0.90	4.03E−04	4	12
LBY164	0.76	1.11E−02	8	47	LBY164	0.73	1.76E−02	8	28
LBY165	0.81	4.65E−03	6	3	LBY165	0.76	1.08E−02	5	2
LBY165	0.88	1.74E−03	3	52	LBY165	0.88	1.57E−03	3	49
LBY166	0.75	1.31E−02	2	41	LBY166	0.78	7.83E−03	2	42
LBY166	0.72	1.96E−02	2	51	LBY166	0.74	1.40E−02	2	16
LBY166	0.71	2.16E−02	8	16	LBY166	0.80	9.36E−03	3	52
LBY166	0.85	2.03E−03	3	6	LBY166	0.73	1.67E−02	3	14
LBY166	0.78	1.37E−02	3	49	LBY166	0.78	7.40E−03	3	8
LBY167	0.77	8.71E−03	6	3	LBY167	0.72	1.89E−02	9	17
LBY167	0.70	3.53E−02	4	27	LBY167	0.78	1.24E−02	3	52
LBY167	0.72	2.86E−02	3	49	LBY167	0.87	1.21E−03	3	8
LBY168	0.84	2.56E−03	6	6	LBY168	0.81	4.40E−03	6	14
LBY168	0.76	9.94E−03	2	7	LBY168	0.84	2.16E−03	2	41
LBY168	0.84	2.20E−03	2	22	LBY168	0.83	3.03E−03	2	51
LBY168	0.77	1.50E−02	7	21	LBY170	0.77	8.79E−03	6	52
LBY170	0.73	1.58E−02	6	49	LBY170	0.74	1.47E−02	6	8
LBY171	0.70	2.39E−02	6	11	LBY171	0.77	8.75E−03	2	47
LBY171	0.90	4.10E−04	4	53	LBY171	0.84	2.20E−03	4	4
LBY171	0.89	5.28E−04	4	12	LBY171	0.84	2.61E−03	5	5
LBY171	0.82	3.36E−03	5	50	LBY171	0.82	4.06E−03	5	54
LBY171	0.84	2.13E−03	5	13	LBY173	0.77	9.12E−03	2	41
LBY173	0.72	2.01E−02	2	51	LBY173	0.78	7.72E−03	2	37
LBY173	0.76	1.05E−02	2	16	LBY174	0.74	1.46E−02	6	17
LBY174	0.74	1.36E−02	6	11	LBY174	0.75	1.22E−02	6	44
LBY174	0.87	1.06E−03	2	41	LBY174	0.70	2.40E−02	2	35
LBY174	0.71	2.12E−02	2	42	LBY174	0.86	1.36E−03	2	51
LBY174	0.80	5.02E−03	2	37	LBY174	0.75	1.30E−02	2	16
LBY174	0.87	9.84E−04	5	5	LBY174	0.87	9.19E−04	5	50
LBY174	0.81	4.20E−03	5	54	LBY174	0.82	3.95E−03	5	10
LBY174	0.80	5.46E−03	5	35	LBY174	0.84	2.36E−03	5	13
LBY174	0.90	8.09E−04	3	52	LBY174	0.72	2.00E−02	3	6
LBY174	0.88	1.78E−03	3	49	LBY174	0.80	5.36E−03	3	8
LBY175	0.73	2.44E−02	4	18	LBY175	0.72	2.74E−02	4	21
LBY176	0.70	3.46E−02	3	52	LBY176	0.89	4.94E−04	3	6
LBY177	0.87	1.07E−03	6	17	LBY177	0.73	1.59E−02	6	40
LBY177	0.86	1.39E−03	6	44	LBY177	0.71	2.07E−02	6	43
LBY177	0.71	2.16E−02	6	36	LBY177	0.78	7.48E−03	6	34
LBY177	0.70	2.39E−02	8	2	LBY177	0.79	6.60E−03	5	33
LBY177	0.74	1.49E−02	5	39	LBY178	0.76	1.09E−02	6	40
LBY178	0.75	1.22E−02	6	55	LBY178	0.72	1.98E−02	6	43
LBY178	0.81	4.70E−03	9	14	LBY178	0.77	9.03E−03	2	33
LBY178	0.91	2.45E−04	2	41	LBY178	0.73	1.68E−02	2	39
LBY178	0.70	2.28E−02	2	35	LBY178	0.87	9.72E−04	2	51
LBY178	0.79	7.09E−03	2	37	LBY178	0.91	2.35E−04	2	16
LBY178	0.83	2.91E−03	4	53	LBY178	0.73	1.72E−02	4	4
LBY178	0.83	2.88E−03	4	12	LBY178	0.72	1.87E−02	5	31
LBY178	0.76	9.95E−03	5	16	LBY178	0.86	3.24E−03	3	52
LBY178	0.81	4.72E−03	3	6	LBY178	0.84	4.57E−03	3	49
LBY178	0.73	1.71E−02	3	8	LBY179	0.76	1.08E−02	6	17
LBY179	0.70	2.34E−02	6	44	LBY179	0.92	1.95E−04	4	53
LBY179	0.83	2.91E−03	4	4	LBY179	0.91	2.08E−04	4	12
LBY179	0.70	2.32E−02	5	13	LBY180	0.73	1.68E−02	6	48
LBY180	0.75	1.17E−02	8	16	LBY181	0.77	8.50E−03	6	40
LBY181	0.73	1.60E−02	6	34	LBY181	0.76	1.78E−02	9	55
LBY181	0.74	2.38E−02	7	45	LBY182	0.72	1.97E−02	2	33
LBY182	0.72	1.92E−02	2	50	LBY182	0.90	4.10E−04	2	35
LBY182	0.77	9.14E−03	5	5	LBY182	0.80	5.92E−03	5	50
LBY182	0.79	6.98E−03	5	54	LBY182	0.74	1.41E−02	5	13
LBY182	0.79	6.72E−03	3	11	LBY182	0.94	5.85E−05	3	6
LBY183	0.71	2.12E−02	6	11	LBY183	0.74	1.51E−02	9	11
LBY183	0.76	1.13E−02	8	10	LBY183	0.73	1.62E−02	5	50
LBY183	0.73	1.74E−02	5	10	LBY183	0.72	1.90E−02	3	11
LBY186	0.80	5.01E−03	9	17	LBY186	0.84	2.54E−03	9	44
LBY186	0.77	9.83E−03	3	44	LBY188	0.81	4.23E−03	5	2
LBY189	0.75	1.28E−02	2	16	LBY189	0.74	1.45E−02	3	6
LBY191	0.74	1.39E−02	1	30	LBY192	0.74	1.35E−02	8	2
LBY192	0.78	7.83E−03	5	5	LBY192	0.71	2.20E−02	5	50
LBY192	0.74	1.42E−02	5	54	LBY192	0.71	2.06E−02	5	13
LGN3	0.82	3.99E−03	6	17	LGN3	0.78	7.76E−03	6	44
LGN3	0.84	4.41E−03	9	52	LGN3	0.83	5.83E−03	9	49
LGN3	0.79	7.06E−03	9	8	LGN3	0.91	2.59E−04	4	53
LGN3	0.84	2.38E−03	4	4	LGN3	0.92	1.64E−04	4	12
LGN3	0.74	1.35E−02	8	47	LGN4	0.81	4.25E−03	6	17
LGN4	0.77	9.90E−03	6	44	LGN4	0.70	3.52E−02	9	52
LGN4	0.71	3.11E−02	9	49	LGN4	0.80	5.52E−03	4	53
LGN4	0.74	1.35E−02	4	4	LGN4	0.82	3.99E−03	4	12
LGN5	0.70	2.37E−02	6	55	LGN5	0.86	1.27E−03	2	41
LGN5	0.76	1.05E−02	2	35	LGN5	0.87	9.62E−04	2	51
LGN5	0.85	1.75E−03	2	37	LGN5	0.72	1.78E−02	2	16
LGN5	0.79	6.72E−03	5	2	LGN5	0.73	1.56E−02	3	17
LGN5	0.73	1.58E−02	7	4	LGN5	0.78	1.26E−02	1	45
LGN54	0.70	2.31E−02	9	14	LGN54	0.81	4.13E−03	9	8
LGN57	0.85	1.73E−03	9	17	LGN57	0.79	6.65E−03	9	44
LGN57	0.75	1.23E−02	2	41	LGN57	0.80	5.40E−03	2	16
LGN57	0.83	3.06E−03	8	33	LGN57	0.86	1.38E−03	8	41
LGN57	0.71	2.15E−02	8	39	LGN57	0.82	3.75E−03	8	35
LGN57	0.84	2.09E−03	8	51	LGN57	0.86	1.42E−03	8	37
LGN57	0.78	8.45E−03	8	16	LGN57	0.74	2.26E−02	3	55
LGN57	0.81	4.59E−03	3	43	LGN6	0.78	7.30E−03	6	17
LGN6	0.84	2.54E−03	6	44	LGN6	0.70	2.40E−02	5	50
LGN6	0.70	2.38E−02	5	13	LGN6	0.85	3.72E−03	3	52
LGN6	0.88	1.83E−03	3	49	LGN6	0.71	2.08E−02	7	30
LGN7	0.75	1.33E−02	6	17	LGN7	0.70	2.40E−02	6	44
LGN7	0.70	2.40E−02	6	36	LGN7	0.76	1.07E−02	4	53
LGN7	0.76	1.04E−02	4	12	LGN7	0.71	2.23E−02	8	47
LGN7	0.76	1.14E−02	5	41	LGN7	0.75	1.25E−02	5	22
LGN7	0.71	2.15E−02	5	51	LGN7	0.70	3.57E−02	3	52
LGN7	0.88	7.09E−04	1	53	LGN7	0.85	1.97E−03	1	4
LGN7	0.89	5.78E−04	1	12

Table 38. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 35. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 34. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

II. Correlation of Sorghum Varieties Across Ecotype Grown Under Salinity Stress, Cold Stress, Low Nitrogen and Normal Conditions

Sorghum vigor related parameters under 100 mM NaCl and low temperature (10±2° C.)—Ten Sorghum varieties were grown in 3 repetitive plots, each containing 17 plants, at a net house under semi-hydroponics conditions. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: Sorghum seeds were sown in trays filled with a mix of vermiculite and peat in a 1:1 ratio. Following germination, the trays were transferred to the high salinity solution (100 mM NaCl in addition to the Full Hogland solution at 28±2° C.), low temperature (10±2° C. in the presence of Full Hogland solution), low nitrogen (1.2 mM Nitrogen at 28±2° C.) or at Normal growth solution [Full Hogland solution at 28±2° C.].

Full Hogland solution consists of: KNO₃—0.808 grams/liter, MgSO₄—0.12 grams/liter, KH₂PO₄—0.172 grams/liter and 0.01% (volume/volume) of ‘Super coratin’ micro elements (Iron-EDDHA [ethylenediamine-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid)]—40.5 grams/liter; Mn—20.2 grams/liter; Zn 10.1 grams/liter; Co 1.5 grams/liter; and Mo 1.1 grams/liter), solution's pH should be 6.5-6.8].

All 10 selected varieties were sampled per each treatment. Two tissues [meristems and roots] growing at 100 mM NaCl, low temperature (10±2° C.), low nitrogen (1.2 mM Nitrogen) or under Normal conditions (full Hogland at a temperature between 28±2° C.) were sampled and RNA was extracted as described hereinabove under “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”.

TABLE 39

Sorghum transcriptome expression sets

	Expression Set	Set ID

	root at vegetative stage (V4-V5)	1
	under cold conditions
	root vegetative stage (V4-V5)	2
	under normal conditions
	root vegetative stage (V4-V5)	3
	under low nitrogen conditions
	root vegetative stage (V4-V5)	4
	under salinity conditions
	vegetative meristem at	5
	vegetative stage
	(V4-V5) under cold conditions
	vegetative meristem at	6
	vegetative stage
	(V4-V5) under low
	nitrogen conditions
	vegetative meristem at	7
	vegetative stage
	(V4-V5) under salinity
	conditions
	vegetative meristem at	8
	vegetative stage
	(V4-V5) under normal
	conditions

	Table 39: Provided are the Sorghum transcriptome expression sets. Cold conditions = 10 ± 2° C.; NaCl = 100 mM NaCl; low nitrogen Nitrogen; Normal conditions = 16 mM Nitrogen.

Sorghum Biomass, Vigor, Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Growth-Related Components

Root DW (dry weight)—At the end of the experiment, the root material was collected, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Shoot DW—At the end of the experiment, the shoot material (without roots) was collected, measured and divided by the number of plants.

Total biomass—total biomass including roots and shoots.

Plant leaf number—Plants were characterized for leaf number at 3 time points during the growing period. In each measure, plants were measured for their leaf number by counting all the leaves of 3 selected plants per plot.

Shoot/root Ratio—The shoot/root Ratio was calculated using Formula XXX above.

Percent of reduction of root biomass compared to normal—the difference (reduction in percent) between root biomass under normal and under low nitrogen conditions.

Percent of reduction of shoot biomass compared to normal—the difference (reduction in percent) between shoot biomass under normal and under low nitrogen conditions.

Percent of reduction of total biomass compared to normal—the difference (reduction in percent) between total biomass (shoot and root) under normal and under low nitrogen conditions

Plant height—Plants were characterized for height at 3 time points during the growing period. In each measure, plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest leaf

Relative Growth Rate of leaf number was calculated using Formula VIII above.

Root Biomass [DW-gr.]/SPAD—root biomass divided by SPAD results.

Shoot Biomass [DW-gr.]/SPAD—shoot biomass divided by SPAD results.

Total Biomass-Root+Shoot [DW-gr.]/SPAD—total biomass divided by SPAD results.

Plant nitrogen level (calculated as SPAD/leaf biomass)—The chlorophyll content of leaves is a good indicator of the nitrogen plant status since the degree of leaf greenness is highly correlated to this parameter.

10 different Sorghum varieties were grown and characterized for the following parameters: “Leaf number Normal”=leaf number per plant under normal conditions (average of five plants); “Plant Height Normal”=plant height under normal conditions (average of five plants); “Root DW 100 mM NaCl”—root dry weight per plant under salinity conditions (average of five plants); The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Table 41 below. Subsequent correlation analysis between the various transcriptome sets and the average parameters were conducted (Table 42). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 40

Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors)

Correlated parameter with	Correlation ID

DW Root/Plant (gr./number) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	1
DW Root/Plant (gr./number) at Cold conditions	2
DW Root/Plant (gr./number) at Low Nitrogen conditions	3
DW Root/Plant (gr./number) at Normal conditions	4
DW Shoot/Plant (gr./number) at Low Nitrogen conditions	5
DW Shoot/Plant (gr./number) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	6
DW Shoot/Plant (gr./number) at Cold conditions	7
DW Shoot/Plant (gr./number) at Normal conditions	8
Leaf number (at time point 1) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	9
Leaf number (at time point 1) at Cold conditions	10
Leaf number (at time point 1) at Low Nitrogen conditions	11
Leaf number (at time point 1) at Normal conditions	12
Leaf number (at time point 2) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	13
Leaf number (at time point 2) at Cold conditions	14
Leaf number (at time point 2) at Low Nitrogen conditions	15
Leaf number (at time point 2) at Normal conditions	16
Leaf number (at time point 3) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	17
Leaf number (at time point 3) at Cold conditions	18
Leaf number (at time point 3) at Low Nitrogen conditions	19
Leaf number (at time point 3) at Normal conditions	20
total biomass DW (gr.) at Low N conditions	21
Shoot/Root (ratio) at Low N conditions	22
roots DW (gr.) at Low N conditions	23
shoots DW (gr.) at Low N conditions	24
percent root biomass at Low N compared to normal conditions	25
percent shoot biomass at Low N compared to normal conditions	26
percent total biomass reduction at Low N compared to normal conditions	27
N level/Leaf (SPAD/gr.) at Low Nitrogen conditions	28
N level/Leaf (SPAD/gr.) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	29
N level/Leaf (SPAD/gr.) at Cold conditions	30
N level/Leaf (SPAD/gr.) at Normal conditions	31
Normal, Shoot/Root (ratio) at normal conditions	32
Roots DW (gr.) at normal conditions	33
Shoots DW (gr.) at normal conditions	34
Total biomass (gr. at normal conditions	35
Plant Height (at time point 1) (cm) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	36
Plant Height (at time point 1) (cm) at Cold conditions	37
Plant Height (at time point 1), (cm) at Low Nitrogen conditions	38
Plant Height (at time point 1), (cm) at normal conditions	39
Plant Height (at time point 2), (cm) at Cold conditions	40
Plant Height (at time point 2), (cm) at Low Nitrogen conditions	41
Plant Height (at time point 2), (cm) at normal conditions	42
Plant Height (at time point 2), (cm) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	43
Plant Height (at time point 3), (cm) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	44
Plant Height (at time point 3), (cm) at Low Nitrogen conditions	45
RGR Leaf Num at Normal conditions	46
Root Biomass (DW-gr.)/SPAD at 100 mM NaCl conditions	47
Root Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD at Cold conditions	48
Root Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD at Low Nitrogen conditions	49
Root Biomass [DW, gr.]/SPAD at Normal conditions	50
SPAD, at Cold conditions	51
SPAD (number) at Low Nitrogen conditions	52
SPAD (number) at Normal conditions	53
SPAD (number) at 100 mM NaCl conditions	54
Shoot Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD at 100 mM NaCl conditions	55
Shoot Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD at Cold conditions	56
Shoot Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD at Low Nitrogen conditions	57
Shoot Biomass (DW, gr.)/SPAD at Normal conditions	58
Total Biomass (Root + Shoot; DW, gr.)/SPAD at 100 mM NaCl	59
conditions
Total Biomass (Root + Shoot; DW, gr.)/SPAD at Cold conditions	60
Total Biomass (Root + Shoot; DW, gr.)/SPAD at Low Nitrogen conditions	61
Total Biomass (Root + Shoot; DW, gr.)/SPAD at Normal conditions	62

Table 40: Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters. Cold conditions = 10 ± 2° C.; NaCl = 100 mM NaCl; low nitrogen = 1.2 mM Nitrogen; Normal conditions = 16 mM Nitrogen.

TABLE 41

Sorghum accessions, measured parameters

Ecotype/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Treatment	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

4	0.05	0.13	0.17	0.10	0.11	0.12	0.14	0.12	0.10	0.11
8	0.10	0.24	0.31	0.16	0.19	0.19	0.24	0.24	0.19	0.24
12	3.00	3.07	3.80	3.20	3.23	3.23	3.13	3.43	3.00	3.00
16	4.17	4.50	4.80	4.60	4.53	4.97	4.60	4.93	4.50	4.57
20	5.33	5.87	6.20	5.80	5.80	5.73	5.73	6.00	5.60	6.07
39	7.47	9.30	12.87	8.57	8.93	8.53	10.67	10.27	7.87	8.77
42	14.97	18.23	22.10	17.60	18.07	18.53	22.83	22.03	20.03	21.80
46	0.16	0.19	0.16	0.17	0.17	0.17	0.17	0.17	0.17	0.20
53	26.70	29.33	29.86	29.09	24.98	24.62	30.79	25.50	32.89	33.54
3	0.04	0.11	0.20	0.10	0.08	0.09	0.13	0.09	0.09	0.09
5	0.08	0.19	0.33	0.16	0.16	0.16	0.26	0.20	0.13	0.18
11	3.00	3.13	3.87	3.53	3.20	3.13	3.13	3.30	3.07	3.07
15	4.00	4.58	4.97	4.73	4.60	4.70	4.97	4.87	4.67	4.57
19	3.90	4.27	4.70	4.23	4.30	4.57	4.63	4.67	3.97	4.10
38	6.73	9.77	12.70	8.67	9.77	9.23	10.27	10.10	7.93	8.23
41	13.30	20.63	23.70	18.03	19.33	19.20	21.87	22.13	18.20	21.00
45	22.23	31.07	34.67	30.03	30.83	29.87	30.87	32.40	29.37	30.70
52	26.88	28.02	29.64	31.52	29.61	26.82	28.48	28.21	30.48	27.63
1	0.05	0.10	0.12	0.07	0.08	0.08	0.14	0.10	0.16	0.14
6	0.09	0.19	0.20	0.14	0.13	0.13	0.15	0.19	0.10	0.12
9	3.00	3.13	3.40	3.07	3.33	3.07	3.07	3.27	3.00	3.07
13	4.00	4.37	4.87	4.60	4.50	4.53	4.50	4.77	4.32	4.20
17	4.00	4.13	4.57	4.43	4.07	4.33	4.13	4.50	3.78	4.20
36	7.90	9.50	10.93	7.93	9.70	8.53	8.90	10.37	7.00	7.83
43	14.20	16.27	20.37	13.33	15.90	16.53	15.47	18.93	13.68	15.77
44	21.80	23.17	30.37	22.83	23.70	23.30	22.47	26.83	20.28	23.57
54	32.73	35.14	27.97	30.93	34.53	29.99	32.09	31.86	32.51	34.32
2	0.07	0.11	0.16	0.09	0.08	0.11	0.14	0.13	0.11	0.14
7	0.08	0.15	0.19	0.11	0.13	0.16	0.15	0.15	0.11	0.14
10	3.00	3.00	3.50	3.17	3.40	3.20	3.13	3.07	3.07	3.00
14	3.90	4.13	4.63	4.17	4.27	4.23	4.20	4.30	4.17	4.00
18	4.73	5.33	5.43	5.50	5.33	5.07	4.50	5.40	5.37	5.18
37	6.50	8.77	10.40	6.80	9.03	9.00	7.97	9.17	6.50	7.23
40	11.17	15.87	18.43	12.20	16.03	14.63	14.60	17.27	13.43	13.91
51	28.62	30.31	27.04	32.28	28.28	29.89	32.47	28.63	31.71	29.56
30	6.05	5.68	4.98	5.87	5.30	5.90	7.21	5.30	5.91	5.70
48	0.002	0.004	0.006	0.003	0.003	0.004	0.004	0.004	0.003	0.005
56	0.003	0.005	0.007	0.003	0.005	0.006	0.005	0.005	0.004	0.005
60	0.005	0.009	0.013	0.006	0.008	0.009	0.009	0.010	0.007	0.009
21	27.53	64.12	115.23	58.02	52.22	35.10	84.57	63.73	47.03	60.00
22	1.87	1.71	1.73	1.57	2.10	1.81	2.06	2.10	1.50	2.00
23	9.65	23.54	43.88	22.58	16.89	12.44	28.19	20.53	18.76	20.09
24	17.88	40.59	71.35	35.44	35.33	22.66	56.38	43.20	28.27	39.91
25	84.53	80.95	117.00	100.52	72.54	71.78	93.47	76.05	86.82	80.51
26	81.57	79.16	104.75	103.50	83.71	83.22	107.69	81.39	70.30	75.86
27	82.58	79.81	109.10	102.32	79.74	78.77	102.49	79.59	76.07	77.36
28	6.89	6.57	6.31	7.45	6.89	5.87	6.15	6.05	7.68	6.74
49	0.002	0.004	0.007	0.003	0.003	0.003	0.005	0.003	0.003	0.003
57	0.003	0.007	0.011	0.005	0.005	0.006	0.009	0.007	0.004	0.007
61	0.005	0.011	0.018	0.008	0.008	0.009	0.014	0.010	0.007	0.010
29	8.18	8.50	6.12	6.98	8.49	6.92	7.76	7.08	8.60	8.17
47	0.002	0.003	0.004	0.002	0.002	0.003	0.004	0.003	0.005	0.004
55	0.003	0.005	0.007	0.004	0.004	0.004	0.005	0.006	0.003	0.004
59	0.004	0.008	0.012	0.007	0.006	0.007	0.009	0.009	0.008	0.008
31	5.01	5.00	4.82	5.02	4.31	4.29	5.37	4.25	5.87	5.53
32	1.98	1.94	1.90	1.59	1.81	1.58	1.76	1.99	1.89	2.20
33	0.86	2.19	2.83	1.69	1.76	1.96	2.27	2.04	1.09	1.88
34	1.65	3.87	5.14	2.58	3.18	3.08	3.95	4.00	2.02	3.97
35	2.51	6.06	7.96	4.28	4.94	5.04	6.22	6.04	3.11	5.85
50	0.002	0.005	0.006	0.004	0.004	0.005	0.005	0.005	0.003	0.003
58	0.004	0.008	0.010	0.005	0.008	0.008	0.008	0.010	0.006	0.007
62	0.006	0.013	0.016	0.009	0.012	0.012	0.012	0.014	0.009	0.011

Table 41: Provided are the measured parameters under 100 mM NaCl, low nitrogen (1.2 mM), low temperature (8-10 ° C. ) and normal conditions of Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) according to the Correlation ID numbers (described in Table 40 above).

TABLE 42

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments
of the invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low
nitrogen, normal, cold or salinity stress conditions across Sorghum accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY14	0.75	1.28E−02	1	30	LBY148	0.73	2.60E−02	5	10
LBY148	0.76	1.80E−02	5	14	LBY148	0.84	4.97E−03	8	12
LBY149	0.77	4.09E−02	3	38	LBY149	0.72	2.97E−02	6	49
LBY149	0.73	2.52E−02	6	3	LBY149	0.71	3.34E−02	6	5
LBY149	0.84	4.83E−03	6	11	LBY149	0.73	2.52E−02	6	23
LBY149	0.71	3.34E−02	6	24	LBY149	0.72	2.73E−02	6	21
LBY149	0.71	3.25E−02	6	38	LBY149	0.85	4.13E−03	2	46
LBY150	0.79	1.06E−02	7	29	LBY150	0.73	2.65E−02	7	54
LBY151	0.78	1.36E−02	8	39	LBY151	0.75	2.01E−02	8	33
LBY151	0.73	2.61E−02	8	50	LBY151	0.73	2.50E−02	8	4
LBY152	0.72	2.94E−02	6	28	LBY153	0.75	1.98E−02	7	29
LBY153	0.71	3.29E−02	7	54	LBY153	0.84	4.94E−03	2	46
LBY154	0.86	1.27E−02	3	38	LBY156	0.79	1.11E−02	5	48
LBY156	0.73	2.54E−02	5	10	LBY156	0.76	1.67E−02	5	56
LBY156	0.80	9.81E−03	5	60	LBY156	0.83	5.18E−03	5	14
LBY157	0.73	2.49E−02	2	12	LBY157	0.71	3.36E−02	2	39
LBY158	0.71	3.31E−02	6	3	LBY158	0.74	2.39E−02	6	45
LBY158	0.81	8.44E−03	6	11	LBY158	0.71	3.31E−02	6	23
LBY158	0.72	2.92E−02	6	38	LBY159	0.70	7.77E−02	3	25
LBY161	0.75	5.23E−02	3	49	LBY161	0.70	7.78E−02	3	3
LBY161	0.78	3.98E−02	3	5	LBY161	0.78	3.68E−02	3	61
LBY161	0.71	7.58E−02	3	38	LBY161	0.81	2.71E−02	3	19
LBY161	0.77	4.27E−02	3	57	LBY161	0.75	1.99E−02	7	29
LBY161	0.72	2.75E−02	7	54	LBY162	0.74	5.48E−02	3	15
LBY162	0.83	2.06E−02	3	28	LBY162	0.75	1.88E−02	5	51
LBY162	0.82	7.09E−03	5	30	LBY163	0.70	7.97E−02	3	38
LBY164	0.70	3.43E−02	7	29	LBY165	0.75	5.44E−02	3	27
LBY165	0.88	9.23E−03	3	26	LBY167	0.88	1.71E−03	8	12
LBY167	0.77	1.52E−02	8	35	LBY167	0.75	1.99E−02	8	34
LBY167	0.93	2.25E−04	8	39	LBY167	0.85	4.11E−03	8	58
LBY167	0.87	2.58E−03	8	62	LBY167	0.79	1.16E−02	8	33
LBY167	0.88	1.77E−03	8	50	LBY167	0.74	2.16E−02	8	8
LBY167	0.79	1.10E−02	8	4	LBY167	0.84	4.41E−03	7	44
LBY167	0.75	1.96E−02	7	9	LBY167	0.87	2.51E−03	2	12
LBY167	0.74	2.13E−02	2	16	LBY167	0.72	1.85E−02	1	51
LBY170	0.70	3.46E−02	5	7	LBY170	0.74	2.30E−02	5	56
LBY170	0.73	2.59E−02	5	60	LBY170	0.71	3.18E−02	5	37
LBY170	0.83	5.43E−03	5	40	LBY170	0.77	1.42E−02	7	6
LBY171	0.76	4.55E−02	3	27	LBY171	0.70	7.89E−02	3	11
LBY171	0.87	1.14E−02	3	26	LBY171	0.87	2.21E−03	5	7
LBY171	0.77	1.50E−02	5	48	LBY171	0.71	3.07E−02	5	2
LBY171	0.88	1.55E−03	5	56	LBY171	0.85	3.34E−03	5	60
LBY171	0.87	2.51E−03	5	37	LBY171	0.86	2.70E−03	5	40
LBY171	0.86	3.26E−03	5	14	LBY171	0.79	1.08E−02	6	49
LBY171	0.81	7.89E−03	6	3	LBY171	0.71	3.04E−02	6	25
LBY171	0.71	3.13E−02	6	5	LBY171	0.81	7.89E−03	6	23
LBY171	0.73	2.69E−02	6	61	LBY171	0.71	3.13E−02	6	24
LBY171	0.76	1.78E−02	6	21	LBY173	0.79	3.32E−02	3	23
LBY173	0.85	1.57E−02	3	52	LBY173	0.73	6.06E−02	3	24
LBY173	0.77	4.11E−02	3	21	LBY173	0.77	1.49E−02	7	59
LBY173	0.71	3.25E−02	7	6	LBY174	0.75	5.31E−02	3	28
LBY174	0.77	1.61E−02	5	7	LBY174	0.72	3.02E−02	5	56
LBY174	0.74	2.24E−02	5	40	LBY174	0.70	3.49E−02	8	31
LBY175	0.75	5.08E−02	3	61	LBY175	0.76	4.76E−02	3	57
LBY176	0.73	6.46E−02	3	23	LBY176	0.75	5.20E−02	3	52
LBY176	0.71	7.49E−02	3	24	LBY176	0.73	6.40E−02	3	21
LBY176	0.79	6.66E−03	1	48	LBY176	0.71	2.27E−02	1	2
LBY176	0.76	1.10E−02	1	60	LBY178	0.81	2.73E−02	3	49
LBY178	0.72	6.56E−02	3	3	LBY178	0.72	6.64E−02	3	61
LBY178	0.71	7.39E−02	3	41	LBY179	0.75	2.09E−02	5	7
LBY179	0.76	1.84E−02	5	56	LBY179	0.81	8.31E−03	5	37
LBY179	0.82	6.58E−03	5	40	LBY179	0.85	3.36E−03	5	14
LBY179	0.81	8.29E−03	6	27	LBY179	0.73	2.53E−02	6	25
LBY179	0.77	1.46E−02	6	26	LBY180	0.71	7.16E−02	3	27
LBY180	0.92	3.53E−03	3	25	LBY180	0.70	3.47E−02	8	33
LBY180	0.71	3.26E−02	7	9	LBY180	0.70	3.42E−02	7	13
LBY183	0.75	5.38E−02	3	52	LBY183	0.75	5.21E−02	3	28
LBY183	0.74	2.38E−02	5	7	LBY183	0.90	8.91E−04	5	10
LBY183	0.78	1.26E−02	5	56	LBY183	0.88	1.93E−03	5	37
LBY183	0.79	1.20E−02	5	40	LBY183	0.88	1.74E−03	5	14
LBY184	0.72	6.62E−02	3	61	LBY184	0.71	7.31E−02	3	57
LBY184	0.75	1.93E−02	2	46	LBY185	0.75	5.39E−02	3	15
LBY185	0.79	3.26E−02	3	52	LBY185	0.74	2.33E−02	6	3
LBY185	0.70	3.52E−02	6	15	LBY185	0.71	3.18E−02	6	45
LBY185	0.71	3.36E−02	6	11	LBY185	0.74	2.33E−02	6	23
LBY185	0.71	3.16E−02	6	21	LBY185	0.79	1.12E−02	7	59
LBY186	0.81	4.89E−03	1	48	LBY186	0.77	9.92E−03	1	2
LBY187	0.72	6.75E−02	3	22	LBY188	0.89	1.18E−03	5	10
LBY188	0.71	3.26E−02	5	14	LBY190	0.73	6.10E−02	3	49
LBY190	0.73	6.40E−02	3	3	LBY191	0.80	9.80E−03	5	51
LGN3	0.72	6.78E−02	3	22	LGN3	0.76	1.78E−02	5	56
LGN3	0.82	6.98E−03	5	37	LGN3	0.79	1.07E−02	5	40
LGN3	0.81	8.13E−03	5	14	LGN4	0.82	2.25E−02	3	15
LGN4	0.76	4.83E−02	3	45	LGN4	0.85	3.98E−03	5	7
LGN4	0.74	2.17E−02	5	48	LGN4	0.71	3.24E−02	5	10
LGN4	0.85	3.86E−03	5	56	LGN4	0.82	6.63E−03	5	60
LGN4	0.80	8.96E−03	5	37	LGN4	0.80	9.21E−03	5	40
LGN4	0.95	6.09E−05	5	14	LGN4	0.82	6.74E−03	6	49
LGN4	0.83	5.67E−03	6	3	LGN4	0.78	1.30E−02	6	25
LGN4	0.72	2.73E−02	6	5	LGN4	0.83	5.67E−03	6	23
LGN4	0.75	1.93E−02	6	61	LGN4	0.72	2.73E−02	6	24
LGN4	0.77	1.45E−02	6	21	LGN5	0.87	1.06E−02	3	22
LGN5	0.78	1.39E−02	8	12	LGN5	0.73	2.70E−02	6	22
LGN57	0.83	2.18E−02	3	25	LGN57	0.70	3.46E−02	5	51
LGN57	0.72	2.96E−02	5	30	LGN57	0.79	1.15E−02	2	31
LGN6	0.76	1.85E−02	7	1	LGN6	0.70	3.54E−02	7	47
LGN7	0.74	5.77E−02	3	11	LGN7	0.71	7.22E−02	3	24
LGN7	0.71	3.06E−02	5	37	LGN7	0.71	3.07E−02	6	38
LGN7	0.77	1.48E−02	6	19

Table 42 Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 40.“Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 39. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

Correlation of Sorghum varieties across ecotypes grown in growth chambers under temperature of 30° C. or 14° C. at low light (100 μE) or high light (250 μE) conditions.

Analyzed Sorghum tissues—All 10 selected Sorghum hybrids were sampled per each condition. Leaf tissue growing under 30° C. and low light (100 μE m⁻²sec⁻¹), 14° C. and low light (100 μE m⁻²sec⁻¹), 30° C. and high light (250 μE m⁻²sec⁻¹), 14° C. and high light (250 μE m⁻²sec⁻¹) were sampled at vegetative stage of four-five leaves and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 43 below.

TABLE 43

Sorghum transcriptome expression sets in field experiments

		Expression
	Description	set

	Sorghum/leaf, under 14 Celsius degrees	1
	and high light (light on)
	Sorghum/leaf, under 14 Celsius degrees	2
	and low light (light on)
	Sorghum/leaf, under 30 Celsius degrees	3
	and high light (light on)
	Sorghum/leaf, under 30 Celsius degrees	4
	and low light (light on)

	Table 43: Provided are the sorghum transcriptome expression sets.

The following parameters were collected by sampling 8-10 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot (Table 44 below).

Relative Growth Rate of vegetative dry weight was performed using Formula VII.

Leaves number—Plants were characterized for leaf number during growing period. In each measure, plants were measured for their leaf number by counting all the leaves of selected plants per plot.

Shoot FW—shoot fresh weight (FW) per plant, measurement of all vegetative tissue above ground.

Shoot DW—shoot dry weight (DW) per plant, measurement of all vegetative tissue above ground after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours.

The average for each of the measured parameters was calculated and values are summarized in Tables 45-48 below. Subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Table 49). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 44

Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors)

	Correlated parameter with	Correlation ID

	Leaves number	1
	Leaves temperature [° C.]	2
	RGR (relative growth rate)	3
	Shoot DW (dry weight) (gr.)	4
	Shoot FW (fresh weight) (gr.)	5

	Table 44. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors).

TABLE 45

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under 14° C. and low light (100 μE m−²sec−¹)

Ecotype/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Treatment	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

1	3.00	3.00	2.75	2.75	2.63	3.00	3.50	2.75	2.43	2.00
3	0.032	−0.014	−0.022	0.024	−0.037	−0.045	0.083	NA	−0.050	−0.073
4	0.041	0.013	0.013	0.009	0.011	0.011	0.031	0.009	0.009	0.009
5	0.55	0.30	0.33	0.28	0.36	0.36	0.58	0.22	0.18	0.30

Table 45: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under 14° C. and low light (100 μE m−²sec−¹).

TABLE 46

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under 30° C. and low light (100 μE m−²sec−¹)

Ecotype/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Treatment	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

1	5.27	5.00	4.75	4.00	4.00	4.00	5.25	4.50	3.75	4.00
2	28.140	29.813	24.213	23.138	19.900	21.350	23.360	29.922	21.525	24.440
3	0.099	0.098	0.090	0.122	0.108	0.084	0.113	0.121	0.042	0.039
4	0.114	0.079	0.071	0.056	0.093	0.077	0.040	0.055	0.036	0.050
5	1.35	1.05	0.88	0.95	1.29	1.13	0.71	0.79	0.67	0.82

Table 46: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under 30° C. and low light (100 μE m−²sec−¹).

TABLE 47

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under 30° C. and high light (250 μE m−²sec−¹)

Ecotype/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Treatment	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

1	4.00	3.70	3.50	3.33	4.00	4.00	3.60	3.40	3.30	3.40
3	0.098	0.096	0.087	0.070	0.094	0.118	0.097	0.099	0.106	0.121
4	0.076	0.050	0.047	0.036	0.065	0.085	0.049	0.042	0.042	0.062
5	0.77	0.52	0.49	0.38	0.71	0.86	0.49	0.45	0.44	0.67

Table 47: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under 30° C. and high light (250 μE m−²sec−¹).

TABLE 48

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under 14° C. and high light (250 μE m−²sec−¹)

Ecotype/	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-	Line-
Treatment	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

3	0.053	0.052	0.034	0.040	0.056	0.061	0.049	0.056	0.068	0.063
4	0.037	0.026	0.021	0.023	0.037	0.036	0.022	0.022	0.023	0.027
5	0.37	0.25	0.22	0.25	0.43	0.37	0.24	0.23	0.24	0.27

Table 48: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under 14° C. and high light (250 μE m−²sec−¹).

TABLE 49

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under combinations of
temperature and light conditions treatments (14° C. or 30° C. ; high light (250 μE m−²sec−¹)
or low light (100 μE m−²sec−¹) across Sorghum accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY148	0.70	3.50E−02	2	3	LBY150	0.87	2.55E−02	3	5
LBY150	0.90	1.32E−02	3	4	LBY150	0.77	7.42E−02	3	1
LBY151	0.78	6.98E−02	3	3	LBY152	0.88	7.21E−04	4	2
LBY157	0.73	1.66E−02	1	5	LBY157	0.71	2.03E−02	1	4
LBY158	0.72	1.84E−02	4	4	LBY158	0.72	1.94E−02	2	5
LBY158	0.80	1.04E−02	2	3	LBY158	0.77	7.20E−02	3	5
LBY158	0.83	4.25E−02	3	4	LBY159	0.77	8.88E−03	4	2
LBY162	0.86	1.37E−03	2	5	LBY162	0.79	1.17E−02	2	3
LBY162	0.86	1.25E−03	2	4	LBY164	0.77	9.28E−03	2	5
LBY165	0.84	3.76E−02	3	3	LBY168	0.74	1.34E−02	1	5
LBY168	0.70	2.40E−02	1	4	LBY168	0.73	1.68E−02	4	1
LBY170	0.72	1.77E−02	2	5	LBY170	0.91	6.12E−04	2	3
LBY171	0.75	1.32E−02	4	3	LBY173	0.75	1.17E−02	4	2
LBY173	0.72	1.07E−01	3	4	LBY174	0.74	9.02E−02	3	3
LBY175	0.75	8.56E−02	3	5	LBY175	0.81	5.27E−02	3	4
LBY177	0.77	1.60E−02	2	3	LBY177	0.88	2.20E−02	3	5
LBY177	0.90	1.47E−02	3	4	LBY177	0.75	8.33E−02	3	1
LBY178	0.76	1.07E−02	2	5	LBY178	0.79	6.08E−02	3	5
LBY178	0.81	5.07E−02	3	4	LBY178	0.81	5.15E−02	3	1
LBY180	0.72	2.82E−02	2	3	LBY180	0.74	9.20E−02	3	5
LBY180	0.79	6.04E−02	3	4	LBY183	0.74	2.19E−02	2	3
LBY187	0.71	1.15E−01	3	3	LBY187	0.71	1.16E−01	3	4
LBY190	0.71	2.27E−02	4	2	LBY192	0.75	1.33E−02	2	5
LBY192	0.81	4.58E−03	2	4	LGN5	0.85	4.01E−03	2	3
LGN5	0.79	6.00E−02	3	3	LGN54	0.93	7.13E−03	3	3
LGN7	0.93	6.90E−03	3	5	LGN7	0.96	2.94E−03	3	4
LGN7	0.93	7.34E−03	3	1

Table 49. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 44. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 43. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a sorghum oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 65,000 sorghum genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with ABST, drought and yield components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 12 different sorghum hybrids were analyzed. Among them, 8 hybrids encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

12 Sorghum varieties were grown in 6 repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows:

1. Regular growth conditions: sorghum plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols, which include 452 m³water per dunam (1000 square meters) per entire growth period and fertilization of 14 units nitrogen per dunam per entire growth period (normal conditions). The nitrogen can be obtained using URAN® 21% (Nitrogen Fertilizer Solution; PCS Sales, Northbrook, Ill., USA).

2. Drought conditions: sorghum seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal condition until flowering stage (59 days from sowing), drought treatment was imposed by irrigating plants with 50% water relative to the normal treatment from this stage [309 m³water per dunam (1000 square meters) per the entire growth period)], with normal fertilization (i.e., 14 units nitrogen per dunam).

Analyzed Sorghum tissues—All 12 selected Sorghum hybrids were sampled per each treatment. Tissues [Flag leaf, upper stem, lower stem, flower, grain] representing different plant characteristics, from plants growing under normal conditions and drought stress conditions were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 50 below.

TABLE 50

Sorghum transcriptome expression sets in field experiment
under normal conditions

	Expression Set	Set ID

	Basal head at grain filling stage under normal	1
	conditions
	Distal head at grain filling stage under normal	2
	conditions
	Flag leaf at flowering stage under normal conditions	3
	Flag leaf at grain filling stage under normal conditions	4
	Up stem at flowering stage under normal conditions	5
	Up stem at grain filling stage under normal conditions	6

	Table 50: Provided are the sorghum transcriptome expression sets. Flag leaf = the leaf below the flower.

TABLE 51

Sorghum transcriptome expression sets in field experiment
under drought conditions

	Expression Set	Set ID

	Basal head at grain filling stage under drought	1
	conditions
	Distal head at grain filling stage under drought	2
	conditions
	Flag leaf at flowering stage under drought conditions	3
	Flag leaf at grain filling stage under drought conditions	4
	Up stem at flowering stage under drought conditions	5
	Up stem at grain filling stage under drought conditions	6

	Table 51: Provided are the sorghum transcriptome expression sets under drought conditions. Flag leaf = the leaf below the flower.

Sorghum yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—Plants were phenotyped as shown in Tables 53-56 below. Some of the following parameters were collected using digital imaging system:

Grains yield per plant (gr)—At the end of the growing period heads were collected (harvest stage). Selected heads were separately threshed and grains were weighted. The average grain weight per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of selected plants.

Heads weight per plant (RP) (kg)—At the end of the growing period heads of selected plants were collected (harvest stage) from the rest of the plants in the plot. Heads were weighted after oven dry (dry weight), and average head weight per plant was calculated.

Grains num (SP) (num)—was calculated by dividing seed yield from selected plants by a single seed weight.

1000 grain (seed) weight (gr)—was calculated based on Formula XIV.

Grain area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the Plant ‘Head’. A sample of ˜200 grains were weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Circularity—The circularity of the grains was calculated based on Formula XIX.

Main Head Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period selected “Main Heads” were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The “Main Head” area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of “Main Heads”.

Main Head length (cm)—At the end of the growing period selected “Main Heads” were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The “Main Head” length (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of “Main Heads”.

Main Head Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period selected “Main Heads” were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The “Main Head” width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of “Main Heads”.

An image processing system was used, which consists of a personal desktop computer (Intel P4 3.0 GHz processor) and a public domain program—ImageJ 1.37, Java based image processing software, which was developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and is freely available on the internet at rsbweb (dot) nih (dot) gov/. Images were captured in resolution of 10 Mega Pixels (3888×2592 pixels) and stored in a low compression JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group standard) format. Next, image processing output data for seed area and seed length was saved to text files and analyzed using the JMP statistical analysis software (SAS institute).

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling selected plants in a plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

All Heads Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period (harvest) selected plants main and secondary heads were photographed and images were processed using the above described image processing system. All heads area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of plants.

All Heads length (cm)—At the end of the growing period (harvest) selected plants main and secondary heads were photographed and images were processed using the above described image processing system. All heads length (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of plants.

All Heads Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period main and secondary heads were photographed and images were processed using the above described image processing system. All heads width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of plants.

Head weight per plant (RP)/water until maturity (gr./lit)—At the end of the growing period heads were collected (harvest stage) from the rest of the plants in the plot. Heads were weighted after oven dry (dry weight), and average head weight per plant was calculated. Head weight per plant was then divided by the average water volume used for irrigation until maturity.

Harvest index (SP)—was calculated based on Formula XVI above.

Heads index (RP)—was calculated based on Formula XXXXVI above.

Head dry weight (GF) (gr.)—selected heads per plot were collected at the grain filling stage (R2-R3) and weighted after oven dry (dry weight).

Heads per plant (RP) (num)—At the end of the growing period total number of rest of plot heads were counted and divided by the total number of rest of plot plants.

Leaves temperature 2 (° C.)—leaf temperature was measured using Fluke IR thermometer 568 device. Measurements were done on opened leaves at grain filling stage.

Leaves temperature 6 (° C.)—leaf temperature was measured using Fluke IR thermometer 568 device. Measurements were done on opened leaves at late grain filling stage.

Stomatal conductance (F) (mmol m²s⁻¹)—plants were evaluated for their stomata conductance using SC-1 Leaf Porometer (Decagon devices) at flowering (F) stage. Stomata conductance readings were done on fully developed leaf, for 2 leaves and 2 plants per plot.

Stomatal conductance (GF) (mmol m²s⁻¹)—plants were evaluated for their stomata conductance using SC-1 Leaf Porometer (Decagon devices) at grain filling

(GF) stage. Stomata conductance readings were done on fully developed leaf, for 2 leaves and 2 plants per plot.

Relative water content 2 (RWC, %)—was calculated based on Formula I at grain filling.

Specific leaf area (SLA) (GF)—was calculated based on Formula XXXVII above.

Waxy leaf blade—was defined by view of leaf blades % of Normal and % of grayish (powdered coating/frosted appearance). Plants were scored for their waxiness according to the scale 0=normal, 1=intermediate, 2=grayish.

SPAD 2 (SPAD unit)—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at flowering. SPAD meter readings were done on fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plant.

SPAD 3 (SPAD unit)—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at grain filling. SPAD meter readings were done on fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plant.

% yellow leaves number (F) (percentage)—At flowering stage, leaves of selected plants were collected. Yellow and green leaves were separately counted. Percent of yellow leaves at flowering was calculated for each plant by dividing yellow leaves number per plant by the overall number of leaves per plant and multiplying by 100.

% yellow leaves number (H) (percentage)—At harvest stage, leaves of selected plants were collected. Yellow and green leaves were separately counted. Percent of yellow leaves at flowering was calculated for each plant by dividing yellow leaves number per plant by the overall number of leaves per plant and multiplying by 100.

% Canopy coverage (GF)—was calculated based on Formula XXXII above.

LAI LP-80 (GF)—Leaf area index values were determined using an AccuPAR Centrometer Model LP-80 and measurements were performed at grain filling stage with three measurements per plot.

Leaves area per plant (GF) (cm²)—total leaf area of selected plants in a plot. This parameter was measured using a Leaf area-meter at the grain filling period (GF).

Plant height (H) (cm)—Plants were characterized for height at harvest. Plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the longest leaf.

Relative growth rate of Plant height (cm/day)—was calculated based on Formula III above.

Number days to Heading (num)—Calculated as the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot arrives to heading.

Number days to Maturity (num)—Calculated as the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot arrives to seed maturation.

Vegetative DW per plant (gr.)—At the end of the growing period all vegetative material (excluding roots) from plots were collected and weighted after oven dry (dry weight). The biomass per plant was calculated by dividing total biomass by the number of plants.

Lower Stem dry density (F) (gr/cm³)—measured at flowering. Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plants and weighted (dry weight). To obtain stem density, internode dry weight was divided by the internode volume.

Lower Stem dry density (H) (gr/cm³)—measured at harvest. Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted (dry weight). To obtain stem density, internode dry weight was divided by the internode volume.

Lower Stem fresh density (F) (gr/cm³)—measured at flowering. Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plants and weighted (fresh weight). To obtain stem density, internodes fresh weight was divided by the stem volume.

Lower Stem fresh density (H) (gr/cm³)—measured at harvest. Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plants and weighted (fresh weight). To obtain stem density, internodes fresh weight was divided by the stem volume.

Lower Stem length (F) (cm)—Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plants at flowering (F). Internodes were measured for their length using a ruler.

Lower Stem length (H) (cm)—Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant at harvest (H). Internodes were measured for their length using a ruler.

Lower Stem width (F) (cm)—Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant at flowering (F). Internodes were measured for their width using a caliber.

Lower Stem width (GF) (cm)—Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant at grain filling (GF). Internodes were measured for their width using a caliber.

Lower Stem width (H) (cm)—Lower internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant at harvest (H). Internodes were measured for their width using a caliber.

Upper Stem dry density (F) (gr/cm³)—measured at flowering (F). Upper internodes from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted (dry weight). To obtain stem density, stem dry weight was divided by the stem volume.

Upper Stem dry density (H) (gr/cm³)—measured at harvest (H). Upper stems from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted (dry weight). To obtain stem density, stem dry weight was divided by the stem volume.

Upper Stem fresh density (F) (gr/cm³)—measured at flowering (F). Upper stems from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted (fresh weight). To obtain stem density, stem fresh weight was divided by the stem volume.

Upper Stem fresh density (H) (gr/cm³)—measured at harvest (H). Upper stems from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted (fresh weight). To obtain stem density, stem fresh weight was divided by the stem volume.

Upper Stem length (F) (cm)—Upper stems from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant at flowering (F). Stems were measured for their length using a ruler.

Upper Stem length (H) (cm)—Upper stems from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant at harvest (H). Stems were measured for their length using a ruler.

Upper Stem width (F) (cm)—Upper stems from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant at flowering (F). Stems were measured for their width using a caliber.

Upper Stem width (H) (cm)—Upper stems from selected plants per plot were separated from the plant at harvest (H). Stems were measured for their width using a caliber.

Upper Stem volume (H)—was calculated based on Formula L above.

Data parameters collected are summarized in Table 52, herein below.

TABLE 52

Sorghum correlated parameters under normal and drought
growth conditions (vectors)

Correlated parameter with	Correlation ID

% Canopy coverage (GF) [%]	1
% yellow leaves number (F) [%]	2
% yellow leaves number (H) [%]	3
1000 grain weight [gr.]	4
All Heads Area [cm²]	5
All Heads Width [cm]	6
All Heads length [cm]	7
Grain Circularity [cm²/cm²]	8
Grain area [cm²]	9
Grains num (SP) [num]	10
Grains yield per plant [gr.]	11
Harvest index (SP)	12
Head DW (GF) [gr.]	13
Head weight per plant (RP)/water until maturity [gr./lit]	14
Heads index (RP)	15
Heads per plant (RP) [num]	16
Heads weight per plant (RP) [kg]	17
LAI LP-80 (GF)	18
Leaves area per plant (GF) [cm²]	19
Leaves temperature_2 [° C.]	20
Leaves temperature_6 [° C.]	21
Lower Stem dry density (F) [gr./cm³]	22
Lower Stem dry density (H) [gr./cm³]	23
Lower Stem fresh density (F) [gr./cm³]	24
Lower Stem fresh density (H) [gr./cm³]	25
Lower Stem length (F) [cm]	26
Lower Stem length (H) [cm]	27
Lower Stem width (F) [cm]	28
Lower Stem width (GF) [cm]	29
Lower Stem width (H) [cm]	30
Main Head Area [cm²]	31
Main Head Width [cm]	32
Main Head length [cm]	33
Num days to Heading [num]	34
Num days to Maturity [num]	35
Plant height (H) [cm]	36
Plant height growth [cm/day]	37
RWC 2 [%]	38
SPAD 2 [SPAD unit]	39
SPAD 3 [SPAD unit]	40
Specific leaf area (GF) [cm²/gr]	41
Stomatal conductance (F) [mmol m⁻² s⁻¹]	42
Stomatal conductance (GF) [mmol m⁻² s⁻¹]	43
Upper Stem dry density (F) [gr/cm³]	44
Upper Stem dry density (H) [gr/cm³]	45
Upper Stem fresh density (F) [gr/cm³]	46
Upper Stem fresh density (H) [gr/cm³]	47
Upper Stem length (F) [cm]	48
Upper Stem length (H) [cm]	49
Upper Stem volume (H) [cm³]	50
Upper Stem width (F) [cm]	51
Upper Stem width (H) [cm]	52
Vegetative DW per plant [gr]	53
Waxy leaf blade [scoring 0-2]	54

Table 52. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors). “gr.” = grams; “kg” = kilograms“; “RP” = Rest of plot; “SP” = Selected plants; “num” = Number; “lit” = Liter; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “DW” = Plant Dry weight; “GF” = Grain filling growth stage; “F” = Flowering stage; “H” = Harvest stage; “cm” = Centimeter; “mmol” = millimole.

Twelve different sorghum hybrids were grown and characterized for different parameters (Table 52). The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software (Tables 53-56) and a subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Tables 57-58). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 53

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under normal conditions

Line/Corr.
ID	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6

1	94.985	69.219	97.525	83.591	92.773	84.341
2	0.611	0.853	0.548	0.314	0.713	0.573
3	0.406	0.111	0.370	0.126	0.485	0.149
4	27.623	22.819	14.876	18.467	28.471	27.138
5	114.483	79.685	77.873	79.688	218.954	100.146
6	5.536	4.925	6.197	4.558	9.988	6.545
7	27.738	21.360	17.811	23.739	32.185	19.449
8	0.8722	0.8653	0.8714	0.8821	0.8682	0.8856
9	0.154	0.119	0.098	0.122	0.154	0.149
10	12730.1	6281.9	4599.5	15182.6	12628.1	17505.0
11	43.867	18.013	8.536	33.168	44.326	60.190
12	0.218	0.185	0.054	0.253	0.261	0.375
13	29.307	12.924	27.947	41.320	38.867	15.243
14	0.248	0.163	0.136	0.197	0.178	0.285
15	0.343	0.402	0.241	0.338	0.361	0.532
16	NA	1.420	1.742	1.296	0.974	1.727
17	0.0569	0.0374	0.0312	0.0452	0.0409	0.0655
18	6.272	NA	6.111	5.422	5.432	NA
19	2825.8	1911.2	2030.0	2866.8	1554.7	2342.6
20	32.4397	32.1479	33.1993	32.3472	32.4000	31.0687
21	33.3486	33.9333	33.2315	33.3292	33.6167	33.8037
22	1.572	1.371	2.811	2.171	2.349	1.404
23	1.832	2.027	3.476	2.527	3.048	1.801
24	10.4667	10.6380	8.5509	10.8515	11.3170	10.0379
25	9.791	10.382	10.521	10.490	11.283	7.286
26	7.787	3.500	14.900	3.413	11.121	8.158
27	7.992	4.830	12.873	3.117	10.760	8.302
28	19.489	16.718	14.703	17.942	14.826	15.979
29	20.041	20.885	14.661	18.797	15.291	15.874
30	19.124	15.508	14.368	20.277	15.150	15.143
31	114.483	80.837	77.873	79.688	218.954	112.095
32	5.536	4.988	6.197	4.558	9.988	7.191
33	27.738	21.610	17.811	23.739	32.185	20.663
34	89.400	65.667	88.167	74.000	84.000	71.500
35	126	107	115	107	107	92
36	182.125	104.563	143.792	99.010	173.550	170.063
37	2.865	1.852	2.551	1.653	3.124	2.733
38	72.075	91.721	79.533	86.664	74.009	90.557
39	47.804	49.275	44.667	49.080	41.689	47.181
40	47.650	35.422	45.782	42.122	41.449	33.393
41	80.187	170.318	54.259	76.900	51.450	163.058
42	670.381	1017.614	584.437	640.600	349.994	553.500
43	382.950	809.436	468.742	486.858	421.500	633.092
44	NA	1.238	NA	NA	2.109	1.230
45	2.047	1.767	2.363	1.834	1.730	1.859
46	NA	9.790	NA	NA	10.444	9.383
47	6.605	8.924	6.425	8.250	7.243	4.635
48	NA	42.625	NA	NA	NA	9.208
49	38.783	45.049	24.530	52.492	38.385	34.019
50	2352.483	2169.089	968.809	2452.559	1997.708	2767.520
51	8.226	8.978	7.113	7.125	6.815	10.421
52	8.742	7.459	6.985	7.677	7.833	10.072
53	0.1255	0.0503	0.1223	0.0760	0.0966	0.0619
54	NA	2.000	NA	NA	NA	1.063

Table 53: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Line) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section. ”NA” = not available.

TABLE 54

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under normal growth conditions

Line/Corr.
ID	Line-7	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12

1	80.617	75.681	80.171	79.658	65.915	89.644
2	0.584	0.544	0.208	0.484	0.351	0.574
3	0.076	0.022	0.018	0.129	0.096	0.424
4	18.470	18.457	23.479	25.937	24.294	20.366
5	85.403	138.989	70.043	78.551	152.012	145.250
6	5.453	6.371	4.479	4.573	7.408	6.316
7	21.298	30.863	19.174	21.016	27.845	29.966
8	0.8879	0.8842	0.8895	0.8974	0.8873	0.8982
9	0.117	0.121	0.122	0.129	0.123	0.125
10	13887.9	21509.8	13138.7	16910.0	18205.2	24801.2
11	32.051	49.629	38.998	54.808	55.265	64.740
12	0.309	0.409	0.343	0.360	0.314	0.318
13	10.235	27.607	31.563	25.847	21.326	74.493
14	0.249	0.271	0.284	0.315	0.216	0.325
15	0.477	0.554	0.538	0.502	0.471	0.478
16	1.372	1.081	2.200	1.523	1.168	1.015
17	0.0571	0.0621	0.0652	0.0724	0.0495	0.0746
18	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	5.790
19	2008.9	2212.0	1495.5	1997.8	2692.1	2647.7
20	32.8562	33.0333	31.5844	32.4083	32.7021	32.7500
21	33.5694	33.8926	32.2764	32.9255	32.3765	33.3296
22	1.975	2.049	2.293	1.871	1.708	2.138
23	2.933	2.471	2.557	2.476	2.744	1.640
24	10.7072	10.8184	10.8381	10.8360	10.7013	10.5546
25	10.089	10.853	11.003	11.199	7.357	8.622
26	2.833	3.217	4.017	4.882	2.818	8.786
27	2.973	3.719	5.903	5.069	3.783	9.979
28	17.752	18.677	13.543	14.999	14.675	16.371
29	21.451	21.037	19.488	16.473	19.939	19.413
30	17.382	16.334	13.313	14.982	16.360	18.739
31	85.403	138.989	98.915	114.696	154.742	147.871
32	5.453	6.371	5.897	6.274	7.497	6.404
33	21.298	30.863	22.503	24.722	28.256	30.450
34	67.667	63.667	56.000	59.000	56.000	75.333
35	107	92	107	107	107	107
36	54.938	94.771	101.604	112.979	88.326	163.792
37	0.881	1.566	1.733	1.911	1.593	2.865
38	88.841	90.211	90.765	88.475	86.674	82.031
39	52.089	53.727	52.567	53.862	51.777	44.129
40	50.174	41.898	46.828	46.796	48.597	40.065
41	194.138	213.658	212.049	214.648	157.440	67.729
42	473.775	796.950	879.000	810.325	889.012	607.200
43	485.718	886.017	730.573	886.550	784.958	384.530
44	1.261	1.501	1.938	1.924	1.956	NA
45	1.756	1.747	1.788	1.663	1.868	1.674
46	10.215	9.687	9.981	10.737	10.326	NA
47	7.234	7.311	7.923	7.055	5.396	4.820
48	26.583	60.364	53.600	55.000	44.583	NA
49	28.808	59.663	51.983	54.794	45.548	48.496
50	1607.665	3510.662	2907.809	3639.453	3045.637	3301.794
51	9.430	9.537	8.043	8.853	7.913	8.071
52	8.417	8.607	8.513	9.187	9.136	9.311
53	0.0446	0.0446	0.0461	0.0626	0.0861	0.0991
54	1.125	1.438	1.000	1.750	1.000	NA

Table 54: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section. ”NA” = not available.

TABLE 55

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under drought growth conditions

Line/Corr.
ID	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6

1	86.887	61.338	75.023	77.781	75.524	80.375
2	0.371	0.728	0.407	0.695	0.425	0.878
3	0.286	0.424	0.256	0.478	0.366	0.394
4	24.160	19.803	14.209	14.639	25.540	20.829
5	72.386	93.839	30.770	55.311	131.242	76.546
6	4.272	5.395	3.511	3.722	6.999	5.270
7	22.325	24.388	12.159	19.926	27.603	18.164
8	0.8734	0.8718	0.8626	0.8754	0.8708	0.8866
9	0.1422	0.1143	0.0946	0.1115	0.1442	0.1309
10	6968	5452	3960	9839	6482	12403
11	23.833	13.673	6.991	18.234	20.717	34.426
12	0.135	0.158	0.065	0.187	0.255	0.291
13	NA	12.103	24.831	37.040	23.293	11.722
14	0.110	0.094	0.030	0.094	0.056	0.116
15	0.157	0.359	0.071	0.244	0.056	0.511
16	NA	2.017	1.000	1.041	NA	1.058
17	0.0227	0.0194	0.0063	0.0195	0.0115	0.0239
18	3.582	NA	2.642	3.428	2.805	NA
19	3308.1	1206.0	2464.6	1142.9	2116.3	1550.0
20	36.085	35.833	35.464	36.576	35.868	33.764
21	35.847	36.030	36.526	38.399	35.915	36.452
22	1.758	1.458	2.267	2.784	2.393	1.276
23	1.958	1.605	2.271	2.494	3.555	1.253
24	9.617	10.459	7.487	10.787	10.250	9.660
25	9.676	8.315	7.384	10.106	10.721	5.513
26	7.787	4.027	16.460	3.287	10.829	10.818
27	7.064	4.509	16.228	3.305	9.885	10.500
28	19.206	16.627	14.929	18.353	15.795	13.963
29	18.979	18.365	16.017	19.125	15.487	14.340
30	20.086	16.099	14.439	18.471	15.469	14.061
31	72.386	96.616	32.820	55.311	131.242	85.867
32	4.272	5.526	3.696	3.722	6.999	5.806
33	22.325	24.787	12.396	19.926	27.603	19.408
34	91.500	66.333	88.000	74.667	90.000	71.000
35	115.0	92.0	115.0	107.0	107.0	107.0
36	104.646	83.240	113.031	69.036	104.200	133.542
37	1.586	1.556	1.831	1.279	1.798	2.024
38	65.594	78.509	83.840	54.860	69.741	74.513
39	45.787	46.967	38.775	38.188	35.907	43.352
40	43.458	26.980	36.000	34.140	27.291	25.840
41	75.917	143.323	62.928	44.434	61.434	106.055
42	30.407	774.842	61.788	68.263	31.208	330.458
43	135.117	561.183	94.442	276.217	64.117	217.192
44	NA	1.436	NA	NA	NA	1.376
45	2.328	1.432	2.169	1.923	1.848	1.660
46	0.860	9.887	NA	NA	NA	8.097
47	9.451	5.717	7.258	8.602	6.533	3.604
48	25.000	40.000	NA	NA	NA	15.909
49	26.609	39.567	15.492	31.055	31.100	20.723
50	1288.2	2524.3	468.4	1128.6	1370.3	1724.9
51	10.083	9.422	6.421	6.773	7.809	9.702
52	7.788	8.919	5.873	6.628	7.453	10.203
53	0.0820	0.0392	0.0857	0.0623	0.0172	0.0475
54	NA	2.000	NA	NA	NA	1.000

Table 55: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 56

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under drought growth conditions

Line/Corr.
ID	Line-7	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12

1	64.246	70.802	64.110	75.677	72.095	87.168
2	0.678	0.807	0.788	0.731	0.741	0.831
3	0.326	0.329	0.364	0.377	0.469	0.625
4	15.432	13.299	17.877	20.239	18.706	17.951
5	67.460	112.580	82.793	100.459	122.877	86.267
6	4.570	4.959	4.994	5.560	7.292	4.721
7	19.614	30.763	20.985	23.992	24.820	24.418
8	0.8898	0.8835	0.8952	0.8974	0.8989	0.8889
9	0.1094	0.1019	0.1067	0.1162	0.1112	0.1205
10	9980	17494	14526	15729	10949	13808
11	19.098	29.216	31.744	40.213	25.228	29.520
12	0.235	0.325	0.335	0.342	0.222	0.223
13	9.324	19.286	33.147	27.315	24.680	50.380
14	0.127	0.171	0.203	0.244	0.160	0.151
15	0.445	0.480	0.544	0.524	0.462	0.348
16	1.139	1.002	1.181	1.113	1.294	0.851
17	0.0262	0.0353	0.0420	0.0503	0.0330	0.0312
18	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	3.941
19	1476.2	1773.1	1052.7	1408.5	417.2	1247.1
20	37.469	41.242	36.471	36.994	36.767	35.942
21	36.248	36.507	35.011	36.304	35.798	36.509
22	1.748	1.691	2.375	1.615	1.516	2.031
23	2.381	1.705	1.660	1.641	2.362	1.598
24	10.872	10.357	11.277	10.702	10.715	9.678
25	7.507	7.544	8.754	8.340	4.525	7.762
26	2.818	4.038	4.750	4.725	3.292	7.664
27	3.115	4.123	4.313	5.742	3.530	5.896
28	17.195	14.904	13.322	14.525	13.772	17.270
29	17.228	20.037	15.979	16.879	16.951	19.561
30	17.001	16.372	13.722	14.666	14.041	19.479
31	68.685	114.581	94.240	104.215	125.804	87.375
32	4.624	5.019	5.571	5.702	7.385	4.774
33	19.901	31.121	22.157	24.362	25.333	24.757
34	68.333	63.000	56.000	59.667	56.000	76.667
35	92.0	92.0	92.0	92.0	92.0	107.0
36	47.823	80.917	93.427	104.146	75.804	105.625
37	0.924	1.441	1.598	1.869	1.328	1.895
38	71.703	66.866	68.615	68.248	70.701	76.334
39	47.579	44.665	51.921	48.835	40.021	37.598
40	42.919	30.929	43.686	37.805	38.415	32.486
41	128.668	132.895	138.516	133.257	78.293	47.343
42	387.650	582.067	985.592	834.958	753.417	54.162
43	81.209	129.775	241.650	322.917	257.033	127.167
44	1.471	1.806	2.118	1.792	2.073	NA
45	1.550	1.654	1.621	1.634	1.712	1.759
46	10.693	10.122	10.486	10.012	10.557	NA
47	4.609	5.182	5.392	5.399	2.975	5.529
48	25.773	50.091	46.845	46.875	44.250	NA
49	24.072	48.602	48.781	48.731	38.213	26.050
50	1507.8	2865.3	2857.9	2956.0	1964.3	1288.5
51	9.066	7.925	8.170	8.543	7.672	7.365
52	8.878	8.605	8.586	8.727	8.126	7.850
53	0.0378	0.0328	0.0326	0.0435	0.0613	0.0761
54	1.250	1.688	1.125	1.750	1.375	NA

Table 56: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Seed ID) under drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 57

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across
Sorghum accessions

				Corr.					Corr.
Gene			Exp.	Set	Gene			Exp.	Set
Name	R	P value	set	ID	Name	R	P value	set	ID

LBY14	0.79	3.45E−02	2	51	LBY14	0.72	1.09E−01	2	16
LBY14	0.72	1.21E−02	5	17	LBY14	0.72	1.21E−02	5	14
LBY14	0.79	7.04E−03	4	52	LBY14	0.81	2.75E−03	3	51
LBY14	0.73	1.00E−02	3	38	LBY14	0.84	1.73E−02	1	45
LBY148	0.73	6.17E−02	2	9	LBY148	0.84	1.81E−02	2	45
LBY148	0.70	1.18E−01	5	54	LBY148	0.74	9.43E−03	5	42
LBY148	0.77	9.16E−03	6	45	LBY148	0.83	2.82E−03	4	4
LBY148	0.77	9.25E−03	4	32	LBY148	0.80	5.26E−03	4	9
LBY148	0.72	1.23E−02	3	2	LBY148	0.73	6.24E−02	1	4
LBY148	0.84	1.89E−02	1	9	LBY148	0.84	1.94E−02	1	45
LBY148	0.73	6.03E−02	1	34	LBY149	0.83	2.09E−02	2	15
LBY149	0.80	3.08E−02	2	51	LBY149	0.83	2.09E−02	2	12
LBY149	0.84	1.70E−02	2	38	LBY149	0.79	3.43E−02	2	43
LBY149	0.90	5.93E−03	2	41	LBY149	0.81	2.58E−02	2	39
LBY149	0.84	2.23E−03	6	6	LBY149	0.75	1.26E−02	6	31
LBY149	0.72	1.94E−02	6	39	LBY149	0.77	8.48E−03	6	32
LBY149	0.82	4.60E−02	6	54	LBY149	0.78	8.19E−03	6	5
LBY149	0.71	2.06E−02	4	12	LBY149	0.80	5.32E−03	4	32
LBY149	0.81	2.70E−02	1	43	LBY149	0.79	6.40E−02	1	16
LBY149	0.91	4.03E−03	1	41	LBY149	0.96	6.80E−04	1	39
LBY150	0.76	4.76E−02	2	4	LBY150	0.73	1.76E−02	4	51
LBY150	0.75	5.00E−02	1	22	LBY150	0.83	2.00E−02	1	49
LBY151	0.71	2.22E−02	6	6	LBY151	0.93	6.40E−03	4	54
LBY151	0.75	7.89E−03	3	43	LBY151	0.81	5.10E−02	3	48
LBY151	0.77	5.55E−03	3	49	LBY151	0.78	3.97E−02	1	6
LBY151	0.92	3.41E−03	1	37	LBY151	0.81	2.84E−02	1	7
LBY151	0.78	4.06E−02	1	27	LBY151	0.71	7.40E−02	1	31
LBY151	0.70	7.73E−02	1	33	LBY151	0.90	5.80E−03	1	3
LBY151	0.86	1.20E−02	1	53	LBY151	0.86	1.40E−02	1	9
LBY151	0.87	1.02E−02	1	26	LBY151	0.78	3.82E−02	1	1
LBY151	0.81	2.58E−02	1	5	LBY151	0.97	3.58E−04	1	34
LBY151	0.90	6.47E−03	1	36	LBY152	0.71	7.12E−02	2	10
LBY152	0.75	5.14E−02	2	52	LBY152	0.72	6.67E−02	2	11
LBY152	0.73	1.75E−02	5	16	LBY152	0.84	1.11E−03	5	42
LBY152	0.73	1.63E−02	4	43	LBY152	0.71	1.16E−01	4	54
LBY152	0.78	6.47E−02	4	48	LBY152	0.74	1.48E−02	4	49
LBY152	0.82	1.99E−03	3	38	LBY152	0.74	9.12E−03	3	43
LBY152	0.73	9.73E−02	3	48	LBY152	0.74	9.25E−03	3	49
LBY152	0.75	8.01E−03	3	42	LBY152	0.81	2.81E−02	1	28
LBY152	0.77	4.11E−02	1	51	LBY152	0.72	6.85E−02	1	45
LBY152	0.83	2.14E−02	1	19	LBY153	0.79	3.46E−02	2	20
LBY153	0.75	5.15E−02	2	13	LBY153	0.81	2.60E−03	5	51
LBY153	0.72	1.18E−02	5	41	LBY153	0.71	2.13E−02	6	45
LBY153	0.74	9.69E−03	3	19	LBY153	0.74	9.41E−03	3	30
LBY153	0.71	7.40E−02	1	29	LBY153	0.77	4.27E−02	1	40
LBY153	0.73	6.24E−02	1	49	LBY153	0.80	2.97E−02	1	35
LBY154	0.80	3.07E−02	2	53	LBY154	0.70	7.95E−02	2	9
LBY154	0.92	3.33E−03	2	45	LBY154	0.75	5.21E−02	2	1
LBY154	0.83	2.20E−02	2	34	LBY154	0.84	1.71E−02	2	35
LBY154	0.70	1.57E−02	5	7	LBY154	0.82	4.44E−02	6	54
LBY154	0.77	4.28E−02	1	4	LBY154	0.76	4.63E−02	1	53
LBY154	0.84	1.72E−02	1	9	LBY154	0.81	2.65E−02	1	45
LBY154	0.75	5.01E−02	1	1	LBY154	0.72	6.64E−02	1	34
LBY155	0.78	3.65E−02	2	4	LBY155	0.81	2.60E−02	2	37
LBY155	0.78	3.78E−02	2	53	LBY155	0.73	6.21E−02	2	9
LBY155	0.82	2.44E−02	2	36	LBY155	0.82	3.75E−03	6	51
LBY155	0.74	1.52E−02	6	41	LBY155	0.73	1.72E−02	4	51
LBY155	0.74	1.36E−02	4	43	LBY155	0.77	9.82E−03	4	41
LBY155	0.72	6.56E−02	1	51	LBY156	0.72	6.80E−02	2	9
LBY156	0.75	5.15E−02	2	45	LBY156	0.72	2.75E−02	6	16
LBY156	0.76	6.94E−03	3	8	LBY156	0.72	1.21E−02	3	10
LBY156	0.73	1.06E−02	3	15	LBY156	0.77	5.78E−03	3	51
LBY156	0.74	8.75E−03	3	52	LBY156	0.82	2.24E−03	3	12
LBY156	0.82	1.85E−03	3	50	LBY156	0.81	2.65E−03	3	17
LBY156	0.81	2.65E−03	3	14	LBY156	0.77	5.73E−03	3	11
LBY156	0.77	4.30E−02	1	9	LBY157	0.79	3.57E−02	2	51
LBY157	0.83	1.51E−03	5	25	LBY157	0.74	9.31E−02	5	54
LBY157	0.95	3.83E−03	5	48	LBY157	0.73	1.66E−02	4	39
LBY157	0.74	9.24E−02	3	54	LBY157	0.75	5.32E−02	1	28
LBY157	0.84	1.72E−02	1	45	LBY157	0.77	4.25E−02	1	35
LBY158	0.79	3.57E−02	2	37	LBY158	0.73	6.12E−02	2	27
LBY158	0.76	4.82E−02	2	3	LBY158	0.87	1.01E−02	2	53
LBY158	0.77	4.26E−02	2	9	LBY158	0.73	6.48E−02	2	26
LBY158	0.79	3.30E−02	2	45	LBY158	0.91	5.07E−03	2	1
LBY158	0.91	4.37E−03	2	34	LBY158	0.85	1.63E−02	2	36
LBY158	0.76	7.10E−03	5	26	LBY158	0.84	1.34E−03	5	45
LBY158	0.74	1.38E−02	6	35	LBY158	0.75	1.17E−02	4	28
LBY158	0.82	3.80E−03	4	45	LBY158	0.70	2.29E−02	4	35
LBY158	0.73	6.29E−02	1	37	LBY158	0.73	6.10E−02	1	7
LBY158	0.80	3.08E−02	1	3	LBY158	0.85	1.43E−02	1	53
LBY158	0.84	1.87E−02	1	9	LBY158	0.78	3.96E−02	1	1
LBY158	0.89	7.84E−03	1	34	LBY158	0.74	5.48E−02	1	36
LBY159	0.78	6.79E−02	5	54	LBY159	0.79	6.84E−03	4	29
LBY159	0.92	2.86E−03	1	28	LBY159	0.79	3.41E−02	1	45
LBY159	0.76	4.70E−02	1	35	LBY160	0.88	1.98E−02	5	48
LBY160	0.91	2.08E−04	4	8	LBY160	0.81	4.58E−03	4	15
LBY160	0.85	1.72E−03	4	12	LBY160	0.81	4.41E−03	4	17
LBY160	0.81	4.41E−03	4	14	LBY160	0.73	1.08E−02	3	8
LBY160	0.73	1.14E−02	3	51	LBY160	0.72	1.33E−02	3	52
LBY160	0.73	6.32E−02	1	51	LBY160	0.82	2.42E−02	1	21
LBY161	0.72	6.60E−02	2	8	LBY161	0.84	1.81E−02	2	10
LBY161	0.81	2.58E−02	2	50	LBY161	0.81	2.63E−02	2	17
LBY161	0.81	2.63E−02	2	14	LBY161	0.74	5.93E−02	2	11
LBY161	0.73	6.38E−02	2	13	LBY161	0.71	7.60E−02	2	49
LBY161	0.89	7.83E−03	2	19	LBY161	0.71	7.38E−02	2	42
LBY161	0.79	3.80E−03	5	50	LBY161	0.79	6.38E−02	5	48
LBY161	0.85	1.00E−03	5	49	LBY161	0.74	1.50E−02	6	50
LBY161	0.78	5.06E−03	3	10	LBY161	0.81	2.39E−03	3	50
LBY161	0.79	3.97E−03	3	17	LBY161	0.79	3.97E−03	3	14
LBY161	0.75	8.35E−03	3	11	LBY161	0.79	3.62E−02	1	8
LBY161	0.74	5.73E−02	1	10	LBY161	0.82	2.41E−02	1	17
LBY161	0.82	2.41E−02	1	14	LBY161	0.85	1.46E−02	1	19
LBY162	0.85	1.56E−02	2	21	LBY162	0.82	2.49E−02	2	9
LBY162	0.90	6.36E−03	2	45	LBY162	0.76	6.16E−03	5	25
LBY162	0.70	7.76E−02	5	44	LBY162	0.88	2.14E−02	5	54
LBY162	0.91	1.21E−02	5	48	LBY162	0.72	1.27E−02	5	49
LBY162	0.73	1.03E−02	5	42	LBY162	0.88	7.46E−04	6	6
LBY162	0.83	2.81E−03	6	31	LBY162	0.88	8.20E−04	6	32
LBY162	0.82	3.57E−03	6	5	LBY162	0.83	5.69E−03	4	16
LBY162	0.74	1.40E−02	4	39	LBY162	0.78	6.64E−02	4	54
LBY162	0.80	5.39E−02	4	48	LBY162	0.73	1.62E−02	4	42
LBY162	0.77	5.57E−03	3	38	LBY162	0.75	7.29E−03	3	41
LBY162	0.70	1.55E−02	3	39	LBY162	0.72	1.32E−02	3	45
LBY162	0.78	4.29E−03	3	42	LBY162	0.71	7.61E−02	1	4
LBY162	0.72	6.91E−02	1	28	LBY162	0.78	3.67E−02	1	53
LBY162	0.90	6.08E−03	1	9	LBY162	0.81	2.75E−02	1	45
LBY162	0.81	2.60E−02	1	34	LBY162	0.86	1.27E−02	1	35
LBY162	0.81	2.76E−02	1	36	LBY163	0.73	6.25E−02	2	8
LBY163	0.80	3.06E−02	2	10	LBY163	0.88	8.62E−03	2	22
LBY163	0.84	1.85E−02	5	44	LBY163	0.96	2.33E−03	5	48
LBY163	0.76	8.10E−02	6	54	LBY163	0.77	5.58E−03	3	50
LBY163	0.94	5.88E−03	3	48	LBY163	0.86	7.81E−04	3	49
LBY163	0.74	5.82E−02	1	4	LBY163	0.75	5.36E−02	1	6
LBY163	0.81	2.67E−02	1	37	LBY163	0.73	6.38E−02	1	27
LBY163	0.72	7.01E−02	1	31	LBY163	0.76	4.92E−02	1	3
LBY163	0.76	4.88E−02	1	53	LBY163	0.92	3.71E−03	1	9
LBY163	0.81	2.56E−02	1	26	LBY163	0.86	1.32E−02	1	1
LBY163	0.75	5.01E−02	1	5	LBY163	0.84	1.67E−02	1	34
LBY163	0.81	2.68E−02	1	36	LBY164	0.79	3.34E−02	2	10
LBY164	0.93	2.48E−03	2	13	LBY164	0.78	7.35E−03	4	47
LBY164	0.72	1.08E−01	4	54	LBY164	0.76	8.26E−02	4	48
LBY164	0.73	1.63E−02	4	49	LBY164	0.90	3.42E−04	4	42
LBY164	0.79	4.01E−03	3	45	LBY164	0.85	1.67E−02	1	13
LBY165	0.83	2.14E−02	2	37	LBY165	0.90	5.61E−03	2	27
LBY165	0.79	3.28E−02	2	31	LBY165	0.72	6.87E−02	2	33
LBY165	0.94	1.75E−03	2	3	LBY165	0.78	3.89E−02	2	53
LBY165	0.87	1.06E−02	2	26	LBY165	0.81	2.58E−02	2	13
LBY165	0.79	3.57E−02	2	1	LBY165	0.78	3.66E−02	2	5
LBY165	0.74	5.53E−02	2	36	LBY165	0.70	1.63E−02	5	50
LBY165	0.80	5.60E−02	5	48	LBY165	0.82	2.03E−03	5	49
LBY165	0.74	9.17E−02	6	54	LBY165	0.79	6.38E−03	4	15
LBY165	0.70	2.35E−02	4	52	LBY165	0.71	2.12E−02	4	12
LBY165	0.85	1.78E−03	4	43	LBY165	0.90	1.57E−02	4	54
LBY165	0.84	2.31E−03	4	42	LBY165	0.86	5.95E−04	3	15
LBY165	0.74	8.72E−03	3	12	LBY165	0.76	7.01E−03	3	50
LBY165	0.77	6.06E−03	3	17	LBY165	0.77	6.06E−03	3	14
LBY165	0.77	4.35E−02	1	21	LBY165	0.73	6.18E−02	1	2
LBY166	0.72	6.53E−02	2	25	LBY166	0.76	4.53E−02	2	47
LBY166	0.80	3.26E−02	2	20	LBY166	0.73	1.10E−02	3	10
LBY166	0.81	2.29E−03	3	13	LBY166	0.79	3.41E−02	1	22
LBY166	0.78	3.69E−02	1	49	LBY167	0.78	3.86E−02	2	53
LBY167	0.76	4.67E−02	2	1	LBY167	0.71	7.30E−02	2	36
LBY167	0.87	1.15E−03	6	45	LBY167	0.84	2.45E−03	4	45
LBY167	0.78	5.01E−03	3	27	LBY167	0.85	9.04E−04	3	26
LBY167	0.75	8.05E−03	3	45	LBY167	0.71	7.21E−02	1	20
LBY167	0.72	6.98E−02	1	53	LBY167	0.75	5.32E−02	1	40
LBY167	0.92	3.22E−03	1	35	LBY168	0.77	4.48E−02	2	25
LBY168	0.86	1.25E−02	2	15	LBY168	0.84	1.77E−02	2	51
LBY168	0.84	1.81E−02	2	12	LBY168	0.89	7.57E−03	2	38
LBY168	0.82	2.43E−02	2	43	LBY168	0.91	4.63E−03	2	41
LBY168	0.85	1.43E−02	2	39	LBY168	0.91	4.06E−03	2	49
LBY168	0.91	1.24E−02	5	48	LBY168	0.72	1.17E−02	5	45
LBY168	0.80	5.29E−03	6	8	LBY168	0.74	1.53E−02	6	10
LBY168	0.95	1.17E−03	6	46	LBY168	0.71	2.11E−02	6	50
LBY168	0.71	2.12E−02	6	17	LBY168	0.83	5.83E−03	6	16
LBY168	0.71	2.12E−02	6	14	LBY168	0.71	2.21E−02	4	15
LBY168	0.75	1.20E−02	4	43	LBY168	0.71	2.12E−02	4	41
LBY168	0.82	4.70E−02	4	54	LBY168	0.73	1.76E−02	4	9
LBY168	0.74	9.26E−02	4	48	LBY168	0.91	2.82E−04	4	42
LBY168	0.74	5.69E−02	1	52	LBY168	0.81	2.62E−02	1	22
LBY168	0.70	7.84E−02	1	17	LBY168	0.70	7.84E−02	1	14
LBY168	0.74	5.60E−02	1	11	LBY168	0.74	5.97E−02	1	40
LBY168	0.87	1.14E−02	1	13	LBY170	0.83	4.31E−02	2	16
LBY170	0.89	6.78E−03	2	45	LBY170	0.89	1.80E−02	5	48
LBY170	0.73	6.33E−02	1	45	LBY171	0.71	7.55E−02	2	53
LBY171	0.73	6.33E−02	2	9	LBY171	0.74	5.54E−02	2	45
LBY171	0.79	3.33E−02	2	19	LBY171	0.83	2.17E−02	2	34
LBY171	0.85	3.15E−02	5	54	LBY171	0.91	1.20E−02	6	48
LBY171	0.83	3.20E−03	6	45	LBY171	0.80	5.68E−03	4	6
LBY171	0.70	2.33E−02	4	27	LBY171	0.79	6.29E−03	4	31
LBY171	0.79	7.12E−03	4	32	LBY171	0.86	1.27E−03	4	3
LBY171	0.79	6.66E−03	4	53	LBY171	0.82	3.97E−03	4	26
LBY171	0.79	6.41E−03	4	1	LBY171	0.79	6.37E−03	4	34
LBY171	0.78	8.24E−03	4	5	LBY171	0.77	5.58E−03	3	3
LBY171	0.83	1.63E−03	3	53	LBY171	0.78	4.48E−03	3	26
LBY171	0.92	4.61E−05	3	1	LBY171	0.89	2.19E−04	3	34
LBY171	0.79	3.28E−02	1	28	LBY171	0.89	7.21E−03	1	53
LBY171	0.78	4.03E−02	1	45	LBY171	0.70	7.71E−02	1	1
LBY171	0.82	2.47E−02	1	34	LBY171	0.84	1.91E−02	1	35
LBY171	0.74	5.82E−02	1	30	LBY173	0.79	3.50E−02	2	10
LBY173	0.73	6.26E−02	2	37	LBY173	0.74	5.71E−02	2	3
LBY173	0.89	7.12E−03	2	53	LBY173	0.73	6.41E−02	2	13
LBY173	0.74	5.50E−02	2	45	LBY173	0.87	1.13E−02	2	1
LBY173	0.78	3.66E−02	2	19	LBY173	0.91	4.39E−03	2	34
LBY173	0.79	3.44E−02	2	36	LBY173	0.74	9.45E−03	5	3
LBY173	0.75	8.59E−02	5	54	LBY173	0.81	2.69E−03	5	13
LBY173	0.73	6.22E−02	6	46	LBY173	0.75	5.23E−02	6	44
LBY173	0.92	1.28E−04	6	13	LBY173	0.70	2.39E−02	6	19
LBY173	0.80	5.24E−03	4	10	LBY173	0.92	9.67E−03	4	54
LBY173	0.73	1.66E−02	4	11	LBY173	0.74	8.96E−03	3	27
LBY173	0.91	4.82E−03	3	44	LBY173	0.82	2.11E−03	3	26
LBY173	0.84	1.11E−03	3	45	LBY173	0.70	7.88E−02	1	10
LBY173	0.83	2.05E−02	1	53	LBY173	0.86	1.38E−02	1	13
LBY173	0.90	6.35E−03	1	1	LBY173	0.72	6.53E−02	1	34
LBY174	0.84	1.77E−02	2	9	LBY174	0.85	1.58E−02	5	44
LBY174	0.79	4.08E−03	5	13	LBY174	0.93	7.24E−03	5	48
LBY175	0.78	3.77E−02	2	25	LBY175	0.72	6.76E−02	2	47
LBY175	0.71	7.52E−02	1	25	LBY175	0.87	1.06E−02	1	47
LBY176	0.79	3.49E−02	2	8	LBY176	0.72	6.70E−02	2	17
LBY176	0.72	6.70E−02	2	14	LBY176	0.88	3.39E−04	5	3
LBY176	0.82	1.93E−03	5	53	LBY176	0.75	8.41E−03	5	1
LBY176	0.82	2.16E−03	5	34	LBY176	0.83	2.72E−03	6	53
LBY176	0.72	2.01E−02	6	35	LBY176	0.72	1.98E−02	4	43
LBY176	0.73	1.12E−02	3	23	LBY176	0.73	1.03E−02	3	27
LBY176	0.83	1.50E−03	3	26	LBY176	0.80	2.85E−03	3	45
LBY176	0.90	5.27E−03	1	49	LBY177	0.98	1.73E−04	2	10
LBY177	0.72	6.61E−02	2	17	LBY177	0.72	6.61E−02	2	14
LBY177	0.76	4.59E−02	2	11	LBY177	0.76	4.95E−02	2	13
LBY177	0.90	8.34E−04	6	16	LBY177	0.82	3.97E−03	6	41
LBY177	0.73	1.58E−02	6	39	LBY177	0.75	1.19E−02	6	45
LBY177	0.81	8.80E−03	4	16	LBY177	0.72	1.33E−02	3	8
LBY177	0.87	4.54E−04	3	15	LBY177	0.76	7.12E−03	3	12
LBY177	0.84	1.25E−03	3	38	LBY177	0.79	3.59E−03	3	50
LBY177	0.71	1.50E−02	3	43	LBY177	0.72	1.26E−02	3	17
LBY177	0.74	8.65E−03	3	41	LBY177	0.72	1.26E−02	3	14
LBY177	0.74	9.72E−03	3	42	LBY177	0.71	7.67E−02	1	28
LBY177	0.84	1.90E−02	1	37	LBY177	0.85	1.58E−02	1	27
LBY177	0.77	4.41E−02	1	53	LBY177	0.74	5.68E−02	1	9
LBY177	0.84	1.90E−02	1	26	LBY177	0.82	2.26E−02	1	45
LBY177	0.76	4.76E−02	1	1	LBY177	0.75	5.28E−02	1	19
LBY177	0.73	6.50E−02	1	34	LBY177	0.83	2.02E−02	1	36
LBY178	0.73	6.28E−02	2	10	LBY178	0.70	7.91E−02	2	28
LBY178	0.70	7.91E−02	2	52	LBY178	0.72	7.09E−02	2	50
LBY178	0.80	5.34E−02	2	16	LBY178	0.87	1.16E−02	2	45
LBY178	0.90	5.62E−03	2	49	LBY178	0.74	5.58E−02	2	19
LBY178	0.80	3.24E−02	2	34	LBY178	0.73	1.69E−02	6	8
LBY178	0.78	8.29E−03	6	6	LBY178	0.72	1.04E−01	6	48
LBY178	0.71	2.11E−02	4	15	LBY178	0.75	8.70E−02	4	48
LBY178	0.71	2.06E−02	4	19	LBY178	0.80	2.90E−03	3	8
LBY178	0.71	1.53E−02	3	21	LBY178	0.70	7.76E−02	1	8
LBY178	0.81	2.62E−02	1	51	LBY178	0.82	2.54E−02	1	49
LBY179	0.81	2.78E−02	2	9	LBY179	0.81	2.61E−02	2	45
LBY179	0.71	1.49E−02	5	25	LBY179	0.95	3.86E−03	5	48
LBY179	0.82	4.62E−02	6	54	LBY179	0.83	3.18E−03	4	3
LBY179	0.79	6.71E−03	4	53	LBY179	0.78	8.15E−03	4	1
LBY179	0.91	2.64E−04	4	34	LBY179	0.78	4.00E−02	1	45
LBY180	0.80	3.07E−02	2	3	LBY180	0.94	1.47E−03	2	53
LBY180	0.86	1.31E−02	2	1	LBY180	0.83	2.20E−02	2	34
LBY180	0.80	3.14E−02	2	35	LBY180	0.79	3.29E−02	2	30
LBY180	0.79	4.15E−03	5	22	LBY180	0.89	7.77E−03	5	44
LBY180	0.82	4.70E−02	5	48	LBY180	0.71	2.20E−02	6	23
LBY180	0.71	2.18E−02	4	53	LBY180	0.77	9.94E−03	4	13
LBY180	0.76	7.82E−02	4	48	LBY180	0.71	2.19E−02	4	19
LBY180	0.81	2.73E−02	1	28	LBY180	0.71	7.32E−02	1	3
LBY180	0.92	3.78E−03	1	53	LBY180	0.76	4.97E−02	1	1
LBY180	0.81	2.64E−02	1	19	LBY180	0.78	3.98E−02	1	34
LBY180	0.76	4.67E−02	1	35	LBY180	0.72	7.06E−02	1	36
LBY180	0.92	3.03E−03	1	30	LBY181	0.85	1.46E−02	2	8
LBY181	0.70	7.92E−02	2	10	LBY181	0.81	2.75E−02	2	17
LBY181	0.81	2.75E−02	2	14	LBY181	0.74	5.88E−02	2	13
LBY181	0.73	1.09E−02	5	25	LBY181	0.78	4.03E−02	5	46
LBY181	0.71	2.12E−02	6	51	LBY181	0.75	1.28E−02	3	16
LBY181	0.75	5.00E−02	1	29	LBY181	0.86	1.40E−02	1	40
LBY181	0.75	5.04E−02	1	35	LBY182	0.86	1.26E−02	2	28
LBY182	0.76	4.55E−02	2	45	LBY182	0.72	1.33E−02	5	20
LBY182	0.70	1.62E−02	5	53	LBY182	0.88	2.23E−02	5	48
LBY182	0.72	1.28E−02	5	45	LBY182	0.70	2.37E−02	6	37
LBY182	0.78	8.00E−03	6	3	LBY182	0.83	3.18E−03	6	53
LBY182	0.72	1.92E−02	6	11	LBY182	0.72	1.78E−02	6	26
LBY182	0.73	1.69E−02	6	1	LBY182	0.72	1.91E−02	6	36
LBY182	0.78	7.96E−03	4	53	LBY182	0.85	1.71E−03	4	9
LBY182	0.76	1.03E−02	4	45	LBY182	0.78	8.14E−03	4	1
LBY182	0.81	4.83E−03	4	34	LBY182	0.86	6.46E−04	3	45
LBY182	0.75	5.34E−02	1	47	LBY182	0.77	4.49E−02	1	20
LBY182	0.93	2.43E−03	1	35	LBY183	0.78	3.72E−02	2	6
LBY183	0.71	7.13E−02	2	27	LBY183	0.78	3.82E−02	2	31
LBY183	0.75	5.05E−02	2	32	LBY183	0.78	3.80E−02	2	5
LBY183	0.72	1.24E−02	5	22	LBY183	0.85	1.49E−02	5	44
LBY183	0.71	1.43E−02	5	26	LBY183	0.92	9.13E−03	5	48
LBY183	0.76	1.11E−02	4	13	LBY183	0.75	8.28E−02	4	48
LBY183	0.74	1.42E−02	4	30	LBY183	0.83	2.09E−02	1	4
LBY183	0.77	4.31E−02	1	6	LBY183	0.71	7.51E−02	1	37
LBY183	0.84	1.78E−02	1	27	LBY183	0.72	7.04E−02	1	32
LBY183	0.85	1.57E−02	1	9	LBY183	0.77	4.20E−02	1	26
LBY183	0.83	2.07E−02	1	45	LBY184	0.85	3.19E−02	2	16
LBY184	0.76	1.71E−02	6	16	LBY184	0.80	5.58E−03	4	19
LBY185	0.79	3.32E−02	2	45	LBY185	0.88	8.93E−04	5	16
LBY185	0.78	7.22E−03	6	50	LBY185	0.80	3.14E−03	3	42
LBY185	0.77	4.49E−02	1	4	LBY185	0.79	3.39E−02	1	9
LBY185	0.87	1.15E−02	1	45	LBY186	0.74	5.54E−02	2	45
LBY186	0.77	9.01E−03	6	38	LBY186	0.89	6.42E−04	6	6
LBY186	0.84	2.59E−03	6	31	LBY186	0.84	2.41E−03	6	32
LBY186	0.85	2.04E−03	6	5	LBY186	0.91	2.30E−04	4	15
LBY186	0.84	2.54E−03	4	12	LBY186	0.79	6.24E−03	4	38
LBY186	0.78	3.89E−02	4	44	LBY186	0.77	8.70E−03	4	43
LBY186	0.83	2.69E−03	4	41	LBY186	0.87	1.13E−03	4	39
LBY186	0.87	2.30E−02	4	48	LBY186	0.79	3.58E−03	3	15
LBY186	0.73	1.05E−02	3	12	LBY186	0.82	1.98E−03	3	43
LBY186	0.75	8.13E−03	3	41	LBY186	0.75	8.79E−02	3	48
LBY187	0.84	1.84E−02	2	8	LBY187	0.73	6.23E−02	2	10
LBY187	0.72	6.53E−02	2	50	LBY187	0.72	6.73E−02	2	17
LBY187	0.72	6.73E−02	2	14	LBY187	0.70	7.78E−02	2	49
LBY187	0.89	6.64E−04	6	45	LBY187	0.74	1.52E−02	6	34
LBY187	0.72	1.23E−02	3	10	LBY187	0.71	1.37E−02	3	15
LBY187	0.76	6.71E−03	3	12	LBY187	0.75	8.19E−03	3	50
LBY187	0.78	3.90E−02	1	22	LBY187	0.72	6.71E−02	1	49
LBY188	0.77	4.42E−02	2	8	LBY188	0.71	7.67E−02	2	39
LBY188	0.74	9.31E−02	5	54	LBY188	0.78	8.05E−03	6	8
LBY188	0.81	4.46E−03	4	19	LBY188	0.71	7.37E−02	1	8
LBY188	0.71	7.13E−02	1	49	LBY189	0.80	3.08E−02	2	8
LBY189	0.74	1.37E−02	6	53	LBY189	0.70	7.81E−02	3	46
LBY189	0.71	7.23E−02	3	44	LBY189	0.74	8.99E−03	3	13
LBY189	0.83	2.06E−02	1	10	LBY189	0.72	6.91E−02	1	22
LBY189	0.87	1.16E−02	1	13	LBY189	0.73	6.03E−02	1	30
LBY190	0.72	7.04E−02	2	27	LBY190	0.75	5.10E−02	2	3
LBY190	0.92	3.14E−03	2	13	LBY190	0.76	8.00E−02	5	54
LBY190	0.78	7.15E−03	4	28	LBY190	0.84	2.55E−03	4	45
LBY190	0.91	1.10E−04	3	6	LBY190	0.74	9.33E−03	3	31
LBY190	0.90	1.88E−04	3	32	LBY190	0.75	7.88E−03	3	5
LBY191	0.79	3.64E−02	2	52	LBY191	0.75	5.26E−02	5	44
LBY191	0.82	4.57E−02	5	48	LBY191	0.76	1.05E−02	4	8
LBY191	0.71	2.10E−02	4	15	LBY191	0.83	2.70E−03	4	52
LBY191	0.82	4.02E−03	4	17	LBY191	0.82	4.02E−03	4	14
LBY191	0.74	1.45E−02	4	11	LBY191	0.84	1.32E−03	3	52
LBY191	0.70	1.64E−02	3	17	LBY191	0.70	1.64E−02	3	14
LBY191	0.79	3.51E−02	1	51	LBY192	0.70	7.84E−02	2	10
LBY192	0.92	3.39E−03	2	13	LBY192	0.74	1.46E−02	5	16
LBY192	0.88	2.24E−02	5	48	LBY192	0.73	1.56E−02	6	45
LBY192	0.82	3.39E−03	4	8	LBY192	0.73	1.71E−02	4	6
LBY192	0.74	1.52E−02	4	37	LBY192	0.84	2.11E−03	4	27
LBY192	0.80	5.58E−03	4	17	LBY192	0.71	2.15E−02	4	31
LBY192	0.80	5.58E−03	4	14	LBY192	0.84	2.15E−03	4	32
LBY192	0.71	2.07E−02	4	11	LBY192	0.82	3.34E−03	4	26
LBY192	0.76	4.59E−02	1	10	LBY192	0.86	1.20E−02	1	38
LBY192	0.89	7.81E−03	1	37	LBY192	0.88	9.35E−03	1	27
LBY192	0.70	7.91E−02	1	3	LBY192	0.79	3.63E−02	1	11
LBY192	0.86	1.27E−02	1	26	LBY192	0.86	1.38E−02	1	36
LGN3	0.85	1.46E−02	2	51	LGN3	0.71	7.59E−02	2	52
LGN3	0.77	4.49E−02	2	45	LGN3	0.80	2.94E−02	5	46
LGN3	0.79	3.59E−02	5	44	LGN3	0.79	3.65E−03	5	40
LGN3	0.73	1.62E−02	6	51	LGN3	0.73	1.57E−02	4	45
LGN3	0.74	8.56E−03	3	43	LGN3	0.73	1.01E−02	3	41
LGN3	0.72	1.33E−02	3	39	LGN3	0.71	7.45E−02	1	4
LGN3	0.74	5.94E−02	1	28	LGN3	0.92	3.11E−03	1	45
LGN3	0.74	5.53E−02	1	35	LGN5	0.93	2.78E−03	2	10
LGN5	0.77	4.43E−02	2	50	LGN5	0.71	7.23E−02	2	43
LGN5	0.70	7.72E−02	2	11	LGN5	0.77	4.41E−02	2	13
LGN5	0.73	6.33E−02	2	49	LGN5	0.72	6.68E−02	2	42
LGN5	0.70	1.59E−02	5	53	LGN5	0.79	3.68E−03	5	35
LGN5	0.83	5.88E−03	6	16	LGN5	0.82	3.90E−03	6	45
LGN5	0.70	2.32E−02	6	35	LGN5	0.81	4.78E−03	4	43
LGN5	0.76	1.08E−02	4	41	LGN5	0.78	8.41E−03	4	39
LGN5	0.94	5.85E−03	4	48	LGN5	0.79	6.58E−03	4	42
LGN5	0.93	2.31E−03	3	44	LGN5	0.72	1.06E−01	3	48
LGN5	0.76	4.70E−02	1	17	LGN5	0.76	4.70E−02	1	14
LGN5	0.85	1.65E−02	1	45	LGN54	0.71	7.25E−02	2	45
LGN54	0.89	7.01E−03	5	44	LGN54	0.90	1.48E−02	5	48
LGN54	0.72	1.97E−02	6	6	LGN54	0.70	2.35E−02	6	7
LGN54	0.74	1.46E−02	6	31	LGN54	0.81	4.71E−03	6	3
LGN54	0.78	7.66E−03	6	1	LGN54	0.78	7.88E−03	6	5
LGN54	0.74	1.54E−02	4	22	LGN54	0.77	4.38E−02	3	46
LGN54	0.76	4.60E−02	1	28	LGN54	0.75	5.05E−02	1	9
LGN54	0.94	1.97E−03	1	45	LGN57	0.76	4.91E−02	2	27
LGN57	0.91	4.02E−03	2	13	LGN57	0.81	2.57E−03	5	43
LGN57	0.77	7.17E−02	5	54	LGN57	0.86	6.84E−04	5	42
LGN57	0.71	2.10E−02	6	23	LGN57	0.80	3.07E−02	6	46
LGN57	0.96	5.21E−04	6	44	LGN57	0.74	1.53E−02	6	31
LGN57	0.73	1.61E−02	6	32	LGN57	0.71	2.23E−02	6	5
LGN57	0.77	8.75E−03	6	24	LGN57	0.74	1.44E−02	4	47
LGN57	0.82	3.66E−03	4	42	LGN57	0.71	1.38E−02	3	10
LGN57	0.72	6.92E−02	3	44	LGN57	0.79	3.43E−02	1	10
LGN57	0.70	7.71E−02	1	37	LGN57	0.89	6.48E−03	1	7
LGN57	0.85	1.66E−02	1	27	LGN57	0.74	5.98E−02	1	31
LGN57	0.88	8.19E−03	1	33	LGN57	0.84	1.87E−02	1	3
LGN57	0.73	6.36E−02	1	26	LGN57	0.90	6.07E−03	1	13
LGN57	0.80	3.20E−02	1	5	LGN6	0.73	6.12E−02	2	21
LGN6	0.85	1.56E−02	5	44	LGN6	0.77	7.16E−02	5	48
LGN6	0.81	4.23E−03	6	43	LGN6	0.87	1.18E−03	6	41
LGN6	0.85	1.80E−03	6	39	LGN7	0.81	2.74E−02	2	8
LGN7	0.85	1.62E−02	2	10	LGN7	0.90	6.27E−03	2	43
LGN7	0.72	7.05E−02	2	17	LGN7	0.79	3.27E−02	2	41
LGN7	0.72	7.05E−02	2	14	LGN7	0.83	2.21E−02	2	39
LGN7	0.79	3.46E−02	2	49	LGN7	0.75	5.45E−02	2	42
LGN7	0.77	4.32E−02	5	46	LGN7	0.77	5.71E−03	5	22
LGN7	0.80	3.06E−02	5	44	LGN7	0.76	7.11E−03	5	13
LGN7	0.74	1.43E−02	6	23	LGN7	0.74	5.48E−02	6	44
LGN7	0.86	2.80E−02	6	48	LGN7	0.81	4.33E−03	6	24
LGN7	0.79	3.43E−02	4	44	LGN7	0.73	1.73E−02	4	13
LGN7	0.83	2.03E−02	1	8	LGN7	0.72	6.67E−02	1	10
LGN7	0.76	4.84E−02	1	15	LGN7	0.79	3.54E−02	1	12
LGN7	0.81	2.65E−02	1	38	LGN7	0.71	7.46E−02	1	22
LGN7	0.73	6.20E−02	1	50	LGN7	0.79	3.61E−02	1	43
LGN7	0.79	3.40E−02	1	17	LGN7	0.87	2.55E−02	1	16
LGN7	0.88	8.71E−03	1	41	LGN7	0.79	3.40E−02	1	14
LGN7	0.79	3.44E−02	1	39	LGN7	0.71	7.11E−02	1	11
LGN7	0.72	7.08E−02	1	49

Table 57. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 52. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 50. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value

TABLE 58

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under drought conditions across
Sorghum accessions

				Corr.					Corr.
Gene			Exp.	Set	Gene			Exp.	Set
Name	R	P value	set	ID	Name	R	P value	set	ID

LBY14	0.71	1.52E−02	3	51	LBY14	0.79	3.46E−03	3	39
LBY148	0.74	2.31E−02	6	51	LBY148	0.70	1.59E−02	5	52
LBY148	0.79	3.60E−03	3	15	LBY148	0.85	9.14E−04	3	52
LBY148	0.74	5.49E−02	3	46	LBY148	0.90	1.75E−04	3	41
LBY148	0.79	3.64E−03	3	39	LBY148	0.83	1.64E−03	3	42
LBY149	0.86	5.63E−03	1	52	LBY149	0.70	5.27E−02	1	2
LBY149	0.70	7.96E−02	5	46	LBY149	0.75	7.97E−03	5	7
LBY149	0.73	1.00E−02	5	31	LBY149	0.76	6.35E−03	5	33
LBY149	0.72	1.04E−01	5	54	LBY149	0.80	3.07E−02	5	48
LBY149	0.74	9.12E−03	5	5	LBY149	0.70	1.62E−02	5	2
LBY149	0.90	1.57E−02	4	44	LBY149	0.89	6.65E−03	4	48
LBY149	0.71	1.52E−02	4	49	LBY149	0.83	1.63E−03	3	4
LBY149	0.77	5.98E−03	3	6	LBY149	0.74	8.55E−03	3	32
LBY149	0.75	8.22E−03	3	9	LBY149	0.71	1.39E−02	3	5
LBY150	0.93	7.82E−04	1	7	LBY150	0.78	2.38E−02	1	20
LBY150	0.92	1.25E−03	1	33	LBY150	0.72	1.04E−01	1	54
LBY150	0.83	2.08E−02	1	48	LBY150	0.77	2.63E−02	1	5
LBY150	0.79	2.09E−02	1	24	LBY150	0.83	5.40E−03	6	47
LBY150	0.84	3.86E−02	6	44	LBY150	0.82	6.19E−03	6	45
LBY150	0.85	4.09E−03	6	19	LBY150	0.76	6.94E−03	4	27
LBY150	0.79	3.79E−03	4	26	LBY150	0.72	1.33E−02	4	19
LBY150	0.75	7.61E−03	4	34	LBY150	0.77	5.56E−03	4	35
LBY150	0.86	7.81E−04	3	47	LBY150	0.72	1.16E−02	3	53
LBY150	0.95	6.42E−06	3	45	LBY150	0.74	9.71E−03	3	1
LBY150	0.71	1.39E−02	3	19	LBY150	0.89	2.72E−04	3	34
LBY150	0.90	1.79E−04	3	35	LBY150	0.70	5.30E−02	2	21
LBY151	0.79	1.06E−02	6	50	LBY151	0.72	2.86E−02	6	17
LBY151	0.73	2.50E−02	6	31	LBY151	0.72	2.86E−02	6	14
LBY151	0.72	6.74E−02	6	48	LBY151	0.82	6.38E−03	6	49
LBY151	0.76	1.77E−02	6	5	LBY151	0.77	5.18E−03	3	50
LBY151	0.72	4.23E−02	2	4	LBY151	0.77	2.52E−02	2	23
LBY151	0.78	2.13E−02	2	6	LBY151	0.77	2.46E−02	2	32
LBY152	0.80	1.81E−02	1	52	LBY152	0.78	4.74E−03	5	6
LBY152	0.78	4.49E−03	5	32	LBY152	0.79	4.08E−03	4	21
LBY152	0.71	1.53E−02	3	21	LBY152	0.70	1.20E−01	3	54
LBY153	0.86	6.38E−03	1	7	LBY153	0.75	8.41E−02	1	44
LBY153	0.80	1.66E−02	1	20	LBY153	0.86	5.86E−03	1	33
LBY153	0.70	1.20E−01	1	54	LBY153	0.92	3.37E−03	1	48
LBY153	0.85	7.37E−03	1	49	LBY153	0.71	3.35E−02	6	22
LBY153	0.76	1.65E−02	6	27	LBY153	0.91	7.69E−04	6	53
LBY153	0.80	9.94E−03	6	26	LBY153	0.81	8.80E−03	6	45
LBY153	0.77	1.44E−02	6	34	LBY153	0.80	1.02E−02	6	35
LBY153	0.77	5.75E−03	4	53	LBY153	0.80	3.38E−03	3	21
LBY153	0.70	1.65E−02	3	53	LBY153	0.74	9.35E−02	3	54
LBY154	0.70	5.19E−02	1	45	LBY154	0.76	2.87E−02	1	19
LBY154	0.72	6.79E−02	6	46	LBY154	0.75	2.09E−02	6	6
LBY154	0.86	2.74E−03	6	50	LBY154	0.80	9.86E−03	6	43
LBY154	0.71	3.36E−02	6	31	LBY154	0.76	3.02E−02	6	16
LBY154	0.83	6.19E−03	6	41	LBY154	0.89	1.83E−02	6	54
LBY154	0.75	5.08E−02	6	48	LBY154	0.81	8.74E−03	6	49
LBY154	0.89	1.34E−03	6	42	LBY154	0.77	5.15E−03	5	43
LBY154	0.88	1.78E−03	5	16	LBY154	0.71	1.13E−01	4	44
LBY154	0.71	1.47E−02	4	20	LBY154	0.70	1.59E−02	3	21
LBY154	0.74	9.32E−02	3	54	LBY154	0.79	3.47E−02	3	48
LBY154	0.72	4.46E−02	2	4	LBY154	0.71	4.64E−02	2	47
LBY154	0.87	2.44E−02	2	16	LBY154	0.75	3.04E−02	2	9
LBY154	0.82	1.34E−02	2	19	LBY155	0.72	4.33E−02	1	51
LBY155	0.71	4.71E−02	1	27	LBY155	0.70	5.09E−02	1	26
LBY155	0.72	4.61E−02	1	35	LBY155	0.73	1.01E−02	5	38
LBY155	0.76	6.13E−03	4	52	LBY155	0.80	3.32E−03	3	19
LBY155	0.86	6.10E−03	2	4	LBY155	0.75	3.27E−02	2	6
LBY155	0.81	1.45E−02	2	32	LBY155	0.85	8.02E−03	2	9
LBY156	0.71	4.81E−02	1	52	LBY156	0.78	6.65E−02	4	44
LBY156	0.73	1.07E−02	4	2	LBY156	0.83	1.52E−03	3	15
LBY156	0.88	3.52E−04	3	52	LBY156	0.76	6.98E−03	3	41
LBY156	0.71	1.53E−02	3	2	LBY157	0.75	3.22E−02	1	29
LBY157	0.80	1.65E−02	1	20	LBY157	0.78	1.40E−02	6	50
LBY157	0.86	2.84E−02	6	44	LBY157	0.71	3.25E−02	6	17
LBY157	0.71	3.13E−02	6	41	LBY157	0.71	3.25E−02	6	14
LBY157	0.92	4.22E−04	6	39	LBY157	0.76	1.66E−02	6	49
LBY157	0.84	4.78E−03	6	42	LBY157	0.74	2.14E−02	6	24
LBY157	0.79	3.75E−03	4	50	LBY157	0.93	6.34E−03	4	44
LBY157	0.70	1.64E−02	4	41	LBY157	0.89	7.85E−03	4	48
LBY157	0.77	6.06E−03	4	49	LBY157	0.78	5.00E−03	4	42
LBY157	0.75	7.51E−03	3	15	LBY157	0.70	7.92E−02	3	46
LBY157	0.80	3.36E−03	3	41	LBY157	0.78	4.69E−03	3	39
LBY157	0.85	9.19E−04	3	42	LBY157	0.74	3.67E−02	2	51
LBY157	0.96	2.56E−03	2	16	LBY157	0.75	3.28E−02	2	40
LBY158	0.77	2.63E−02	1	28	LBY158	0.78	2.12E−02	1	9
LBY158	0.84	9.79E−03	1	45	LBY158	0.89	3.13E−03	1	19
LBY158	0.93	8.62E−04	1	34	LBY158	0.79	1.85E−02	1	35
LBY158	0.76	2.93E−02	1	30	LBY158	0.81	7.60E−03	6	47
LBY158	0.78	1.23E−02	6	45	LBY158	0.88	1.77E−03	6	19
LBY158	0.96	2.70E−03	5	54	LBY158	0.78	4.82E−03	5	45
LBY158	0.95	6.52E−06	5	19	LBY158	0.75	8.13E−03	5	34
LBY158	0.74	9.14E−02	4	44	LBY158	0.76	6.79E−03	3	47
LBY158	0.75	8.15E−03	3	45	LBY158	0.75	7.84E−03	3	19
LBY158	0.70	5.14E−02	2	53	LBY158	0.77	4.22E−02	2	13
LBY158	0.91	1.66E−03	2	1	LBY159	0.72	4.28E−02	1	28
LBY159	0.74	3.65E−02	1	9	LBY159	0.83	1.00E−02	1	34
LBY159	0.75	2.07E−02	6	6	LBY159	0.70	3.41E−02	6	43
LBY159	0.71	3.08E−02	6	32	LBY159	0.79	1.07E−02	5	16
LBY159	0.80	5.50E−02	3	54	LBY159	0.71	2.27E−02	3	13
LBY159	0.88	3.91E−03	2	23	LBY160	0.86	3.19E−03	6	15
LBY160	0.76	1.81E−02	6	52	LBY160	0.78	1.41E−02	6	12
LBY160	0.91	4.47E−03	6	46	LBY160	0.73	2.60E−02	6	6
LBY160	0.88	1.54E−03	6	50	LBY160	0.76	7.73E−02	6	44
LBY160	0.79	1.21E−02	6	31	LBY160	0.86	3.16E−03	6	41
LBY160	0.73	2.41E−02	6	32	LBY160	0.75	5.26E−02	6	48
LBY160	0.81	7.85E−03	6	49	LBY160	0.74	2.13E−02	6	5
LBY160	0.86	3.01E−03	6	42	LBY160	0.71	3.12E−02	6	2
LBY160	0.89	1.15E−03	6	24	LBY160	0.82	1.90E−03	4	10
LBY160	0.75	8.22E−03	4	12	LBY160	0.72	1.29E−02	3	22
LBY160	0.76	6.75E−03	3	21	LBY161	0.80	1.67E−02	1	10
LBY161	0.81	4.97E−02	1	44	LBY161	0.75	3.29E−02	1	1
LBY161	0.80	9.86E−03	6	1	LBY161	0.78	4.29E−03	4	10
LBY161	0.82	2.08E−03	3	10	LBY161	0.73	1.00E−02	3	17
LBY161	0.73	1.00E−02	3	14	LBY161	0.71	1.40E−02	3	11
LBY161	0.86	5.58E−03	2	10	LBY161	0.77	2.60E−02	2	51
LBY161	0.73	4.15E−02	2	12	LBY161	0.71	4.85E−02	2	7
LBY161	0.71	4.73E−02	2	50	LBY161	0.78	2.20E−02	2	17
LBY161	0.78	2.20E−02	2	14	LBY161	0.74	3.69E−02	2	33
LBY161	0.87	4.65E−03	2	11	LBY162	0.78	2.33E−02	1	7
LBY162	0.76	2.83E−02	1	27	LBY162	0.77	2.46E−02	1	33
LBY162	0.83	4.12E−02	1	54	LBY162	0.71	4.83E−02	1	26
LBY162	0.74	5.97E−02	1	48	LBY162	0.77	2.55E−02	1	35
LBY162	0.83	1.72E−03	5	38	LBY162	0.75	8.05E−03	4	38
LBY162	0.75	7.85E−03	3	15	LBY162	0.74	9.60E−03	3	52
LBY162	0.84	1.81E−02	3	46	LBY162	0.86	7.16E−04	3	41
LBY163	0.78	3.70E−02	1	48	LBY163	0.75	2.12E−02	6	15
LBY163	0.91	5.00E−03	6	46	LBY163	0.71	3.13E−02	6	6
LBY163	0.84	4.85E−03	6	50	LBY163	0.71	4.79E−02	6	16
LBY163	0.85	3.56E−03	6	41	LBY163	0.71	1.13E−01	6	54
LBY163	0.72	6.67E−02	6	48	LBY163	0.77	1.45E−02	6	49
LBY163	0.91	6.26E−04	6	42	LBY163	0.70	3.52E−02	6	24
LBY163	0.73	1.01E−02	5	40	LBY163	0.74	9.03E−02	4	54
LBY163	0.84	1.70E−02	4	48	LBY163	0.85	8.21E−04	3	3
LBY163	0.88	8.95E−04	3	13	LBY163	0.83	1.12E−02	2	7
LBY163	0.91	1.55E−03	2	20	LBY163	0.81	1.46E−02	2	33
LBY163	0.82	1.33E−02	2	49	LBY164	0.79	2.02E−02	1	50
LBY164	0.80	5.36E−02	1	44	LBY164	0.81	2.84E−02	1	13
LBY164	0.87	1.07E−02	1	48	LBY164	0.88	4.30E−03	1	49
LBY164	0.80	1.60E−02	1	42	LBY164	0.74	3.44E−02	1	24
LBY164	0.79	1.07E−02	6	20	LBY164	0.71	3.32E−02	6	49
LBY164	0.85	8.49E−04	5	20	LBY164	0.73	1.05E−02	4	21
LBY164	0.71	1.38E−02	3	25	LBY164	0.72	1.17E−02	3	23
LBY164	0.75	7.75E−03	3	47	LBY164	0.74	9.12E−03	3	22
LBY164	0.73	1.12E−02	3	45	LBY164	0.84	8.80E−03	2	3
LBY164	0.93	2.70E−03	2	13	LBY165	0.78	1.28E−02	6	41
LBY165	0.72	2.97E−02	6	39	LBY165	0.75	2.04E−02	6	42
LBY165	0.82	6.80E−03	6	24	LBY165	0.74	8.66E−03	5	43
LBY165	0.79	3.82E−03	4	21	LBY165	0.73	1.11E−02	3	25
LBY165	0.80	3.33E−03	3	23	LBY165	0.78	2.34E−02	2	4
LBY165	0.77	2.46E−02	2	9	LBY166	0.76	2.71E−02	1	50
LBY166	0.91	1.27E−02	1	44	LBY166	0.91	4.69E−03	1	13
LBY166	0.98	1.43E−04	1	48	LBY166	0.93	7.15E−04	1	49
LBY166	0.72	1.98E−02	4	13	LBY166	0.74	8.67E−03	4	1
LBY166	0.71	1.50E−02	4	30	LBY166	0.79	3.99E−03	3	3
LBY166	0.78	7.39E−03	3	13	LBY166	0.74	3.56E−02	2	10
LBY166	0.74	3.39E−02	2	17	LBY166	0.72	4.46E−02	2	41
LBY166	0.74	3.39E−02	2	14	LBY166	0.88	3.74E−03	2	20
LBY166	0.74	3.62E−02	2	42	LBY167	0.76	1.76E−02	6	28
LBY167	0.81	7.70E−03	6	9	LBY167	0.75	2.09E−02	6	1
LBY167	0.85	3.55E−03	6	30	LBY167	0.76	6.88E−03	4	23
LBY167	0.78	4.35E−03	3	9	LBY167	0.81	2.53E−03	3	1
LBY167	0.79	3.94E−03	3	34	LBY167	0.72	1.29E−02	3	35
LBY167	0.94	5.26E−04	2	51	LBY167	0.90	2.25E−03	2	52
LBY167	0.70	5.23E−02	2	11	LBY168	0.80	1.75E−02	1	10
LBY168	0.77	2.66E−02	1	50	LBY168	0.96	2.74E−03	1	44
LBY168	0.74	3.49E−02	1	43	LBY168	0.79	2.08E−02	1	17
LBY168	0.79	2.08E−02	1	14	LBY168	0.75	5.19E−02	1	13
LBY168	0.74	5.62E−02	1	48	LBY168	0.78	2.17E−02	1	49
LBY168	0.81	1.37E−02	1	42	LBY168	0.75	3.11E−02	1	24
LBY168	0.77	1.58E−02	6	38	LBY168	0.71	3.30E−02	6	7
LBY168	0.84	4.64E−03	6	20	LBY168	0.72	2.89E−02	6	33
LBY168	0.90	8.49E−04	6	3	LBY168	0.79	1.20E−02	6	9
LBY168	0.72	2.99E−02	6	30	LBY168	0.73	1.13E−02	5	8
LBY168	0.78	4.38E−03	5	47	LBY168	0.74	9.46E−03	5	22
LBY168	0.91	1.10E−02	5	44	LBY168	0.81	2.70E−03	5	17
LBY168	0.81	2.70E−03	5	14	LBY168	0.74	8.90E−03	5	53
LBY168	0.85	9.11E−04	5	45	LBY168	0.71	1.34E−02	5	49
LBY168	0.86	7.91E−04	4	21	LBY168	0.79	3.80E−03	3	20
LBY168	0.74	3.67E−02	2	41	LBY168	0.72	4.24E−02	2	39
LBY168	0.80	1.65E−02	2	53	LBY170	0.81	5.27E−02	2	16
LBY170	0.79	1.96E−02	2	19	LBY171	0.74	2.27E−02	5	16
LBY171	0.85	3.40E−02	4	44	LBY171	0.74	9.57E−03	3	41
LBY171	0.75	8.36E−02	2	16	LBY171	0.79	2.08E−02	2	19
LBY173	0.70	5.32E−02	1	27	LBY173	0.79	2.04E−02	1	26
LBY173	0.72	2.81E−02	6	25	LBY173	0.70	3.45E−02	6	17
LBY173	0.70	3.45E−02	6	14	LBY173	0.73	2.49E−02	6	39
LBY173	0.81	8.66E−03	6	20	LBY173	0.73	2.62E−02	6	24
LBY173	0.81	2.64E−03	5	43	LBY173	0.71	3.09E−02	5	16
LBY173	0.85	3.23E−02	5	54	LBY173	0.79	3.26E−02	4	46
LBY173	0.76	6.57E−03	4	27	LBY173	0.74	9.24E−03	4	20
LBY173	0.71	1.48E−02	4	26	LBY173	0.82	2.09E−03	3	53
LBY173	0.85	3.03E−02	3	54	LBY173	0.79	4.04E−03	3	35
LBY173	0.81	1.51E−02	2	4	LBY173	0.88	4.23E−03	2	6
LBY173	0.83	1.00E−02	2	31	LBY173	0.89	2.78E−03	2	32
LBY173	0.83	9.92E−03	2	9	LBY173	0.71	4.80E−02	2	1
LBY173	0.81	1.59E−02	2	5	LBY173	0.78	2.20E−02	2	34
LBY173	0.72	4.30E−02	2	35	LBY174	0.78	1.36E−02	6	2
LBY174	0.74	2.28E−02	5	16	LBY174	0.72	1.25E−02	3	8
LBY174	0.72	1.29E−02	3	15	LBY174	0.71	1.51E−02	3	52
LBY174	0.73	1.09E−02	3	50	LBY174	0.73	1.12E−02	3	41
LBY174	0.74	9.56E−03	3	42	LBY174	0.76	7.16E−03	3	24
LBY175	0.95	4.42E−03	1	54	LBY175	0.77	4.23E−02	1	48
LBY175	0.72	4.37E−02	1	49	LBY175	0.76	2.87E−02	2	47
LBY175	0.74	3.75E−02	2	19	LBY176	0.78	1.41E−02	6	28
LBY176	0.78	1.40E−02	6	47	LBY176	0.74	2.29E−02	6	45
LBY176	0.80	9.86E−03	6	19	LBY176	0.76	1.80E−02	6	30
LBY176	0.72	1.17E−02	5	38	LBY176	0.77	5.31E−03	4	27
LBY176	0.79	3.71E−03	4	26	LBY176	0.77	6.07E−03	4	45
LBY176	0.72	1.23E−02	4	19	LBY176	0.86	7.70E−04	4	34
LBY176	0.79	4.03E−03	4	35	LBY176	0.88	3.94E−04	3	53
LBY176	0.71	2.02E−02	3	13	LBY176	0.88	3.40E−04	3	45
LBY176	0.75	7.40E−03	3	1	LBY176	0.80	3.01E−03	3	34
LBY176	0.86	6.68E−04	3	35	LBY176	0.74	3.52E−02	2	3
LBY176	0.84	1.93E−02	2	13	LBY177	0.76	7.95E−02	1	16
LBY177	0.76	2.84E−02	1	53	LBY177	0.78	2.13E−02	6	16
LBY177	0.73	2.50E−02	6	34	LBY177	0.75	2.03E−02	6	35
LBY177	0.76	6.48E−03	4	43	LBY177	0.75	2.03E−02	4	16
LBY177	0.79	6.23E−02	4	54	LBY177	0.71	1.36E−02	3	29
LBY177	0.71	1.15E−01	3	54	LBY177	0.71	1.36E−02	3	2
LBY177	0.84	9.30E−03	2	21	LBY178	0.71	4.93E−02	1	53
LBY178	0.97	1.45E−03	6	44	LBY178	0.71	7.45E−02	6	48
LBY178	0.75	1.99E−02	6	49	LBY178	0.71	1.45E−02	5	29
LBY178	0.86	7.32E−04	5	20	LBY178	0.77	6.02E−03	5	21
LBY178	0.71	1.47E−02	4	40	LBY178	0.77	5.39E−03	3	10
LBY178	0.72	1.31E−02	3	22	LBY178	0.72	1.16E−02	3	17
LBY178	0.72	1.16E−02	3	14	LBY178	0.73	1.04E−02	3	39
LBY178	0.93	7.82E−03	3	54	LBY178	0.74	3.62E−02	2	51
LBY178	0.71	1.12E−01	2	16	LBY178	0.78	2.28E−02	2	53
LBY179	0.76	2.74E−02	1	9	LBY179	0.71	4.72E−02	1	26
LBY179	0.88	4.38E−03	1	45	LBY179	0.86	5.68E−03	1	1
LBY179	0.87	4.58E−03	1	19	LBY179	0.78	2.23E−02	1	34
LBY179	0.93	9.05E−04	1	35	LBY179	0.93	7.16E−03	3	44
LBY179	0.72	1.32E−02	3	11	LBY180	0.73	3.81E−02	1	4
LBY180	0.71	5.04E−02	1	47	LBY180	0.89	3.21E−03	1	9
LBY180	0.91	1.98E−03	1	45	LBY180	0.81	1.56E−02	1	1
LBY180	0.90	2.61E−03	1	19	LBY180	0.92	1.07E−03	1	34
LBY180	0.97	4.05E−05	1	35	LBY180	0.89	1.44E−03	6	38
LBY180	0.71	3.31E−02	6	27	LBY180	0.71	1.38E−02	4	12
LBY180	0.73	1.05E−02	4	7	LBY180	0.74	9.68E−03	4	31
LBY180	0.71	1.44E−02	4	20	LBY180	0.74	9.69E−03	4	33
LBY180	0.82	2.35E−02	4	48	LBY180	0.77	5.53E−03	4	49
LBY180	0.74	8.82E−03	4	5	LBY180	0.71	1.45E−02	3	25
LBY180	0.80	3.30E−03	3	23	LBY180	0.71	1.39E−02	3	9
LBY180	0.75	3.22E−02	2	4	LBY180	0.76	2.98E−02	2	25
LBY180	0.75	3.33E−02	2	23	LBY180	0.74	3.66E−02	2	9
LBY180	0.84	8.94E−03	2	34	LBY181	0.71	4.92E−02	1	39
LBY181	0.96	1.36E−04	1	40	LBY181	0.83	1.65E−03	5	53
LBY181	0.73	1.14E−02	5	45	LBY181	0.72	1.25E−02	5	1
LBY181	0.71	1.47E−02	5	35	LBY181	0.71	1.39E−02	3	45
LBY181	0.83	1.64E−03	3	19	LBY181	0.79	3.65E−03	3	34
LBY181	0.85	7.30E−03	2	28	LBY181	0.86	6.00E−03	2	40
LBY181	0.74	3.62E−02	2	30	LBY182	0.95	3.69E−04	1	29
LBY182	0.85	7.75E−03	1	20	LBY182	0.86	2.69E−02	1	54
LBY182	0.85	3.96E−03	6	47	LBY182	0.76	1.87E−02	6	27
LBY182	0.89	1.78E−02	6	44	LBY182	0.79	1.17E−02	6	53
LBY182	0.74	2.14E−02	6	26	LBY182	0.92	5.34E−04	6	45
LBY182	0.84	4.27E−03	6	19	LBY182	0.76	1.81E−02	6	34
LBY182	0.74	2.16E−02	6	35	LBY182	0.79	3.95E−03	4	19
LBY182	0.74	9.19E−02	3	44	LBY183	0.78	2.33E−02	1	27
LBY183	0.78	2.21E−02	1	26	LBY183	0.82	6.89E−03	6	38
LBY183	0.79	1.04E−02	6	27	LBY183	0.82	7.05E−03	6	26
LBY183	0.73	6.06E−02	3	46	LBY183	0.80	3.43E−03	3	41
LBY183	0.82	1.25E−02	2	27	LBY183	0.86	6.42E−03	2	26
LBY183	0.78	2.19E−02	2	34	LBY183	0.71	4.92E−02	2	35
LBY184	0.87	5.19E−03	1	53	LBY184	0.72	1.25E−02	5	42
LBY184	0.80	3.29E−03	4	53	LBY184	0.83	1.56E−03	3	15
LBY184	0.86	1.41E−02	3	46	LBY184	0.85	9.88E−04	3	50
LBY184	0.92	5.33E−05	3	41	LBY184	0.79	4.00E−03	3	39
LBY184	0.73	6.43E−02	3	48	LBY184	0.90	1.80E−04	3	42
LBY185	0.72	4.42E−02	1	45	LBY185	0.79	1.86E−02	1	19
LBY185	0.75	3.12E−02	1	35	LBY185	0.77	4.10E−02	6	46
LBY185	0.76	1.86E−02	6	38	LBY185	0.70	1.56E−02	5	20
LBY185	0.78	4.72E−03	4	20	LBY186	0.79	1.98E−02	1	53
LBY186	0.83	9.91E−03	1	45	LBY186	0.83	1.12E−02	1	1
LBY186	0.78	2.38E−02	1	19	LBY186	0.88	4.41E−03	1	35
LBY186	0.72	2.76E−02	6	36	LBY186	0.77	1.49E−02	3	16
LBY186	0.73	4.02E−02	2	34	LBY186	0.77	2.69E−02	2	35
LBY187	0.74	3.55E−02	1	50	LBY187	0.70	7.74E−02	1	48
LBY187	0.74	3.64E−02	1	49	LBY187	0.76	2.81E−02	1	42
LBY187	0.72	2.76E−02	6	26	LBY187	0.75	1.92E−02	6	35
LBY187	0.72	1.20E−02	4	23	LBY187	0.72	1.28E−02	3	4
LBY187	0.72	1.30E−02	3	6	LBY187	0.73	1.15E−02	3	32
LBY188	0.88	3.94E−03	1	8	LBY188	0.73	4.02E−02	1	10
LBY188	0.80	5.36E−02	1	44	LBY188	0.87	4.68E−03	1	17
LBY188	0.87	4.68E−03	1	14	LBY188	0.72	4.43E−02	1	40
LBY188	0.73	6.05E−02	1	13	LBY188	0.86	5.58E−03	1	24
LBY188	0.71	3.33E−02	6	45	LBY188	0.76	1.75E−02	6	1
LBY188	0.72	2.77E−02	6	19	LBY188	0.80	5.69E−02	4	44
LBY188	0.83	2.13E−02	4	48	LBY188	0.74	9.54E−03	3	3
LBY188	0.77	8.80E−03	3	13	LBY188	0.79	4.11E−03	3	30
LBY188	0.75	3.34E−02	2	3	LBY188	0.77	4.33E−02	2	13
LBY189	0.74	2.17E−02	6	4	LBY189	0.83	5.86E−03	6	9
LBY189	0.75	8.77E−02	5	54	LBY189	0.77	5.62E−03	4	8
LBY189	0.78	8.05E−03	3	13	LBY189	0.71	4.78E−02	2	3
LBY189	0.85	1.56E−02	2	13	LBY190	0.71	5.07E−02	1	23
LBY190	0.96	1.10E−04	1	6	LBY190	0.83	1.15E−02	1	31
LBY190	0.89	3.09E−03	1	32	LBY190	0.84	9.33E−03	1	5
LBY190	0.75	1.97E−02	6	28	LBY190	0.82	7.39E−03	6	9
LBY190	0.75	2.02E−02	6	1	LBY190	0.80	9.52E−03	6	30
LBY190	0.72	1.23E−02	3	28	LBY190	0.79	3.98E−03	3	3
LBY190	0.81	4.78E−03	3	13	LBY190	0.78	4.59E−03	3	30
LBY190	0.87	4.70E−03	2	3	LBY190	0.98	5.75E−05	2	13
LBY191	0.75	3.13E−02	1	51	LBY191	0.82	1.34E−02	1	53
LBY191	0.72	4.31E−02	1	45	LBY191	0.79	1.87E−02	1	1
LBY191	0.84	8.80E−03	1	35	LBY191	0.82	6.53E−03	6	38
LBY191	0.74	8.59E−03	4	10	LBY191	0.78	4.93E−03	4	20
LBY191	0.82	2.10E−03	3	52	LBY191	0.74	3.41E−02	2	4
LBY191	0.77	2.65E−02	2	9	LBY192	0.73	4.05E−02	1	43
LBY192	0.73	1.00E−01	1	54	LBY192	0.90	1.07E−03	6	38
LBY192	0.80	9.14E−03	6	27	LBY192	0.82	7.34E−03	6	26
LBY192	0.71	1.13E−01	5	44	LBY192	0.76	6.75E−03	3	52
LBY192	0.82	1.99E−03	3	41	LBY192	0.74	8.87E−03	3	39
LBY192	0.74	3.75E−02	2	51	LGN3	0.88	3.72E−03	1	28
LGN3	0.73	4.03E−02	1	51	LGN3	0.86	6.27E−03	1	30
LGN3	0.76	1.64E−02	6	38	LGN3	0.88	1.52E−03	6	27
LGN3	0.82	6.21E−03	6	26	LGN3	0.72	1.30E−02	3	8
LGN3	0.75	8.03E−03	3	15	LGN3	0.71	1.50E−02	3	12
LGN3	0.76	7.20E−03	3	50	LGN3	0.89	1.72E−02	3	44
LGN3	0.73	1.09E−02	3	17	LGN3	0.80	3.06E−03	3	41
LGN3	0.73	1.09E−02	3	14	LGN3	0.82	1.88E−03	3	39
LGN3	0.85	8.72E−04	3	42	LGN3	0.77	2.55E−02	2	51
LGN4	0.71	4.97E−02	1	28	LGN4	0.71	1.50E−02	5	7
LGN4	0.70	1.56E−02	5	20	LGN4	0.70	1.62E−02	5	33
LGN4	0.70	1.62E−02	3	12	LGN4	0.77	5.28E−03	3	50
LGN4	0.99	1.78E−04	3	44	LGN4	0.75	7.88E−03	3	17
LGN4	0.75	7.88E−03	3	14	LGN4	0.79	3.56E−02	3	48
LGN4	0.81	2.41E−03	3	49	LGN4	0.76	6.50E−03	3	42
LGN4	0.85	7.50E−03	2	51	LGN5	0.71	1.43E−02	5	9
LGN5	0.76	6.50E−03	3	25	LGN5	0.73	1.14E−02	3	23
LGN5	0.79	4.19E−03	3	47	LGN5	0.74	9.07E−02	3	54
LGN5	0.73	1.11E−02	3	34	LGN5	0.76	2.98E−02	2	53
LGN5	0.75	5.24E−02	2	13	LGN54	0.80	1.78E−02	1	28
LGN54	0.76	2.84E−02	1	47	LGN54	0.85	7.90E−03	1	45
LGN54	0.87	5.22E−03	1	19	LGN54	0.73	3.90E−02	1	34
LGN54	0.86	6.68E−03	1	30	LGN54	0.85	9.63E−04	4	40
LGN54	0.77	5.29E−03	3	25	LGN54	0.84	1.26E−03	3	23
LGN54	0.77	2.62E−02	2	23	LGN57	0.92	1.15E−03	1	20
LGN57	0.76	4.97E−02	6	46	LGN57	0.74	2.31E−02	6	50
LGN57	0.74	2.25E−02	6	43	LGN57	0.92	1.16E−03	6	16
LGN57	0.86	2.78E−02	6	54	LGN57	0.72	6.69E−02	6	48
LGN57	0.72	3.02E−02	6	49	LGN57	0.83	5.69E−03	5	16
LGN57	0.71	1.53E−02	4	21	LGN57	0.78	4.74E−03	3	10
LGN57	0.73	1.06E−02	3	15	LGN57	0.82	2.25E−02	3	46
LGN57	0.73	1.16E−02	3	7	LGN57	0.74	9.12E−03	3	33
LGN57	0.71	1.36E−02	3	21	LGN57	0.93	2.55E−05	3	2
LGN57	0.76	2.80E−02	2	6	LGN57	0.77	2.55E−02	2	32
LGN57	0.74	3.57E−02	2	3	LGN6	0.82	4.74E−02	1	16
LGN6	0.75	8.38E−02	6	44	LGN6	0.83	1.16E−02	6	13
LGN6	0.79	4.21E−03	4	50	LGN6	0.79	6.37E−02	4	44
LGN6	0.85	9.65E−04	4	41	LGN6	0.84	1.36E−03	4	39
LGN6	0.73	6.14E−02	4	48	LGN6	0.73	1.03E−02	4	49
LGN6	0.89	2.77E−04	4	42	LGN6	0.76	6.16E−03	3	41
LGN6	0.78	4.71E−03	3	39	LGN6	0.84	1.32E−03	3	42
LGN7	0.80	1.72E−02	1	8	LGN7	0.94	5.46E−04	1	10
LGN7	0.83	1.16E−02	1	12	LGN7	0.76	2.78E−02	1	50
LGN7	0.87	2.36E−02	1	44	LGN7	0.84	8.42E−03	1	17
LGN7	0.84	8.42E−03	1	14	LGN7	0.73	3.82E−02	1	20
LGN7	0.75	5.39E−02	1	48	LGN7	0.76	2.92E−02	1	49
LGN7	0.79	3.47E−02	6	46	LGN7	0.78	6.89E−02	6	44
LGN7	0.73	2.60E−02	6	17	LGN7	0.73	2.60E−02	6	14
LGN7	0.72	2.84E−02	6	42	LGN7	0.74	9.91E−03	5	28
LGN7	0.72	1.29E−02	5	25	LGN7	0.75	8.48E−02	5	54
LGN7	0.72	1.97E−02	5	13	LGN7	0.73	1.11E−02	5	1
LGN7	0.88	3.35E−04	5	30	LGN7	0.74	9.26E−03	4	22
LGN7	0.71	1.40E−02	3	4	LGN7	0.72	1.29E−02	3	25
LGN7	0.72	1.23E−02	3	47

Table 58. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID“—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 52. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 51. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

In order to produce a high throughput correlation analysis between plant phenotype and gene expression level, the present inventors utilized a sorghum oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [World Wide Web (dot) chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 65,000 sorghum genes and transcripts. In order to define correlations between the levels of RNA expression with ABST, drought, low N and yield components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 36 different sorghum inbreds and hybrids were analyzed under normal (regular) conditions, 35 sorghum lines were analyzed under drought conditions and 34 sorghum lines were analyzed under low N (nitrogen) conditions. All the lines were sent for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [World Wide Web (dot) davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

36 Sorghum varieties were grown in 5 repetitive plots, in field. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows:

1. Regular growth conditions: sorghum plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols, which include 549 m³water per dunam (1000 square meters) per entire growth period and fertilization of 16 units of URAN® 21% (Nitrogen Fertilizer Solution; PCS Sales, Northbrook, Ill., USA) (normal growth conditions).

2. Drought conditions: sorghum seeds were sown in soil and grown under normal condition until vegetative stage (49 days from sowing), drought treatment was imposed by irrigating plants with approximately 60% of the water applied for the normal treatment [315 m³water per dunam (1000 square meters) per entire growth period].

3. Low Nitrogen fertilization conditions: sorghum plants were sown in soil and irrigated with as the normal conditions (549 m³water per dunam (1000 square meters) per entire growth period). No fertilization of nitrogen was applied, whereas other elements were fertilized as in the normal conditions.

Analyzed Sorghum tissues—All 36 Sorghum inbreds and hybrids were sample per each of the treatments. Tissues [Flag leaf and root] representing different plant characteristics, were sampled and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 59 below.

TABLE 59

Sorghum transcriptome expression sets in field experiment

Expression Set	Set ID

Flag leaf at grain filling stage under normal conditions	1
Root at seedling stage under normal conditions	2
Flag leaf at grain filling stage under drought conditions	3
Flag leaf at grain filling stage under low nitrogen	4
conditions

Table 59: Provided are the sorghum transcriptome expression sets. Flag leaf = the leaf below the flower.

Sorghum yield components and vigor related parameters assessment—Plants were phenotyped as shown in Tables 60-61 below. Some of the following parameters were collected using digital imaging system:

Grains yield per dunam (kg)—At the end of the growing period all heads were collected (harvest). Heads were separately threshed and grains were weighted (grain yield). Grains yield per dunam was calculated by multiplying grain yield per m²by 1000 (dunam is 1000 m²).

Grains yield per plant (plot) (gr)—At the end of the growing period all heads were collected (harvest). Heads were separately threshed and grains were weighted (grain yield). The average grain weight per plant was calculated by dividing the grain yield by the number of plants per plot.

Grains yield per head (gr)—At the end of the growing period all heads were collected (harvest). Heads were separately threshed and grains were weighted (grain yield. Grains yield per head was calculated by dividing the grain yield by the number of heads.

Main head grains yield per plant (gr)—At the end of the growing period all plants were collected (harvest). Main heads were threshed and grains were weighted. Main head grains yield per plant was calculated by dividing the grain yield of the main heads by the number of plants.

Secondary heads grains yield per plant (gr)—At the end of the growing period all plants were collected (harvest). Secondary heads were threshed and grains were weighted. Secondary heads grain yield per plant was calculated by dividing the grain yield of the secondary heads by the number of plants.

Heads dry weight per dunam (kg)—At the end of the growing period heads of all plants were collected (harvest). Heads were weighted after oven dry (dry weight).

Heads dry weight per dunam was calculated by multiplying grain yield per m²by 1000 (dunam is 1000 m²).

Average heads weight per plant at flowering (gr)—At flowering stage heads of 4 plants per plot were collected. Heads were weighted after oven dry (dry weight), and divided by the number of plants.

Leaf carbon isotope discrimination at harvest (%)—isotopic ratio of ¹³C to ¹²C in plant tissue was compared to the isotopic ratio of ¹³C to ¹²C in the atmosphere

Yield per dunam/water until maturity (kg/lit)—was calculated according to Formula XXXXII (above).

Vegetative dry weight per plant/water until maturity (gr/lit)—was calculated according to Formula XXXXIII above.

Total dry matter per plant at harvest/water until maturity (gr/lit)—was calculated according to Formula XXXXIV above.

Yield/SPAD at grain filling (kg/SPAD units) was calculated according to Formula XXXXVII above.

Grains number per dunam (num)—Grains yield per dunam divided by the average 1000 grain weight.

Grains per plant (num)—Grains yield per plant divided by the average 1000 grain weight.

Main head grains num per plant (num)—main head grain yield divided by the number of plants.

1000 grain weight (gr)—was calculated according to Formula XIV above.

Grain area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the head (harvest). A sample of ˜200 grains were weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain fill duration (num)—Duration of grain filling period was calculated by subtracting the number of days to flowering from the number of days to maturity.

Grain fill duration (GDD)—Duration of grain filling period according to the growing degree units (GDD) method. The accumulated GDD during the grain filling period was calculated by subtracting the Num days to Anthesis (GDD) from Num days to Maturity (GDD).

Yield per dunam filling rate (kg/day)—was calculated according to Formula XXXIX (using grain yield per dunam).

Yield per plant filling rate (gr/day)—was calculated according to Formula XXXIX (using grain yield per plant).

Head area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period (harvest) 6 plants main heads were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The head area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of plants.

Number days to flag leaf senescence (num)—the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot arrives to Flag leaf senescence (above half of the leaves are yellow).

Number days to flag leaf senescence (GDD)—Number days to flag leaf senescence according to the growing degree units method. The accumulated GDD from sowing until flag leaf senescence.

% yellow leaves number at flowering (percentage)—At flowering stage, leaves of 4 plants per plot were collected. Yellow and green leaves were separately counted. Percent of yellow leaves at flowering was calculated for each plant by dividing yellow leaves number per plant by the overall number of leaves per plant and multiplying by 100.

% yellow leaves number at harvest (percentage)—At the end of the growing period (harvest) yellow and green leaves from 6 plants per plot were separately counted. Percent of the yellow leaves was calculated per each plant by dividing yellow leaves number per plant by the overall number of leaves per plant and multiplying by 100.

Leaf temperature at flowering (° celsius)—Leaf temperature was measured at flowering stage using Fluke IR thermometer 568 device. Measurements were done on 4 plants per plot on an open flag leaf.

Specific leaf area at flowering (cm²/gr)—was calculated according to Formula XXXVII above.

Flag leaf thickness at flowering (mm)—At the flowering stage, flag leaf thickness was measured for 4 plants per plot. Micrometer was used to measure the thickness of a flag leaf at an intermediate position between the border and the midrib.

Relative water content at flowering (percentage)—was calculated based on Formula I above.

Leaf water content at flowering (percentage)—was calculated based on Formula XXXXIX above.

Stem water content at flowering (percentage)—was calculated based on Formula XXXXVIII above.

Total heads per dunam at harvest (number)—At the end of the growing period the total number of heads per plot was counted (harvest). Total heads per dunam was calculated by multiplying heads number per m²by 1000 (dunam is 1000 m²).

Heads per plant (num)—At the end of the growing period total number of heads were counted and divided by the total number plants.

Tillering per plant (num)—Tillers of 6 plants per plot were counted at harvest stage and divided by the number of plants.

Harvest index (plot) (ratio)—The harvest index was calculated using Formula LVIII above.

Heads index (ratio)—Heads index was calculated using Formula XXXXVI above.

Total dry matter per plant at flowering (gr)—Total dry matter per plant was calculated at flowering. The vegetative portion above ground and all the heads dry weight of 4 plants per plot were summed and divided by the number of plants.

Total dry matter per plant (kg)—Total dry matter per plant at harvest was calculated by summing the average head dry weight and the average vegetative dry weight of 6 plants per plot.

Vegetative dry weight per plant at flowering (gr)—At the flowering stage, vegetative material (excluding roots) of 4 plants per plot were collected and weighted after (dry weight) oven dry. The biomass per plant was calculated by dividing total biomass by the number of plants.

Vegetative dry weight per plant (kg)—At the harvest stage, all vegetative material (excluding roots) were collected and weighted after (dry weight) oven dry.

Vegetative dry weight per plant was calculated by dividing the total biomass by the number of plants.

Plant height growth (cm/day)—The relative growth rate (RGR) of plant height was calculated based on Formula III above.

% Canopy coverage at flowering (percentage)—The % Canopy coverage at flowering was calculated based on Formula XXXII above.

PAR_LAI (Photosynthetic active radiance—Leaf area index)—Leaf area index values were determined using an AccuPAR Ceptometer Model LP-80 and measurements were performed at flowering stage with three measurements per plot.

Leaves area at flowering (cm²)—Green leaves area of 4 plants per plot was measured at flowering stage. Measurement was performed using a Leaf area-meter.

SPAD at vegetative stage (SPAD unit)—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at vegetative stage. SPAD meter readings were done on fully developed leaves of 4 plants per plot by performing three measurements per leaf per plant.

SPAD at flowering (SPAD unit)—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at flowering stage. SPAD meter readings were done on fully developed leaves of 4 plants per plot by performing three measurements per leaf per plant.

SPAD at grain filling (SPAD unit)—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed at grain filling stage. SPAD meter readings were done on fully developed leaves of 4 plants per plot by performing three measurements per leaf per plant.

RUE (Radiation use efficiency)—(gr/% canopy coverage)—Total dry matter produced per intercepted PAR at flowering stage was calculated by dividing the average total dry matter per plant at flowering by the percent of canopy coverage.

Lower stem width at flowering (mm)—Lower stem width was measured at the flowering stage. Lower internodes from 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their diameter was measured using a caliber.

Upper stem width at flowering (mm)—Upper stem width was measured at flowering stage. Upper internodes from 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their diameter was measured using a caliber.

All stem volume at flowering (cm³)—was calculated based on Formula L above.

Number days to heading (num)—Number of days to heading was calculated as the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot arrive heading.

Number days to heading (GDD)—Number days to heading according to the growing degree units method. The accumulated GDD from sowing until heading stage.

Number days to anthesis (num)—Number of days to flowering was calculated as the number of days from sowing till 50% of the plot arrive anthesis.

Number days to anthesis (GDD)—Number days to anthesis according to the growing degree units method. The accumulated GDD from sowing until anthesis stage.

Number days to maturity (GDD)—Number days to maturity according to the growing degree units method. The accumulated GDD from sowing until maturity stage.

N (Nitrogen) use efficiency (kg/kg)—was calculated based on Formula LI above.

Total NUtE—was calculated based on Formula LIII above.

Grain NUtE—was calculated based on Formula LV above.

NUpE (kg/kg)—was calculated based on Formula LII above.

N (Nitrogen) harvest index (Ratio)—was calculated based on Formula LVI above.

% N (Nitrogen) in shoot at flowering—% N content of dry matter in the shoot at flowering.

% N (Nitrogen) in head at flowering—% N content of dry matter in the head at flowering.

% N in (Nitrogen) shoot at harvest—% N content of dry matter in the shoot at harvest.

% N (Nitrogen) in grain at harvest—% N content of dry matter in the grain at harvest.

Data parameters collected are summarized in Tables 60-61 herein below.

TABLE 60

Sorghum correlated parameters
under normal and low N conditions (vectors)

Correlated parameter with	Correlation ID

% Canopy coverage (F) [%]	1
% yellow leaves number (F) [%]	2
% yellow leaves number (H) [%]	3
% N in grain (H) [%]	4
% N in head (F) [%]	5
% N in shoot (F) [%]	6
% N in shoot (H) [%]	7
1000 grain weight [gr.]	8
All stem volume (F) [cm³]	9
Average heads weight per plant (F) [gr.]	10
Flag Leaf thickness (F) [mm]	11
Grain N utilization efficiency [ratio]	12
Grain area [cm²]	13
Grain fill duration [num]	14
Grain fill duration (GDD)	15
Grains yield per dunam [kg]	16
Grains yield per head (RP) [gr.]	17
Grains number per dunam [num]	18
Grains per plant (plot) [num]	19
Grains yield per plant (plot) [gr.]	20
Harvest index (plot) [ratio]	21
Head Area [cm²]	22
Heads dry weight per dunam [kg]	23
Heads index (SP) [Ratio]	24
Heads per plant (RP) [num]	25
Leaf carbon isotope discrimination (H) (%)	26
Leaf temperature (F) [° C.]	27
Leaf water content (F) [%]	28
Leaves area (F) [cm²]	29
Lower Stem width (F) [mm]	30
Main head grains num per plant [num]	31
Main head grains yield per plant [gr]	32
N harvest index [ratio]	33
N use efficiency [ratio]	34
Number days to Anthesis [num]	35
Number days to Anthesis (GDD)	36
Number days to Flag leaf senescence [num]	37
Number days to Flag leaf senescence (GDD)	38
Number days to Heading (GDD)	39
Number days to Maturity (GDD)	40
NupE (H) [ratio]	41
PAR_LAI (F) [μmol m⁻² S⁻¹]	42
Plant height growth [cm/day]	43
RUE [gr./% canopy coverage]	44
RWC (F) [%]	45
SPAD (F) [SPAD unit]	46
SPAD (GF) [SPAD unit]	47
SPAD_(veg) [SPAD unit]	48
Secondary heads grains yield per plant [gr.]	49
Specific leaf area (F) [cm²/gr]	50
Stem water content (F) [%]	51
TDM (F)/water until flowering [gr./lit]	52
TDM (SP)/water until maturity [kg/lit]	53
Tillering per plant (SP) [number]	54
Total Heads per dunam (H) [number]	55
Total N utilization efficiency (H) [ratio]	56
Total dry matter per plant (F) [gr.]	57
Total dry matter per plant (SP) [kg]	58
Upper Stem width (F) [mm]	59
VDW (F)/water until flowering [gr./lit]	60
VDW (SP)/water until maturity [gr./lit]	61
Vegetative DW per plant (F) [gr.]	62
Vegetative DW per plant (RP) [kg]	63
Yield per dunam filling rate [kg/day]	64
Yield per dunam/water until maturity [kg/ml]	65
Yield per plant filling rate [gr./day]	66
Yield/SPAD (GF) [ratio]	67

Table 60. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors). “kg” = kilograms; “gr.” = grams; “RP” = Rest of plot; “SP” = Selected plants; “lit” = liter; “ml” milliliter; “cm” = centimeter; “num” = number; “GDD” Growing degree day; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “DW” = Plant Dry weight; “GF” = grain filling growth stage; “F” = flowering stage; “H” = harvest stage; “N”—Nitrogen; “NupE”—Nitrogen uptake efficiency; “VDW” = vegetative dry weight; “TDM” = Total dry matter. “RUE” = radiation use efficiency; “RWC” relative water content; “veg” = vegetative stage.

TABLE 61

Sorghum correlated parameters under drought conditions (vectors)

	Correlated parameter with	Correlation ID

	% Canopy coverage (F) [%]	1
	% yellow leaves number (F) [%]	2
	% yellow leaves number (H) [%]	3
	1000 grain weight [gr.]	4
	All stem volume (F) [cm³]	5
	Average heads weight per plant (F) [gr.]	6
	Flag Leaf thickness (F) [mm]	7
	Grain area [cm²]	8
	Grain fill duration [number]	9
	Grain fill duration (GDD)	10
	Grains yield per dunam [kg]	11
	Grains yield per head (RP) [gr.]	12
	Grains number per dunam [number]	13
	Grains per plant (plot) [number]	14
	Grains yield per plant (plot) [gr.]	15
	Harvest index (plot) [ratio]	16
	Head Area [cm²]	17
	Heads dry weight per dunam [kg]	18
	Heads index (SP) [ratio]	19
	Heads per plant (RP) [number]	20
	Leaf carbon isotope discrimination (H) (%)	21
	Leaf temperature (F) [° C.]	22
	Leaf water content (F) [%]	23
	Leaves area (F) [cm²]	24
	Lower Stem width (F) [mm]	25
	Main head grains num per plant [num]	26
	Main head grains yield per plant [gr.]	27
	Number days to Anthesis [number]	28
	Number days to Anthesis (GDD)	29
	Number days to Flag leaf senescence [number]	30
	Number days to Flag leaf senescence (GDD)	31
	Number days to Heading (GDD)	32
	Number days to Maturity (GDD)	33
	PAR_LAI (F) [μmol m⁻² S⁻¹]	34
	Plant height growth [cm/day]	35
	RUE [gr./% canopy coverage]	36
	RWC (F) [%]	37
	SPAD (F) [SPAD unit]	38
	SPAD (GF) [SPAD unit]	39
	SPAD_(veg) [SPAD unit]	40
	Secondary heads grains yield per plant [gr.]	41
	Specific leaf area (F) [cm²/gr.]	42
	Stem water content (F) [%]	43
	TDM (F)/water until flowering [gr./lit]	44
	TDM (SP)/water until maturity [kg/lit]	45
	Tillering per plant (SP) [number]	46
	Total Heads per dunam (H) [number]	47
	Total dry matter per plant (F) [gr.]	48
	Total dry matter per plant (SP) [kg]	49
	Upper Stem width (F) [mm]	50
	VDW (F)/water until flowering [gr./lit]	51
	VDW (SP)/water until maturity [gr./lit]	52
	Vegetative DW per plant (F) [gr.]	53
	Vegetative DW per plant (RP) [kg]	54
	Yield per dunam filling rate [kg/day]	55
	Yield per dunam/water until maturity [kg/ml]	56
	Yield per plant filling rate [gr./day]	57
	Yield/SPAD (GF) [ratio]	58

	Table 61. Provided are the Sorghum correlated parameters (vectors). “kg” = kilograms; “gr.” = grams; “RP” = Rest of plot; “SP” = Selected plants; “lit” = liter; “ml”—milliliter; “cm” = centimeter; “num” = number; “GDD”—Growing degree day; “SPAD” = chlorophyll levels; “FW” = Plant Fresh weight; “DW” = Plant Dry weight; “GF” = grain filling growth stage; “F” = flowering stage; “H” = harvest stage; “N”—Nitrogen; “NupE”—Nitrogen uptake efficiency; “VDW” = vegetative dry weight; “TDM” = Total dry matter. “RUE” = radiation use efficiency; “RWC” relative water content; “veg” = vegetative stage.

Thirty-six different sorghum inbreds and hybrids lines were grown and characterized for different parameters (Tables 60-61). The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software (Tables 62-76) and a subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Tables 77-79). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 62

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under normal conditions

L/
Corr.
ID	L-1	L-2	L-3	L-4	L-5	L-6	L-7

1	87.281	90.111	75.670	75.599	76.138	69.928	84.375
2	0.144	0.244	0.080	0.134	0.274	0.132	0.101
3	0.265	0.157	0.323	0.389	0.323	0.095	0.139
4	1.910	NA	1.621	2.086	NA	1.594	NA
5	2.315	NA	2.722	1.844	NA	1.970	NA
6	1.729	NA	1.414	1.303	NA	1.602	NA
7	1.080	NA	0.559	0.722	NA	1.112	NA
8	29.796	32.044	33.782	31.335	29.964	24.146	18.356
9	23261.2	19941.6	14878.4	31092.4	39294.6	13029.4	33015.4
10	17.005	17.720	9.727	10.183	37.679	11.140	11.271
11	0.179	0.144	0.144	0.164	0.127	0.186	0.138
12	18.510	NA	35.872	31.063	NA	30.945	NA
13	0.119	0.133	0.130	0.136	0.130	0.105	0.092
14	35.0	32.4	31.0	32.4	27.6	32.8	23.4
15	459.6	407.9	396.8	423.6	358.8	414.6	305.6
16	818.9	893.2	861.8	912.8	661.8	612.2	421.0
17	30.311	32.849	25.408	21.427	37.294	33.226	17.030
18	27117640	27702000	25021020	29202780	21264980	25132460	20308520
19	2766.2	3370.4	3162.2	4531.2	3464.5	3570.4	2267.5
20	77.2	103.5	100.8	130.3	100.3	72.4	43.5
21	0.225	0.271	0.281	0.335	0.271	0.306	0.126
22	134.403	96.685	112.799	101.680	106.065	84.074	105.631
23	1.046	1.062	0.956	1.010	0.797	0.768	0.747
24	0.345	0.399	0.393	0.453	0.384	0.536	0.344
25	1.125	1.306	1.712	2.280	1.144	1.151	1.287
26	−12.858	−13.200	−13.116	−12.834	−13.160	−13.047	−13.160
27	31.719	29.182	30.395	29.627	30.433	29.998	29.777
28	65.971	NA	74.090	71.840	63.293	77.500	70.016
29	16514.4	12058.4	12787.0	9932.2	11459.3	9116.4	9023.2
30	19.965	15.459	14.231	18.436	15.989	16.376	15.415
31	1322.3	1669.9	1615.1	1624.3	1784.3	1480.9	1008.7
32	38.221	53.811	55.644	51.041	53.356	35.979	19.751
33	0.354	NA	0.582	0.648	NA	0.493	NA
34	45.493	49.623	47.876	50.713	36.764	34.011	23.390
35	89.200	83.000	85.800	88.400	88.800	84.250	93.400
36	777.6	709.7	740.6	768.4	773.0	725.7	831.9
37	141.0	119.0	125.5	139.0	117.2	NA	126.8
38	1469.5	1165.8	1254.9	1441.2	1142.7	NA	1272.0
39	739.4	625.3	709.0	721.1	763.8	629.6	769.5
40	1237.2	1117.6	1137.4	1191.9	1131.7	1137.4	1137.4
41	1.913	NA	1.325	1.560	NA	1.101	NA
42	5.343	5.581	4.415	3.763	3.620	4.009	4.920
43	1.239	2.549	2.039	2.011	2.764	1.118	2.183
44	2.275	1.339	1.025	1.111	2.105	1.071	1.959
45	90.821	91.678	91.192	88.713	88.259	84.493	87.219
46	56.865	52.452	49.170	55.132	48.239	53.323	48.915
47	56.255	56.293	53.347	59.058	52.039	54.248	47.028
48	48.517	42.450	43.114	42.131	39.272	45.967	33.339
49	2.452	7.004	2.201	30.987	5.723	2.838	2.331
50	137.546	148.278	164.775	175.755	162.372	150.487	110.243
51	53.794	77.831	79.822	78.527	67.250	77.975	71.874
52	0.674	0.455	0.275	0.282	0.542	0.278	0.454
53	0.038	0.047	0.043	0.048	0.047	0.030	0.037
54	1.233	3.276	4.133	3.172	1.100	2.333	3.067
55	25950	25250	31350	37950	15918	16250	23200
56	91.317	NA	123.160	89.001	NA	93.670	NA
57	198.503	120.895	77.763	83.147	159.607	70.670	143.281
58	0.193	0.218	0.198	0.235	0.217	0.137	0.172
59	11.284	9.932	8.125	10.664	9.863	9.022	8.265
60	0.616	0.388	0.240	0.248	0.414	0.236	0.418
61	0.025	0.028	0.026	0.026	0.029	0.013	0.024
62	181.498	103.175	68.036	72.964	121.928	59.530	132.010
63	0.097	0.103	0.106	0.088	0.101	0.080	0.126
64	23.358	27.649	27.843	28.188	23.948	20.032	17.887
65	1.617	1.919	1.851	1.851	1.422	1.261	0.904
66	1.110	1.880	1.860	2.542	2.100	1.133	0.932
67	24.016	33.690	33.966	48.089	37.960	28.385	23.686

Table 62: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 63

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under normal conditions

L/
Corr.
ID	L-8	L-9	L-10	L-11	L-12	L-13	L-14

1	NA	89.502	95.076	92.841	67.342	80.367	72.241
2	0.000	0.061	0.145	0.130	0.183	0.096	0.121
3	0.166	0.578	0.550	0.321	0.231	0.040	0.129
4	NA	1.796	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
5	NA	1.369	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
6	NA	1.795	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
7	NA	1.151	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
8	22.636	23.197	17.265	26.974	24.677	22.564	16.849
9	9480.2	21372.2	57928.1	42021.2	15340.9	10035.2	20685.1
10	6.766	11.973	22.375	35.695	8.805	10.347	23.983
11	NA	0.179	0.150	0.206	0.178	0.197	0.173
12	NA	26.691	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
13	0.119	0.098	0.086	0.116	0.105	0.103	0.083
14	37.0	32.4	20.8	35.2	37.4	41.0	29.3
15	433.9	425.1	285.1	479.2	478.2	528.2	401.3
16	154.3	663.3	457.0	473.8	257.0	664.8	297.9
17	8.572	27.917	30.839	39.469	9.213	29.013	15.133
18	6938386	26620980	23566280	16059440	10047874	24969700	15586667
19	883.9	3870.3	3226.6	3209.9	1567.8	2899.6	3451.8
20	18.7	89.4	57.3	86.9	37.1	67.9	62.4
21	0.172	0.295	0.062	0.177	0.168	0.291	0.150
22	226.157	156.424	120.418	210.453	121.302	74.783	244.476
23	0.241	0.850	0.588	0.613	0.495	0.846	0.336
24	0.414	0.485	0.127	0.310	0.476	0.443	0.322
25	1.038	1.397	0.950	1.002	1.317	1.256	1.428
26	−13.473	−12.825	−12.990	−13.379	−12.587	−13.140	NA
27	NA	29.518	31.398	28.672	29.792	29.705	29.464
28	70.199	73.164	71.107	69.660	80.116	75.597	70.564
29	3520.4	12434.2	18050.2	16771.2	7915.8	8866.2	18167.7
30	9.303	20.503	21.948	22.635	17.902	13.734	24.669
31	450.1	1979.2	1582.7	1734.6	932.8	1362.5	2390.5
32	9.952	46.648	28.461	46.906	22.198	31.058	43.412
33	NA	0.479	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
34	8.574	36.852	25.390	26.320	14.279	36.932	16.553
35	77.750	90.200	119.000	107.000	83.800	84.000	113.333
36	650.1	790.9	1167.9	1008.4	719.1	721.1	1091.8
37	112.6	148.8	149.3	152.2	148.7	121.3	152.0
38	1078.8	1581.4	1588.7	1630.5	1580.3	1198.4	1628.1
39	630.5	756.2	NA	945.3	621.2	663.5	945.3
40	1084.0	1216.0	1453.0	1487.6	1197.2	1122.6	1493.0
41	NA	1.527	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
42	NA	6.036	7.090	3.898	2.935	4.595	2.359
43	2.839	0.820	1.486	1.199	1.106	1.199	0.616
44	NA	1.213	3.128	2.504	1.093	0.853	3.219
45	91.501	83.981	85.877	89.036	85.516	88.043	89.730
46	NA	57.607	53.649	59.822	50.902	54.497	58.942
47	60.127	59.927	50.535	58.642	51.887	52.722	57.114
48	48.864	45.617	39.567	43.694	45.175	42.747	36.967
49	0.107	4.372	0.215	NA	2.750	1.468	0.700
50	191.109	123.281	143.880	118.611	171.938	154.855	121.095
51	83.448	72.340	74.514	63.236	76.242	75.934	56.029
52	0.123	0.354	0.619	0.581	0.259	0.265	0.514
53	0.014	0.033	0.074	0.044	0.028	0.022	0.045
54	1.433	2.933	1.700	2.233	3.267	2.133	1.941
55	17500	22300	14750	11450	24700	21250	18694
56	NA	88.485	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
57	26.001	108.460	292.856	232.745	72.540	68.447	233.233
58	0.060	0.170	0.415	0.248	0.132	0.107	0.252
59	7.777	9.952	7.341	11.882	9.938	9.195	9.462
60	0.092	0.316	0.589	0.492	0.228	0.224	0.461
61	0.008	0.017	0.064	0.031	0.015	0.012	0.031
62	19.236	96.488	278.538	197.050	63.735	58.100	209.250
63	0.033	0.074	0.474	0.178	0.058	0.078	0.126
64	3.968	20.500	21.872	13.193	6.880	19.827	10.751
65	0.321	1.311	0.811	0.841	0.515	1.386	0.529
66	0.279	1.579	1.391	1.358	0.669	0.855	1.507
67	7.545	35.974	32.965	29.782	20.168	26.248	42.091

Table 63: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 64

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under normal conditions

L/
Corr.
ID	L-15	L-16	L-17	L-18	L-19	L-20	L-21

1	72.683	66.338	90.911	68.461	92.993	62.232	85.473
2	0.188	0.229	0.246	0.036	0.173	0.015	0.147
3	0.142	0.213	0.272	0.241	0.302	0.141	0.042
4	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
5	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
6	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
7	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
8	28.154	21.772	16.872	37.026	18.169	28.835	17.383
9	12649.4	15432.6	14500.7	26609.8	17621.5	13556.3	12018.1
10	9.566	14.145	7.660	24.738	24.100	13.475	16.594
11	0.169	0.195	0.144	0.209	0.162	0.204	0.189
12	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
13	0.122	0.115	0.082	0.146	0.093	0.121	0.089
14	29.0	25.2	26.2	29.8	29.8	29.8	23.2
15	364.0	331.6	342.0	390.9	395.4	385.1	303.8
16	731.8	609.8	378.1	470.8	291.5	496.6	611.0
17	33.025	29.503	14.878	22.175	8.100	29.570	30.116
18	23737260	25534520	19319316	12802788	14629600	16643442	31788060
19	3187.1	3304.8	2184.2	2187.1	1951.8	2731.1	3818.6
20	88.0	72.9	39.1	76.0	37.0	75.9	67.5
21	0.324	0.322	0.187	0.179	0.110	0.351	0.264
22	82.036	106.139	129.335	86.311	83.329	114.026	90.007
23	0.860	0.762	0.646	0.602	0.619	0.523	0.717
24	0.472	0.519	0.302	0.326	0.278	0.508	0.350
25	1.092	0.995	1.238	1.530	2.057	1.029	1.125
26	−12.993	−12.733	−13.153	−13.293	−13.003	−13.193	−12.820
27	31.278	31.219	30.157	30.914	28.892	30.677	30.455
28	75.275	63.086	71.865	76.103	66.483	78.473	76.381
29	16019.6	20833.0	13190.4	16299.6	12096.8	11573.2	11655.8
30	16.079	20.902	16.868	22.274	16.304	19.221	19.066
31	1554.3	1950.9	993.2	848.9	686.6	1329.0	1808.6
32	43.158	43.208	17.962	31.778	12.954	37.849	32.471
33	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
34	40.655	33.876	21.007	26.157	16.195	27.587	33.944
35	84.600	98.000	90.600	94.250	101.750	88.200	94.400
36	728.4	892.5	795.5	843.1	940.9	769.5	845.1
37	124.6	NA	NA	152.0	146.5	NA	137.0
38	1242.8	NA	NA	1628.1	1548.8	NA	1412.0
39	697.4	853.3	728.4	755.8	892.4	655.3	763.8
40	1092.4	1224.1	1137.4	1234.0	1336.3	1154.5	1148.8
41	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
42	3.761	3.525	6.377	3.866	3.975	3.048	4.783
43	1.410	0.857	0.899	1.223	1.516	0.728	0.672
44	1.057	2.424	0.892	3.957	1.631	1.325	2.274
45	91.944	91.411	83.596	90.879	87.878	90.201	89.471
46	52.616	49.062	53.885	61.513	51.442	51.583	47.937
47	54.250	49.787	54.842	61.803	54.223	55.648	51.650
48	45.100	42.950	40.211	42.363	31.746	49.622	41.847
49	0.947	0.253	5.632	10.957	5.365	5.890	1.704
50	179.108	183.038	159.180	157.503	111.333	163.526	142.593
51	82.154	54.697	76.659	48.349	62.765	81.034	29.074
52	0.259	0.445	0.270	0.791	0.409	0.257	0.557
53	0.028	0.025	0.027	0.045	0.028	0.028	0.028
54	1.800	1.367	1.893	4.500	5.125	2.700	1.100
55	19607	18300	23150	22688	43348	14874	18626
56	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
57	74.384	153.130	81.275	258.144	151.944	76.769	187.014
58	0.130	0.126	0.126	0.226	0.158	0.132	0.132
59	8.001	11.433	7.689	12.311	6.849	10.761	7.708
60	0.226	0.404	0.244	0.715	0.344	0.212	0.508
61	0.015	0.012	0.019	0.031	0.018	0.013	0.019
62	64.818	138.985	73.615	233.406	127.844	63.294	170.420
63	0.078	0.058	0.052	0.144	0.131	0.055	0.080
64	25.244	24.209	14.898	15.893	10.411	16.378	27.151
65	1.572	1.204	0.812	0.943	0.527	1.067	1.313
66	1.500	1.718	0.814	1.448	0.627	1.519	1.498
67	28.845	39.385	20.533	19.312	18.413	27.835	36.209

Table 64: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 65

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under normal conditions

L/
Corr.
ID	L-22	L-23	L-24	L-25	L-26	L-27	L-28

1	76.025	92.104	88.446	62.175	54.728	94.411	57.550
2	0.043	0.125	0.245	0.128	0.114	0.327	0.077
3	0.059	0.413	0.788	0.188	0.152	0.635	0.139
4	NA	NA	1.542	1.604	NA	NA	NA
5	NA	NA	1.862	1.651	NA	NA	NA
6	NA	NA	0.795	1.293	NA	NA	NA
7	NA	NA	0.408	0.834	NA	NA	NA
8	21.378	27.975	27.046	28.951	20.937	29.442	22.508
9	8397.1	28819.2	52862.1	23299.4	8716.9	NA	18934.9
10	8.594	27.635	17.499	15.463	15.008	NA	20.314
11	NA	0.164	0.175	0.147	0.153	0.170	0.177
12	NA	NA	35.130	39.995	NA	NA	NA
13	0.103	0.129	0.116	0.129	0.103	0.125	0.112
14	40.6	35.2	25.0	31.6	33.0	20.4	28.6
15	500.3	476.6	343.1	415.1	423.7	268.2	363.8
16	307.6	221.0	685.9	792.0	449.8	626.1	497.1
17	13.291	8.403	37.595	48.252	25.124	31.626	30.856
18	13130962	6653443	23933120	24881460	19456260	19639820	21045320
19	2058.7	1109.8	3819.2	5346.8	2650.3	3204.7	3102.0
20	44.3	33.6	101.5	153.4	56.4	93.6	69.0
21	0.271	0.076	0.174	0.367	0.250	0.238	0.245
22	55.030	200.519	136.462	192.125	85.898	119.330	151.300
23	0.361	0.417	0.981	0.898	0.636	0.748	0.826
24	0.417	0.204	0.337	0.594	0.453	0.358	0.586
25	1.823	2.179	1.059	1.290	1.022	1.443	1.143
26	−12.720	−13.077	−12.408	−13.138	−12.827	−12.677	−13.003
27	28.560	29.173	28.565	29.963	31.465	31.661	31.462
28	NA	67.303	69.978	68.160	72.923	67.295	76.050
29	6785.6	14171.8	21989.2	13038.3	10639.6	NA	14682.2
30	14.975	20.277	21.868	18.888	18.942	23.163	21.965
31	756.2	573.1	2299.1	3152.2	1392.1	1579.3	1438.0
32	16.799	17.540	62.192	89.345	29.968	46.760	33.521
33	NA	NA	0.542	0.641	NA	NA	NA
34	17.088	12.280	38.105	43.998	24.989	34.782	27.619
35	74.400	106.000	115.200	89.600	85.400	102.000	86.200
36	611.9	996.2	1115.4	782.2	736.1	945.3	745.5
37	NA	148.6	143.0	132.0	NA	150.8	113.0
38	NA	1579.1	1498.6	1343.5	NA	1610.7	1084.0
39	530.3	945.3	945.3	740.6	693.3	879.3	709.0
40	1112.2	1472.8	1458.5	1197.3	1159.8	1213.4	1109.2
41	NA	NA	1.211	1.089	NA	NA	NA
42	3.564	4.343	3.259	2.881	2.372	7.275	2.811
43	0.971	1.152	1.116	1.598	0.782	0.972	0.872
44	0.665	3.191	3.362	2.569	1.450	NA	1.450
45	94.615	88.734	89.247	89.338	90.476	91.910	91.291
46	52.657	54.712	52.455	57.742	53.535	50.162	54.922
47	47.168	55.997	52.395	57.607	56.565	52.338	54.393
48	40.922	35.689	41.167	43.278	44.881	40.239	42.969
49	4.103	1.835	NA	5.049	1.249	NA	NA
50	166.853	108.385	139.894	164.925	164.415	NA	156.660
51	NA	57.267	68.469	53.460	79.583	NA	84.561
52	0.242	0.722	0.627	0.457	0.251	NA	0.277
53	0.015	0.044	0.053	0.049	0.025	0.035	0.026
54	3.500	4.833	1.000	1.200	2.067	1.200	1.000
55	22218	27333	15850	13893	16300	17150	14650
56	NA	NA	169.680	105.928	NA	NA	NA
57	49.924	292.635	293.874	134.600	70.658	NA	81.484
58	0.068	0.249	0.298	0.240	0.119	0.176	0.123
59	8.244	8.408	11.429	10.412	9.618	11.290	11.574
60	0.200	0.654	0.589	0.405	0.198	NA	0.208
61	0.008	0.036	0.035	0.020	0.014	0.022	0.011
62	41.331	265.000	276.375	119.138	55.650	NA	61.170
63	0.062	0.234	0.219	0.087	0.064	0.153	0.089
64	7.551	6.500	27.784	25.602	13.995	30.555	17.432
65	0.661	0.392	1.217	1.618	0.958	1.253	1.068
66	0.515	0.579	2.497	2.901	0.923	2.422	1.173
67	20.552	11.458	43.991	53.278	25.074	31.330	26.607

Table 65: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 66

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under normal conditions

L-29	L-30	L-31	L-32	L-33	L-34	L-35	L-36

85.797	88.767	92.567	87.286	81.636	90.129	66.243	82.308
0.090	0.127	0.300	0.171	0.033	0.087	0.240	0.131
0.000	0.018	0.168	0.256	0.117	0.148	0.226	0.263
NA	NA	1.841	NA	NA	1.557	NA	1.840
NA	NA	1.927	NA	NA	1.704	NA	2.047
NA	NA	1.324	NA	NA	1.235	NA	1.340
NA	NA	0.971	NA	NA	1.231	NA	0.631
25.949	28.407	26.752	21.833	25.432	23.457	22.609	28.331
14471.9	11682.4	12897.2	27195.9	18515.8	16533.5	14367.4	45771.7
14.808	12.239	9.899	29.627	37.964	17.009	18.987	24.612
NA	NA	NA	0.214	0.189	0.172	0.168	0.156
NA	NA	32.593	NA	NA	26.714	NA	19.842
0.110	0.120	0.111	0.102	0.111	0.109	0.104	0.116
42.5	42.5	40.2	26.8	32.5	30.0	31.4	33.4
525.9	525.9	493.6	352.0	425.1	394.9	413.3	438.2
693.9	663.0	668.8	861.9	904.6	757.3	874.2	653.2
35.499	35.632	29.956	55.999	52.706	46.218	48.680	27.175
25439325	22595225	23516220	35903040	35910300	30637940	37887500	22720400
3607.6	2713.3	3012.8	5869.7	5994.7	4733.1	4927.1	3710.2
91.9	74.1	80.3	130.1	122.6	108.7	112.8	99.9
0.358	0.345	0.316	0.284	0.312	0.307	0.308	0.135
115.146	141.714	99.027	174.094	245.323	194.992	180.424	136.020
0.816	0.810	0.845	1.027	1.014	0.968	1.139	0.787
0.545	0.583	0.549	0.466	0.556	0.464	0.472	0.223
1.152	1.124	1.215	1.060	1.142	1.100	1.000	1.458
−13.360	−13.000	−13.074	−12.850	NA	−12.561	−12.790	−13.138
28.573	29.033	28.020	30.095	30.456	30.082	30.047	30.042
NA	NA	NA	52.561	44.281	35.418	75.142	65.973
10885.3	9702.0	12009.2	20599.4	16039.3	17728.8	17360.8	15975.6
17.356	16.629	15.102	21.631	20.556	19.409	15.657	20.886
1964.2	1191.6	1513.4	2925.2	3386.4	2454.2	2247.4	2021.1
50.815	34.030	40.866	65.669	79.769	57.320	62.729	56.619
NA	NA	0.600	NA	NA	0.416	NA	0.365
38.550	36.836	37.154	47.882	50.257	42.075	48.569	36.288
74.000	74.000	74.000	94.000	88.500	93.000	90.000	92.000
607.3	607.3	607.3	840.0	769.5	826.7	786.8	814.0
NA	NA	NA	146.2	NA	NA	NA	141.3
NA	NA	NA	1544.8	NA	NA	NA	1473.8
563.9	537.3	591.0	769.5	715.1	756.1	756.1	768.4
1133.1	1133.1	1100.8	1191.9	1194.6	1221.5	1200.0	1252.2
NA	NA	1.259	NA	NA	1.475	NA	1.753
4.767	4.959	5.747	6.056	5.245	6.680	3.387	4.763
1.023	0.956	0.985	0.836	1.123	0.878	0.941	1.778
0.815	0.635	0.635	4.936	4.053	3.010	2.100	2.885
92.400	91.807	91.379	87.241	87.942	85.656	90.903	92.520
53.863	60.083	51.130	49.700	57.019	55.100	53.853	53.908
51.479	54.694	50.473	54.407	55.754	53.633	52.791	55.657
43.450	47.839	43.086	44.086	45.079	46.697	44.811	41.231
0.547	0.412	6.979	3.442	6.650	1.205	NA	7.502
173.345	151.866	167.177	104.022	82.278	66.905	172.576	131.264
NA	NA	NA	20.553	37.994	37.398	70.132	66.732
0.330	0.271	0.286	1.226	1.098	0.814	0.478	0.751
0.030	0.024	0.027	0.051	0.046	0.040	0.040	0.079
3.583	3.542	2.893	2.167	1.000	1.067	1.133	2.733
19875	17979	21600	14064	16583	15400	16500	21250
NA	NA	91.382	NA	NA	88.568	NA	129.502
68.156	56.023	59.009	403.078	323.425	264.537	140.877	231.139
0.141	0.110	0.128	0.250	0.227	0.198	0.198	0.397
10.101	8.910	8.771	10.075	11.503	8.806	8.564	10.101
0.258	0.212	0.238	1.136	0.969	0.761	0.414	0.672
0.014	0.012	0.013	0.027	0.020	0.022	0.021	0.061
53.348	43.784	49.111	373.451	285.461	247.528	121.890	206.527
0.056	0.062	0.074	0.128	0.072	0.083	0.083	0.283
16.317	15.588	16.523	32.231	27.382	25.113	27.842	20.006
1.491	1.424	1.437	1.744	1.811	1.516	1.773	1.289
1.198	0.805	1.121	2.499	2.397	1.923	2.014	1.840
37.987	21.984	32.670	54.300	58.941	46.085	50.530	39.929

Table 66: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under normal conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section

TABLE 67

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under drought conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6	Line-7

1	78.352	78.010	71.044	63.415	69.908	73.119	77.679
2	0.265	0.395	0.250	0.227	0.572	0.118	0.259
3	0.482	0.689	0.627	0.645	0.648	0.499	0.407
4	27.439	28.686	34.531	28.119	25.842	22.918	17.494
5	13008	13795	11883	22788	31653	9741	19460
6	17.990	13.835	9.456	12.471	25.544	9.745	9.906
7	0.150	0.131	0.144	0.134	0.131	0.187	0.109
8	0.117	0.126	0.135	0.130	0.122	0.103	0.092
9	31.8	32.2	32.0	31.6	25.4	32.6	23.4
10	415.250	404.350	403.300	409.850	330.450	408.850	306.550
11	539.551	494.005	653.565	568.314	358.361	474.717	364.646
12	29.007	16.979	17.260	22.347	22.506	35.358	15.765
13	19183840	17265920	20151620	18904060	12652968	19240800	18560870
14	2226.7	2367.6	2602.6	3022.6	2051.1	2957.7	2089.8
15	59.176	62.690	77.535	82.570	53.302	67.111	37.943
16	0.212	0.219	0.273	0.306	0.194	0.360	0.126
17	102.633	79.927	82.531	78.496	72.276	72.389	81.281
18	0.705	0.617	0.724	0.630	0.492	0.548	0.568
19	0.337	0.344	0.381	0.450	0.332	0.558	0.317
20	0.991	1.898	2.072	1.700	1.085	1.008	0.980
21	−13.414	−13.017	−13.382	−13.459	−13.873	−13.370	−13.373
22	31.247	32.383	33.132	31.790	30.903	30.877	30.608
23	62.944	NA	70.943	69.165	52.282	76.835	60.839
24	13806.8	10419.0	10992.0	10397.8	10516.7	6092.0	6199.8
25	18.287	14.355	14.355	19.096	16.932	14.936	14.148
26	1095.968	998.732	1092.335	1171.034	1082.701	1401.898	1073.967
27	30.359	29.024	37.874	32.879	28.818	32.257	19.801
28	89.6	82.6	83.4	87.4	90.6	82.2	95.0
29	784.8	704.9	714.2	757.7	795.5	700.4	853.3
30	130.5	114.2	114.0	122.4	114.2	126.7	121.4
31	1325.3	1100.8	1098.1	1213.0	1100.8	1274.7	1199.2
32	748.2	634.9	654.4	723.6	754.3	624.8	779.1
33	1200.0	1109.2	1117.5	1167.5	1125.9	1109.2	1159.8
34	4.029	3.966	3.795	3.048	3.039	3.921	3.843
35	0.878	2.066	1.571	1.326	1.870	1.130	2.069
36	2.156	1.293	1.270	1.381	2.127	0.784	1.403
37	83.152	84.266	86.926	81.749	82.840	89.485	77.472
38	52.365	49.910	45.253	50.397	43.083	51.762	45.108
39	53.561	49.293	47.657	51.112	42.562	54.852	45.172
40	48.936	43.208	42.797	42.117	35.542	47.492	35.083
41	0.040	4.854	4.636	14.192	3.058	1.145	3.180
42	126.869	146.608	158.066	160.683	116.771	135.768	83.774
43	42.918	75.713	75.807	77.106	66.004	75.820	71.374
44	0.937	0.625	0.532	0.498	0.847	0.370	0.577
45	0.056	0.063	0.058	0.055	0.051	0.036	0.061
46	1.107	3.200	3.433	3.300	1.000	1.100	4.379
47	17250	29257	36000	23967	15250	12688	21430
48	161.6	96.1	82.7	84.2	145.3	56.0	109.1
49	0.157	0.163	0.152	0.148	0.134	0.093	0.162
50	9.327	9.114	7.802	10.150	9.824	8.717	7.802
51	0.833	0.535	0.472	0.424	0.698	0.306	0.525
52	0.039	0.042	0.036	0.031	0.034	0.016	0.042
53	143.638	82.260	73.275	71.738	119.795	46.255	99.235
54	0.082	0.086	0.083	0.075	0.087	0.046	0.105
55	17.070	15.356	20.624	17.892	14.011	14.573	15.448
56	1.936	1.922	2.481	2.108	1.386	1.847	1.374
57	0.978	1.052	1.354	1.393	1.162	1.014	0.946
58	20.591	25.638	29.817	32.103	27.309	28.434	26.690

Table 67: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 68

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under drought conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12	Line-13	Line-14

1	NA	91.009	NA	80.988	70.467	79.809	75.754
2	0.000	0.321	0.278	0.314	0.234	0.115	0.301
3	0.210	0.625	0.760	0.675	0.573	0.364	0.427
4	21.718	21.765	12.299	28.297	23.752	23.529	27.665
5	7925	15391	46856	26600	13235	8101	9566
6	5.942	11.074	8.455	15.925	7.906	9.860	8.572
7	NA	0.165	0.145	0.171	0.145	0.163	0.162
8	0.113	0.097	0.070	0.120	0.106	0.105	0.121
9	37.0	28.3	18.3	28.8	37.2	30.6	29.8
10	453.500	369.250	193.900	391.700	469.150	384.250	374.550
11	176.209	586.838	95.022	321.492	275.869	459.694	426.101
12	10.824	23.190	6.566	16.696	9.493	25.781	22.166
13	8106154	25074700	6470276	10728240	11082880	17810750	14047530
14	922.6	3192.6	1275.3	2368.5	1297.7	2280.5	1687.8
15	18.754	68.585	17.454	66.288	29.768	53.878	46.381
16	0.192	0.296	0.027	0.174	0.180	0.252	0.349
17	188.433	128.804	80.847	114.857	78.775	70.477	54.292
18	0.265	0.706	0.227	0.354	0.443	0.566	0.588
19	0.464	0.469	0.083	0.291	0.421	0.434	0.500
20	1.048	1.362	0.948	1.121	1.458	1.193	1.045
21	−14.197	−13.146	−13.423	−13.618	−12.775	−13.560	−13.117
22	NA	31.738	NA	30.612	30.143	31.090	32.813
23	71.130	68.444	65.265	63.310	79.049	75.830	71.806
24	2894.0	9764.5	13474.8	14964.6	9651.0	6615.4	10532.6
25	9.019	19.935	23.125	21.705	17.476	13.403	17.250
26	363.433	1590.208	817.400	1579.043	630.300	898.267	875.433
27	7.775	35.168	11.282	45.210	15.017	21.266	24.160
28	76.0	90.3	132.0	112.4	80.4	83.4	84.2
29	630.5	791.9	1343.3	1080.7	679.7	713.9	723.6
30	111.8	143.3	150.0	150.6	147.3	113.0	114.0
31	1068.3	1501.6	1599.4	1607.3	1558.9	1084.0	1098.2
32	630.5	736.4	NA	945.3	625.3	607.3	709.0
33	1092.4	1161.1	1602.8	1472.4	1148.8	1098.1	1098.1
34	NA	6.238	NA	3.233	3.167	4.803	3.799
35	2.470	0.697	1.100	1.001	0.795	1.036	0.982
36	NA	1.062	NA	2.547	0.929	0.797	0.822
37	89.690	79.575	NA	85.392	86.918	84.460	84.347
38	NA	48.829	NA	50.915	50.778	52.048	50.596
39	55.544	50.777	NA	52.813	51.510	52.922	48.402
40	47.150	44.642	39.311	44.153	42.039	44.369	46.417
41	0.487	6.895	NA	0.837	1.119	0.373	2.202
42	188.735	106.494	96.881	104.467	161.086	116.682	152.401
43	83.199	68.185	53.838	56.668	78.389	74.750	77.709
44	0.179	0.560	1.177	0.873	0.429	0.414	0.384
45	0.014	0.048	0.109	0.058	0.033	0.041	0.030
46	1.200	2.826	1.067	1.667	3.267	2.828	2.759
47	16700	23063	12450	13300	29500	17843	18813
48	22.4	96.9	398.9	209.7	61.0	63.0	61.6
49	0.040	0.119	0.363	0.195	0.085	0.105	0.077
50	7.244	9.316	7.956	11.011	8.584	8.321	8.269
51	0.128	0.496	1.151	0.806	0.373	0.350	0.330
52	0.007	0.026	0.100	0.041	0.019	0.023	0.016
53	16.467	85.863	390.344	193.770	53.124	53.161	53.048
54	0.035	0.067	0.280	0.119	0.044	0.060	0.041
55	4.415	20.909	4.676	10.447	7.355	14.829	14.568
56	0.636	2.234	0.286	0.948	1.073	1.789	1.658
57	0.163	1.322	0.529	1.561	0.411	0.693	0.836
58	7.748	33.179	NA	29.546	13.347	17.038	18.455

Table 68: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 69

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under drought conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-15	Line-16	Line-17	Line-18	Line-19	Line-20	Line-21

1	63.087	82.774	61.843	91.397	69.406	78.023	72.962
2	0.334	0.437	0.113	0.298	0.073	0.293	0.134
3	0.362	0.589	0.628	0.312	0.398	0.356	0.151
4	23.399	17.180	36.532	15.755	24.586	17.806	21.837
5	12813	12286	19751	12768	11090	9924	6585
6	12.260	9.462	37.025	10.638	12.846	20.468	7.308
7	0.195	0.129	0.207	0.166	0.163	0.169	NA
8	0.121	0.082	0.145	0.087	0.111	0.092	0.105
9	23.6	28.0	30.3	23.0	32.6	22.4	40.2
10	309.550	365.550	397.938	311.800	413.550	291.750	493.550
11	267.312	311.951	289.762	124.816	507.414	430.251	254.426
12	18.790	14.785	12.626	3.997	34.067	23.355	13.395
13	10846278	15582420	8247885	6942220	18592480	21713380	10884158
14	1724.4	1891.7	1683.0	927.2	2955.1	2902.0	2221.1
15	39.728	34.499	56.862	15.114	73.525	52.512	48.784
16	0.196	0.176	0.163	0.060	0.362	0.218	0.265
17	65.790	120.481	84.266	59.883	116.994	73.911	60.152
18	0.324	0.441	0.367	0.278	0.557	0.476	0.298
19	0.366	0.341	0.300	0.187	0.530	0.313	0.405
20	0.734	1.160	1.863	1.590	1.037	1.090	1.855
21	−13.373	−13.297	−13.463	−13.000	−13.203	−13.147	−13.527
22	32.431	32.053	31.146	29.935	30.208	31.477	29.370
23	68.133	63.313	72.543	61.273	75.180	49.663	NA
24	15978.1	11762.4	17356.5	13226.2	12471.0	14010.0	4967.2
25	21.798	17.391	21.641	17.464	19.075	18.937	14.289
26	1008.699	932.233	871.419	440.900	1460.132	1488.968	836.533
27	23.657	16.936	31.881	7.227	36.169	27.165	19.778
28	98.6	89.2	94.3	109.0	83.6	94.0	74.0
29	900.5	777.6	843.1	1032.8	715.5	840.0	607.3
30	NA	NA	143.8	148.0	131.0	114.5	116.0
31	NA	NA	1508.4	1570.0	1332.1	1105.0	1126.0
32	859.8	733.3	775.3	945.3	655.5	757.7	526.3
33	1210.0	1143.1	1241.1	1344.6	1129.0	1131.7	1100.8
34	2.459	4.882	2.622	3.599	3.541	4.223	3.209
35	0.667	0.889	0.955	1.271	0.827	0.677	0.811
36	2.778	1.012	4.227	1.878	1.183	2.788	0.645
37	86.631	78.462	85.828	86.589	89.624	82.927	90.251
38	50.103	51.082	57.487	48.753	53.703	46.738	50.180
39	49.072	53.950	58.408	NA	55.637	48.493	47.695
40	43.775	40.133	46.703	38.442	45.961	40.678	43.003
41	2.029	2.358	2.628	1.459	4.934	0.103	1.396
42	153.212	128.423	145.795	87.743	182.987	81.273	115.342
43	49.028	74.303	52.289	58.046	74.117	33.404	NA
44	0.914	0.489	1.302	0.722	0.534	1.213	0.377
45	0.038	0.047	0.065	0.039	0.040	0.052	0.027
46	2.700	1.321	4.000	3.767	2.367	1.679	4.900
47	12750	19493	20833	28979	14650	16950	18229
48	179.3	82.6	240.6	171.0	81.5	219.4	47.1
49	0.106	0.120	0.191	0.123	0.102	0.132	0.069
50	9.990	7.644	11.805	6.583	9.750	7.259	7.540
51	0.852	0.433	1.096	0.646	0.449	1.102	0.319
52	0.024	0.024	0.045	0.031	0.019	0.037	0.016
53	166.994	73.170	203.563	152.470	68.615	198.943	39.832
54	0.074	0.057	0.118	0.102	0.054	0.080	0.124
55	11.247	11.185	9.840	6.220	15.757	19.331	6.372
56	0.968	1.214	0.998	0.405	1.974	1.674	0.990
57	1.037	0.640	1.137	0.381	1.188	1.234	0.531
58	21.530	18.176	16.057	NA	27.647	30.353	18.934

Table 69: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 70

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under drought conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-22	Line-23	Line-24	Line-25	Line-26	Line-27	Line-28

1	90.725	89.322	63.403	58.656	90.324	69.266	78.521
2	0.268	0.441	0.344	0.215	0.406	0.239	0.225
3	0.725	0.843	0.630	0.396	0.709	0.517	0.283
4	26.528	25.814	27.598	21.848	26.829	18.373	24.199
5	19859	29904	18695	7513	15653	14606	8279
6	17.594	14.916	32.575	10.572	17.710	20.438	18.601
7	0.157	0.154	0.147	0.140	0.175	0.157	NA
8	0.124	0.113	0.130	0.105	0.123	0.098	0.107
9	32.4	25.4	29.2	32.8	25.0	26.6	40.3
10	445.700	349.800	381.150	418.800	338.100	337.300	494.375
11	73.585	443.706	475.258	346.323	243.625	317.094	537.350
12	6.229	28.228	33.821	21.880	11.814	21.905	32.903
13	2607623	15608820	16427920	14660064	8494728	15105380	19961625
14	344.2	2572.2	3186.7	2510.2	1468.4	2754.9	3990.9
15	7.619	66.818	86.304	54.757	38.833	53.782	97.093
16	0.026	0.179	0.309	0.303	0.136	0.209	0.382
17	85.966	101.763	116.926	76.034	47.587	129.080	105.902
18	0.160	0.645	0.554	0.463	0.268	0.652	0.598
19	0.105	0.345	0.536	0.494	0.210	0.603	0.576
20	1.488	0.922	1.171	1.048	1.154	1.013	1.794
21	−13.460	−13.526	−13.860	−13.320	−13.280	−12.893	−13.197
22	31.150	29.908	31.025	31.742	31.675	30.970	28.544
23	61.602	68.320	52.744	73.423	58.117	72.016	NA
24	14354.0	14782.2	9583.3	9224.8	12185.8	11844.8	10118.5
25	21.338	21.533	17.566	18.666	19.557	20.497	14.358
26	130.167	1545.898	1637.460	1351.168	533.701	1425.000	1736.125
27	3.526	40.537	45.368	29.841	16.072	28.463	41.775
28	113.0	116.2	88.8	84.8	107.2	86.4	74.0
29	1086.6	1128.6	773.0	730.0	1010.7	746.7	607.3
30	148.0	144.8	114.0	118.0	144.0	113.0	116.0
31	1570.2	1524.0	1098.2	1154.5	1512.2	1084.0	1126.0
32	854.5	945.3	734.5	688.7	801.9	709.0	607.8
33	1532.3	1478.4	1154.1	1148.8	1348.8	1084.0	1101.6
34	3.535	3.439	2.707	2.399	4.568	3.537	4.244
35	0.877	0.697	1.425	0.745	0.803	0.821	1.134
36	2.442	2.285	2.053	1.118	1.526	1.204	1.035
37	87.868	87.156	75.524	84.972	89.151	85.963	90.046
38	44.029	48.585	47.358	52.498	47.105	53.847	51.967
39	41.940	48.005	45.902	51.158	45.948	53.493	49.990
40	39.201	38.294	42.158	45.281	39.606	42.350	45.856
41	0.538	NA	0.434	1.437	9.145	NA	3.368
42	96.152	113.450	107.560	144.486	93.734	143.428	122.910
43	55.471	58.489	61.581	74.220	63.845	80.472	NA
44	0.887	0.775	0.750	0.390	0.588	0.488	0.658
45	0.045	0.063	0.058	0.049	0.045	0.043	0.045
46	3.800	1.033	1.143	2.172	2.067	1.000	2.826
47	20283	13450	12802	14000	18717	12750	16564
48	222.3	203.2	126.7	64.4	137.2	80.3	82.2
49	0.152	0.214	0.153	0.126	0.138	0.110	0.115
50	8.073	11.180	11.875	8.761	9.334	10.738	8.701
51	0.817	0.719	0.557	0.326	0.511	0.364	0.509
52	0.040	0.042	0.026	0.021	0.036	0.017	0.019
53	204.688	188.310	94.100	53.816	119.455	59.885	63.629
54	0.178	0.116	0.061	0.052	0.113	0.094	0.063
55	2.497	17.864	16.291	10.780	10.579	12.072	13.243
56	0.217	1.309	1.806	1.348	0.794	1.234	2.091
57	0.131	1.633	1.550	0.945	1.023	1.077	1.047
58	4.432	32.085	35.929	26.706	18.687	26.870	35.317

Table 70: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 71

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under drought conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-29	Line-30	Line-31	Line-32	Line-33	Line-34	Line-35

1	81.125	91.194	91.259	75.635	84.772	64.819	81.827
2	0.163	0.453	0.350	0.220	0.227	0.408	0.416
3	0.356	0.602	0.633	0.361	0.365	0.561	0.591
4	25.929	24.781	21.284	21.644	23.479	23.959	25.378
5	8487	10491	18823	11730	13869	16143	25030
6	10.982	11.531	22.167	49.007	13.313	32.109	12.350
7	NA	NA	0.174	0.177	0.178	0.155	0.146
8	0.114	0.109	0.101	0.102	0.112	0.109	0.110
9	39.0	39.0	23.8	30.8	26.0	29.3	35.6
10	476.750	476.750	311.250	403.500	341.250	383.125	470.650
11	542.866	561.268	582.815	506.799	712.873	625.018	397.261
12	32.227	32.258	39.815	41.732	45.253	43.942	17.384
13	18615532	21411860	25679300	23005825	29206300	27920025	15769504
14	4001.9	2671.3	4808.2	4663.8	4845.4	4510.1	2317.9
15	107.428	67.195	101.624	98.272	110.299	99.760	54.332
16	0.351	0.324	0.274	0.329	0.317	0.294	0.117
17	147.091	102.130	142.655	141.282	157.432	113.911	80.454
18	0.648	0.693	0.691	0.648	0.800	0.748	0.455
19	0.605	0.558	0.446	0.538	0.471	0.439	0.195
20	1.702	1.090	1.135	0.961	1.319	1.040	1.580
21	−13.110	−13.302	−13.168	NA	−12.932	−12.773	−13.641
22	29.020	29.218	32.127	31.510	30.367	34.529	31.704
23	NA	NA	69.854	65.961	52.714	68.984	62.975
24	3717.8	7510.6	15198.4	15660.3	26643.7	16453.5	16261.8
25	15.715	15.002	21.254	17.991	21.412	18.684	18.087
26	1588.502	1445.366	2590.168	2483.498	2041.557	1695.668	1071.869
27	42.428	36.053	55.958	54.938	48.327	39.825	26.772
28	74.0	74.0	93.4	89.5	95.0	89.5	93.4
29	607.3	607.3	831.9	781.0	853.3	781.0	831.8
30	115.3	113.0	136.6	134.0	136.5	139.0	143.3
31	1116.3	1084.0	1406.8	1369.0	1405.5	1442.0	1501.9
32	534.3	563.9	775.3	727.2	779.1	753.6	761.3
33	1084.0	1084.0	1143.1	1184.5	1194.5	1164.1	1260.6
34	4.092	5.577	6.098	3.935	4.908	3.233	3.997
35	0.959	1.048	0.888	0.858	0.819	1.038	1.575
36	0.735	0.658	2.563	4.152	3.913	2.742	2.504
37	91.805	90.937	76.228	80.929	NA	81.235	81.174
38	58.130	50.575	48.289	55.185	52.586	52.328	51.328
39	51.912	50.607	50.565	56.933	51.072	50.317	50.353
40	52.578	44.669	43.089	46.904	47.917	44.097	43.414
41	13.560	16.258	4.592	4.237	2.973	3.416	2.669
42	90.902	109.171	130.887	121.179	100.865	133.746	113.632
43	NA	NA	31.224	25.069	33.729	63.166	61.858
44	0.473	0.480	1.287	1.818	1.752	1.027	1.114
45	0.053	0.046	0.075	0.063	0.055	0.060	0.090
46	2.172	3.107	1.500	1.625	1.111	1.708	2.900
47	15183	18906	13300	10875	14778	14000	23500
48	59.1	60.0	233.7	307.3	331.2	173.5	205.7
49	0.136	0.117	0.193	0.175	0.156	0.158	0.276
50	8.566	8.981	8.582	9.918	8.551	9.355	8.996
51	0.385	0.387	1.164	1.528	1.682	0.837	1.046
52	0.021	0.020	0.042	0.029	0.029	0.033	0.073
53	48.091	48.428	211.564	258.277	317.871	141.388	193.358
54	0.069	0.058	0.108	0.055	0.103	0.095	0.152
55	13.920	14.391	24.759	16.537	27.693	21.381	11.370
56	2.112	2.184	2.268	1.836	2.501	2.352	1.293
57	1.366	0.864	2.452	1.905	1.895	1.425	0.829
58	37.747	25.922	52.124	45.984	41.342	35.700	24.229

Table 71: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (“L” = Line) under drought conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 72

Measured parameters in Sorghum accessions under low N conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6	Line-7

1	70.982	80.778	71.062	62.932	65.104	74.278	83.123
2	0.149	0.204	0.123	0.140	0.289	0.063	0.099
3	0.303	0.177	0.091	0.303	0.321	0.048	0.275
4	2.012	NA	1.641	1.494	NA	1.565	NA
5	1.617	NA	2.306	1.380	NA	2.062	NA
6	1.223	NA	1.005	1.417	NA	1.674	NA
7	0.925	NA	0.667	0.580	NA	0.992	NA
8	29.775	30.575	35.404	30.667	29.218	23.386	20.149
9	21836	19319	15291	24497	44649	13715	30944
10	19.635	17.315	9.965	11.714	38.660	12.445	13.735
11	0.179	0.147	0.153	0.130	0.135	0.200	0.149
12	24.772	NA	29.657	37.888	NA	28.942	NA
13	0.121	0.127	0.132	0.133	0.130	0.103	0.094
14	33.8	29.6	35.0	28.5	26.3	33.6	21.8
15	444.5	380.4	439.7	373.5	273.3	428.2	285.2
16	661.8	769.5	745.2	653.3	610.1	581.2	324.5
17	34.150	35.096	23.132	18.830	42.755	38.924	15.023
18	22070840	24438020	21504340	21499680	20685020	21825800	16454200
19	3110.7	3929.4	2654.6	3987.6	4127.2	3314.9	2216.5
20	88.128	115.995	87.409	113.013	114.984	79.512	42.224
21	0.238	0.281	0.245	0.294	0.270	0.300	0.126
22	135.426	108.347	102.784	108.131	133.977	94.102	97.673
23	0.871	0.883	0.818	0.737	0.685	0.673	0.505
24	0.419	0.408	0.364	0.414	0.390	0.447	0.310
25	1.154	1.349	1.635	2.158	0.990	1.127	1.147
26	−12.781	−13.107	−12.994	−12.832	−13.047	−13.437	−12.963
27	30.750	29.233	30.853	30.262	29.008	30.268	29.357
28	70.470	NA	71.859	71.849	61.250	76.638	65.094
29	16770.4	10615.2	9361.4	12263.6	12503.9	7283.2	7295.8
30	19.657	14.270	14.101	17.056	17.317	15.079	16.105
31	1700.3	2239.1	1281.7	1754.3	2275.7	1569.7	1123.2
32	49.898	68.289	45.839	53.946	66.982	37.499	23.114
33	0.498	NA	0.487	0.566	NA	0.453	NA
34	330.902	384.754	372.597	326.628	305.061	290.601	162.240
35	92.000	86.800	81.200	89.600	89.500	84.000	95.800
36	814.0	751.3	689.4	782.2	781.0	720.7	863.7
37	139.0	117.0	122.6	133.0	115.3	NA	126.4
38	1442.0	1139.8	1215.2	1357.9	1115.5	NA	1266.7
39	762.250	669.063	675.083	757.650	757.650	649.438	823.417
40	1258.5	1131.7	1129.0	1154.5	1123.3	1148.8	1148.8
41	14.711	NA	12.003	8.510	NA	9.037	NA
42	3.949	4.099	3.362	3.023	2.144	3.819	4.352
43	0.899	2.178	1.923	1.476	2.094	1.370	2.046
44	2.746	1.271	1.287	1.557	3.225	0.899	1.665
45	91.270	90.888	91.349	87.339	89.630	87.146	84.594
46	56.305	49.677	46.965	48.598	42.805	54.763	43.717
47	54.540	51.730	47.538	48.722	44.574	52.847	47.843
48	50.167	39.128	42.389	38.897	36.192	41.514	37.042
49	6.429	0.789	3.957	18.903	5.833	0.137	2.175
50	155.139	162.491	161.900	181.391	148.290	144.063	100.333
51	49.466	81.590	76.055	77.961	60.221	79.401	72.605
52	0.546	0.360	0.326	0.308	0.639	0.243	0.407
53	0.0384	0.0497	0.0458	0.0529	0.0563	0.0281	0.0392
54	1.143	2.233	5.034	2.200	1.100	2.793	3.000
55	19050.0	19500.0	30600.0	29007.1	13250.0	14125.0	19550.0
56	93.293	NA	120.520	126.608	NA	99.805	NA
57	166.039	103.715	85.701	90.811	205.656	66.689	138.327
58	0.200	0.231	0.213	0.243	0.262	0.131	0.183
59	10.718	9.678	7.879	9.474	10.835	9.783	8.964
60	0.482	0.300	0.287	0.269	0.522	0.198	0.367
61	0.022	0.030	0.029	0.033	0.034	0.016	0.027
62	146.546	86.400	75.736	79.097	166.996	54.244	124.591
63	0.114	0.114	0.102	0.083	0.101	0.085	0.127
64	19.977	26.227	21.485	21.746	22.048	16.902	14.848
65	1.277	1.653	1.601	1.328	1.311	1.249	0.697
66	1.574	2.346	1.430	2.426	2.855	1.139	1.153
67	32.656	43.472	30.906	52.059	57.152	29.519	25.534

Table 72: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Line) under low N conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 73

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under low N conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12	Line-13	Line-14

1	NA	87.393	85.484	93.116	55.446	74.116	67.367
2	0.000	0.105	0.200	0.037	0.240	0.165	0.244
3	0.199	0.416	0.590	0.344	0.186	0.032	0.206
4	NA	1.759	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
5	NA	1.160	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
6	NA	1.314	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
7	NA	0.892	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
8	23.746	22.838	16.503	24.820	25.570	25.177	29.479
9	8654	22139	48188	46278	15265	9785	13167
10	6.745	10.983	10.180	31.720	7.650	10.130	9.523
11	NA	0.169	0.131	0.175	0.168	0.185	0.181
12	NA	22.900	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
13	0.121	0.096	0.083	0.111	0.110	0.108	0.123
14	37.0	33.3	22.0	27.8	34.8	31.6	28.6
15	453.5	437.0	303.1	381.1	448.5	400.9	366.1
16	152.0	633.4	389.1	306.5	283.0	558.3	690.4
17	12.901	27.970	27.662	20.911	9.965	27.625	34.066
18	6420783	26192733	21156820	10734122	10820540	21581650	22437200
19	1326.9	4021.6	3454.5	1697.2	1472.7	3041.2	2942.7
20	31.060	90.240	58.679	44.118	35.686	74.674	84.101
21	0.194	0.225	0.065	0.085	0.165	0.357	0.296
22	235.316	156.903	136.671	190.285	117.019	75.922	78.987
23	0.200	0.756	0.509	0.470	0.499	0.627	0.783
24	0.360	0.363	0.122	0.176	0.469	0.510	0.460
25	1.067	1.414	0.949	1.126	1.464	1.258	1.110
26	−13.617	−12.690	−13.107	−13.168	−12.587	−13.127	−12.997
27	NA	30.044	32.523	32.462	29.503	29.288	30.948
28	71.939	69.210	68.575	69.279	79.731	76.658	73.608
29	3501.0	12503.7	15699.7	22712.4	8595.4	8279.6	14579.4
30	8.967	19.410	20.615	22.694	18.017	13.931	16.957
31	520.9	1874.6	1912.8	732.1	810.6	1593.3	1572.2
32	12.331	43.669	32.983	19.063	19.801	40.775	46.400
33	NA	0.403	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
34	75.982	316.713	194.545	153.235	141.521	279.168	345.200
35	76.000	91.000	120.600	113.800	85.800	84.400	86.800
36	630.5	802.3	1189.1	1097.1	740.6	725.2	751.6
37	112.0	147.0	145.5	154.2	148.0	137.0	119.0
38	1070.9	1554.5	1534.3	1659.7	1570.2	1412.0	1165.8
39	630.500	734.917	NA	945.250	661.900	670.000	717.083
40	1084.0	1239.3	1492.2	1478.1	1189.1	1126.0	1117.6
41	NA	11.607	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
42	NA	5.217	4.975	6.281	2.147	4.017	2.835
43	2.500	0.647	1.153	0.958	0.711	0.999	1.122
44	NA	1.351	2.875	2.149	1.060	0.877	1.046
45	92.267	87.171	86.652	88.087	86.867	85.891	91.490
46	NA	51.189	46.238	57.363	49.617	53.647	48.521
47	50.112	53.108	42.777	56.933	49.052	50.500	48.795
48	41.900	40.083	36.017	39.369	36.297	40.442	45.400
49	5.200	10.090	NA	5.248	1.450	9.657	NA
50	189.473	125.519	140.628	160.009	159.603	178.499	157.837
51	84.085	67.668	73.146	71.748	82.454	74.350	79.973
52	0.118	0.381	0.482	0.437	0.196	0.232	0.231
53	0.0179	0.0436	0.0742	0.0518	0.0253	0.0269	0.0361
54	1.826	2.471	1.200	2.267	2.533	3.833	1.536
55	12833.3	20833.3	13166.7	14150.0	25900.0	18950.0	18250.0
56	NA	104.355	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
57	26.195	119.974	240.975	200.845	55.271	64.623	68.036
58	0.078	0.223	0.418	0.292	0.122	0.125	0.168
59	7.894	9.503	6.876	11.006	9.427	8.680	8.355
60	0.086	0.346	0.462	0.368	0.169	0.195	0.199
61	0.011	0.028	0.063	0.043	0.014	0.013	0.015
62	19.450	108.992	230.795	169.125	47.621	54.493	58.513
63	0.053	0.119	0.467	0.192	0.059	0.052	0.071
64	3.976	18.907	17.986	11.876	8.179	17.225	24.337
65	0.316	1.246	0.690	0.544	0.567	1.199	1.483
66	0.489	1.511	1.518	0.747	0.606	1.417	1.635
67	12.034	40.630	40.858	13.330	17.471	34.938	31.887

Table 73: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Line) under low N conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 74

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under low N conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-15	Line-16	Line-17	Line-18	Line-19	Line-20	Line-21

1	71.204	87.744	66.577	88.729	69.236	82.991	61.314
2	0.280	0.108	0.142	0.197	0.044	0.176	0.009
3	0.276	0.215	0.080	0.227	0.034	0.151	0.057
4	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
5	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
6	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
7	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
8	22.654	16.496	36.959	16.850	26.577	17.793	21.080
9	14934	18163	28962	18746	12235	15453	7724
10	9.865	11.363	19.744	16.135	17.348	13.860	8.299
11	0.177	0.165	0.199	0.160	0.183	0.185	NA
12	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
13	0.116	0.079	0.144	0.089	0.113	0.088	0.101
14	22.2	29.2	29.5	30.0	35.4	24.6	42.6
15	293.6	384.4	389.3	405.6	454.6	323.1	527.5
16	605.1	366.7	423.1	280.2	590.6	454.7	263.7
17	37.096	17.573	16.101	5.704	36.432	28.131	13.219
18	25344720	20035920	11582823	14659840	20818740	23299560	11431484
19	3864.4	2620.7	1944.0	1369.3	3561.9	3839.1	1999.4
20	85.481	44.335	66.859	23.580	95.691	68.241	43.298
21	0.327	0.196	0.146	0.074	0.351	0.258	0.290
22	107.039	176.320	83.007	66.675	117.480	98.120	47.498
23	0.693	0.580	0.474	0.577	0.679	0.508	0.262
24	0.492	0.352	0.257	0.203	0.526	0.390	0.367
25	1.064	1.108	1.779	2.298	1.154	1.220	2.537
26	−12.960	−13.070	−12.937	−12.773	−13.347	−12.603	−12.827
27	29.694	30.343	30.742	32.608	29.950	29.898	27.933
28	68.654	70.917	73.210	65.330	75.551	62.980	NA
29	16710.4	13218.2	14464.5	11759.2	8621.8	13816.8	6363.6
30	21.007	20.015	21.476	17.659	18.518	20.684	14.810
31	2037.5	1422.1	854.8	449.6	1466.9	1989.8	659.5
32	46.213	24.508	31.902	7.677	40.562	35.605	14.155
33	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
34	302.543	183.331	211.574	140.091	295.283	227.327	131.841
35	103.800	94.000	97.750	107.400	84.600	95.800	74.000
36	967.4	840.0	889.3	1013.4	726.8	863.6	607.3
37	143.0	NA	149.0	148.4	144.0	137.0	NA
38	1498.3	NA	1584.5	1576.2	1512.8	1412.0	NA
39	892.583	769.500	814.250	905.750	641.550	772.950	534.250
40	1261.0	1224.4	1278.5	1419.0	1181.3	1186.6	1134.7
41	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
42	3.567	5.907	3.218	6.071	3.701	4.375	2.217
43	0.773	0.767	1.074	1.261	0.695	0.637	0.878
44	2.347	1.034	3.932	1.500	1.318	1.683	0.782
45	91.398	84.469	92.502	85.150	88.160	87.006	92.399
46	46.307	50.003	56.171	49.742	51.292	48.132	52.547
47	47.387	55.860	55.535	49.918	51.232	48.133	44.398
48	39.886	39.142	41.953	41.992	44.542	39.442	38.208
49	0.852	0.498	6.537	3.625	4.036	0.617	11.122
50	153.250	149.854	148.157	123.344	147.837	130.549	150.061
51	47.458	78.799	48.808	65.768	74.641	43.761	NA
52	0.412	0.277	0.691	0.319	0.321	0.411	0.233
53	0.0270	0.0265	0.0507	0.0345	0.0239	0.0265	0.0198
54	1.241	1.300	4.792	4.267	2.367	1.433	4.933
55	15050.0	18650.0	26500.0	47771.4	15378.6	14791.3	23437.3
56	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
57	159.390	90.693	240.230	133.705	88.750	138.098	48.102
58	0.139	0.134	0.267	0.194	0.115	0.129	0.092
59	9.779	8.566	12.728	7.753	10.945	7.753	7.522
60	0.387	0.242	0.634	0.280	0.259	0.368	0.193
61	0.014	0.017	0.038	0.028	0.011	0.016	0.012
62	149.525	79.330	220.486	117.570	71.401	123.368	39.803
63	0.069	0.055	0.147	0.106	0.071	0.092	0.092
64	27.277	13.002	14.810	9.341	16.670	18.492	6.211
65	1.183	0.731	0.793	0.497	1.229	0.934	0.566
66	2.106	0.885	1.349	0.366	1.251	1.460	0.593
67	44.016	26.275	19.654	11.967	31.069	41.683	25.750

Table 74: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Line) under low N conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 75

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under low N conditions

Line/
Corr.
ID	Line-22	Line-23	Line-24	Line-25	Line-26	Line-27	Line-28

1	90.328	85.738	71.241	60.074	94.779	60.588	81.112
2	0.194	0.209	0.145	0.151	NA	0.074	0.012
3	0.407	0.693	0.225	0.277	0.472	0.179	0.050
4	NA	1.466	1.411	NA	NA	NA	NA
5	NA	1.976	1.639	NA	NA	NA	NA
6	NA	0.695	0.986	NA	NA	NA	NA
7	NA	0.488	0.700	NA	NA	NA	NA
8	26.721	22.723	31.566	20.307	31.218	21.468	25.958
9	32880	62130	28010	8133	NA	18762	13549
10	20.358	19.750	36.955	10.978	NA	18.170	14.521
11	0.156	0.164	0.178	0.146	NA	0.188	NA
12	NA	18.142	40.260	NA	NA	NA	NA
13	0.129	0.105	0.136	0.102	0.133	0.105	0.109
14	29.0	29.2	32.8	31.8	22.4	29.4	42.3
15	395.4	404.3	428.3	411.5	295.7	380.9	522.0
16	145.5	282.2	605.5	378.0	581.1	291.8	671.5
17	9.494	19.131	36.400	21.959	36.595	19.138	33.894
18	4496747	11541518	18740650	16305080	20382340	12164286	23557125
19	592.6	1907.3	3702.6	2806.6	3624.3	2363.9	3599.6
20	17.465	43.235	111.350	59.062	109.255	52.912	93.946
21	0.052	0.086	0.312	0.237	0.218	0.206	0.364
22	178.349	124.018	150.210	82.476	123.731	113.667	108.224
23	0.347	0.485	0.710	0.503	0.720	0.639	0.774
24	0.158	0.235	0.518	0.439	0.342	0.426	0.518
25	1.687	0.978	1.341	1.021	1.531	1.163	1.431
26	−12.900	−12.356	−13.100	−13.060	−12.753	−12.897	−13.027
27	28.392	28.580	30.164	30.863	30.922	30.485	28.167
28	60.372	72.783	66.842	73.948	NA	76.292	NA
29	16953.3	26482.6	15781.4	8543.0	NA	15080.6	9350.7
30	20.918	24.373	18.204	16.931	NA	21.535	16.783
31	161.4	1071.8	2162.9	1311.7	1900.6	1326.5	1619.0
32	4.767	24.813	66.886	27.138	58.639	30.343	42.588
33	NA	0.266	0.568	NA	NA	NA	NA
34	72.738	141.110	302.756	188.981	290.536	145.891	335.752
35	111.000	118.000	88.600	86.600	102.800	87.800	74.000
36	1060.4	1153.7	771.5	748.3	955.2	762.3	607.3
37	148.3	149.2	125.3	134.0	152.2	NA	NA
38	1575.3	1586.7	1250.8	1369.0	1631.0	NA	NA
39	912.250	NA	751.550	677.800	901.250	727.250	574.750
40	1483.8	1558.0	1199.7	1159.8	1250.9	1143.1	1129.3
41	NA	8.785	7.165	NA	NA	NA	NA
42	4.003	2.981	2.915	2.884	6.847	2.319	3.891
43	0.839	0.854	1.546	0.817	0.830	0.572	0.740
44	3.399	4.557	2.643	0.907	NA	1.354	0.847
45	88.581	88.916	89.900	93.134	90.596	92.356	93.272
46	47.819	47.105	54.950	50.338	43.192	50.742	55.121
47	48.950	41.013	49.182	49.587	48.732	52.500	52.931
48	35.946	38.519	40.503	48.417	40.564	41.089	44.604
49	1.761	NA	3.736	10.924	36.793	0.502	6.363
50	96.895	165.864	153.371	165.165	NA	153.072	143.283
51	52.295	62.874	56.192	78.702	NA	81.757	NA
52	0.629	0.804	0.614	0.185	NA	0.274	0.340
53	0.0332	0.0443	0.0442	0.0268	0.0536	0.0296	0.0281
54	5.333	1.000	1.433	1.833	1.400	1.067	3.500
55	26033.3	13200.0	14404.8	13600.0	15500.0	13466.7	20520.8
56	NA	194.870	128.452	NA	NA	NA	NA
57	306.075	385.010	180.831	53.288	NA	80.795	70.308
58	0.204	0.250	0.214	0.127	0.272	0.138	0.133
59	9.426	11.937	12.746	9.969	NA	10.982	9.123
60	0.591	0.762	0.489	0.147	NA	0.213	0.270
61	0.027	0.034	0.021	0.015	0.035	0.017	0.014
62	285.717	365.260	143.876	42.310	NA	62.625	55.786
63	0.244	0.267	0.076	0.069	0.187	0.064	0.057
64	7.562	9.868	19.784	12.093	25.950	9.999	15.852
65	0.333	0.501	1.267	0.799	1.134	0.627	1.409
66	0.389	0.869	2.190	1.009	2.435	1.045	1.125
67	4.993	23.220	44.882	30.093	36.307	25.426	33.842

Table 75: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Line) under low N conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 76

Measured parameters in additional Sorghum accessions under low N conditions

Line/Corr.
ID	Line-29	Line-30	Line-31	Line-32	Line-33	Line-34

1	73.956	88.152	94.306	84.535	68.632	84.006
2	0.084	0.254	0.088	0.118	0.220	0.205
3	0.092	0.069	0.175	0.137	0.326	0.404
4	NA	1.684	NA	1.326	NA	2.015
5	NA	1.532	NA	1.478	NA	1.703
6	NA	1.380	NA	1.137	NA	1.584
7	NA	0.856	NA	0.808	NA	0.539
8	27.928	28.402	20.911	24.414	23.544	26.070
9	9492	14554	27231	18260	18322	42073
10	10.883	11.098	16.014	22.554	19.837	14.741
11	NA	NA	0.200	0.178	0.159	0.158
12	NA	35.158	NA	43.484	NA	15.477
13	0.118	0.116	0.098	0.113	0.104	0.109
14	42.3	42.0	26.3	31.3	29.8	33.2
15	522.5	518.8	344.9	412.3	391.0	437.0
16	510.9	774.6	816.4	922.4	828.4	485.5
17	27.858	40.001	57.513	50.774	48.677	26.396
18	16479475	25747580	36116975	36860650	33562075	18000140
19	2406.1	3436.2	6082.5	5855.7	4395.8	3020.8
20	68.157	95.293	127.781	139.390	101.239	76.087
21	0.344	0.334	0.256	0.366	0.300	0.114
22	138.647	112.243	185.571	222.258	140.774	115.633
23	0.635	0.926	0.969	0.996	1.040	0.585
24	0.610	0.533	0.425	0.535	0.486	0.176
25	1.080	1.161	1.018	1.144	1.062	1.281
26	−13.023	−12.976	−13.033	−12.842	−12.637	−13.032
27	27.846	27.982	30.517	29.685	32.517	29.522
28	NA	NA	67.302	68.590	71.740	69.007
29	5454.0	9065.6	20008.0	21922.8	15977.0	18430.4
30	15.374	15.420	21.194	20.837	17.496	20.502
31	1259.4	1724.0	3230.2	3170.3	2099.3	1383.3
32	36.016	48.781	69.211	79.250	49.550	36.400
33	NA	0.592	NA	0.577	NA	0.312
34	255.429	387.307	408.199	461.182	414.199	242.755
35	74.000	74.000	96.500	96.000	92.500	92.000
36	607.3	607.3	872.8	866.3	820.0	813.4
37	NA	125.0	145.0	NA	136.5	135.5
38	NA	1247.5	1528.0	NA	1405.5	1392.6
39	574.750	607.250	814.250	749.083	769.500	772.950
40	1129.8	1126.0	1217.6	1278.6	1211.0	1250.3
41	NA	11.089	NA	10.961	NA	13.237
42	3.177	5.365	6.861	4.959	3.385	4.381
43	0.852	1.174	0.823	0.772	0.914	1.537
44	0.600	0.655	3.127	3.279	1.837	4.079
45	93.540	94.229	85.910	87.606	92.159	92.029
46	55.483	49.848	45.775	51.031	45.042	50.562
47	52.167	49.887	47.292	53.750	45.912	50.865
48	46.864	41.394	39.913	41.771	39.519	38.342
49	5.117	1.572	NA	12.827	0.765	5.673
50	151.126	142.923	152.429	133.144	159.389	139.693
51	NA	NA	30.298	39.911	72.543	50.458
52	0.220	0.284	0.866	0.811	0.385	1.105
53	0.0226	0.0310	0.0526	0.0398	0.0319	0.0801
54	3.458	3.400	2.250	1.000	1.083	2.833
55	16495.8	17950.0	12910.7	15812.5	15567.9	18400.0
56	NA	102.189	NA	112.370	NA	154.249
57	45.408	58.552	293.949	275.478	124.359	343.974
58	0.105	0.145	0.263	0.212	0.163	0.405
59	8.627	8.781	9.046	9.396	9.412	9.063
60	0.167	0.230	0.819	0.745	0.324	1.058
61	0.009	0.015	0.030	0.018	0.017	0.066
62	34.524	47.455	277.935	252.924	104.523	329.233
63	0.045	0.075	0.147	0.091	0.083	0.217
64	12.154	18.443	31.944	29.922	27.784	14.902
65	1.097	1.664	1.634	1.740	1.686	0.962
66	0.910	1.176	2.673	2.661	1.671	1.316
67	26.885	35.287	69.844	61.562	45.610	31.897

Table 76: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Sorghum accessions (Line) under low N conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 77

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across
Sorghum accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	ID	Name	R	P value	set	ID

LBY149	0.79	3.32E−02	2	12	LBY150	0.74	5.56E−02	2	41
LBY153	0.82	2.28E−02	1	5	LBY155	0.93	2.49E−03	1	5
LBY156	0.82	2.43E−02	2	33	LBY156	0.76	4.94E−02	2	12
LBY156	0.81	2.82E−02	1	33	LBY158	0.84	1.75E−02	2	33
LBY158	0.77	4.12E−02	2	12	LBY160	0.71	7.56E−02	2	5
LBY160	0.72	6.56E−02	2	12	LBY160	0.76	2.20E−06	1	63
LBY160	0.71	2.01E−05	1	53	LBY160	0.77	3.16E−06	1	9
LBY160	0.74	7.02E−06	1	58	LBY160	0.71	2.65E−05	1	61
LBY161	0.91	4.87E−03	2	56	LBY162	0.74	5.71E−02	2	33
LBY162	0.72	6.94E−02	2	56	LBY162	0.83	2.20E−02	1	5
LBY163	0.80	4.11E−07	1	63	LBY163	0.72	6.61E−02	1	56
LBY164	0.82	2.29E−02	2	56	LBY164	0.87	1.08E−02	1	5
LBY165	0.79	3.59E−02	1	33	LBY165	0.75	4.99E−02	1	12
LBY167	0.80	3.21E−02	2	4	LBY167	0.89	7.78E−03	2	41
LBY168	0.72	6.66E−02	1	7	LBY168	0.87	1.04E−02	1	5
LBY168	0.73	6.14E−02	1	4	LBY168	0.81	2.60E−02	1	6
LBY170	0.77	4.08E−02	1	4	LBY171	0.99	4.33E−06	2	56
LBY171	0.71	1.05E−04	1	49	LBY171	0.79	3.49E−02	1	4
LBY173	0.72	7.08E−02	2	5	LBY173	0.73	6.37E−02	2	33
LBY173	0.94	1.58E−03	2	56	LBY177	0.85	1.56E−02	2	7
LBY177	0.70	7.82E−02	2	6	LBY178	0.77	4.17E−02	2	6
LBY178	0.77	4.36E−02	1	4	LBY179	0.73	6.07E−02	2	56
LBY180	0.97	3.03E−04	2	56	LBY180	0.78	3.88E−02	1	33
LBY180	0.72	6.98E−02	1	12	LBY185	0.79	6.32E−07	1	63
LBY185	0.72	2.10E−05	1	62	LBY185	0.80	6.38E−07	1	9
LBY185	0.70	2.90E−05	1	58	LBY185	0.72	2.31E−05	1	57
LBY185	0.83	2.03E−02	1	56	LBY185	0.74	5.61E−06	1	61
LBY186	0.78	4.01E−02	2	5	LBY186	0.73	6.40E−02	2	12
LBY186	0.70	7.76E−02	2	56	LBY186	0.73	6.51E−02	1	12
LBY187	0.71	7.18E−02	1	4	LBY187	0.75	5.46E−02	1	41
LBY189	0.76	4.94E−02	2	7	LBY189	0.92	3.21E−03	2	6
LBY190	0.78	4.03E−02	2	4	LBY191	0.76	4.58E−02	1	4
LBY192	0.73	6.34E−02	1	4	LGN3	0.71	7.66E−02	2	33
LGN4	0.72	6.56E−02	2	12	LGN5	0.89	6.83E−03	2	7
LGN5	0.77	4.14E−02	2	6	LGN5	0.79	3.31E−02	1	7
LGN5	0.76	4.96E−02	1	6	LGN57	0.83	1.98E−02	2	33
LGN7	0.95	1.09E−03	2	56

Table 77. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID “—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 60. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 59. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value.

TABLE 78

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under drought stress conditions
across Sorghum accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	ID	Name	R	P value	set	ID

LBY163	0.71	6.44E−05	3	52	LBY185	0.70	8.87E−05	3	49
LBY185	0.70	9.21E−05	3	45	LBY185	0.70	8.32E−05	3	52

Table 78. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance “Corr. ID “—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 61. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 59. “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value

TABLE 79

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under Low N growth stress
conditions across Sorghum accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	ID	Name	R	P value	set	ID

LBY14	0.73	6.20E−02	4	6	LBY151	0.74	5.82E−02	4	41
LBY156	0.82	2.32E−02	4	33	LBY156	0.83	1.98E−02	4	12
LBY159	0.80	2.92E−02	4	33	LBY159	0.73	6.10E−02	4	12
LBY161	0.86	1.35E−02	4	5	LBY162	0.73	6.00E−02	4	33
LBY162	0.76	4.85E−02	4	12	LBY166	0.87	1.08E−02	4	4
LBY166	0.71	7.46E−02	4	41	LBY168	0.73	6.48E−02	4	56
LBY177	0.81	2.81E−02	4	56	LBY178	0.76	4.89E−02	4	7
LBY181	0.72	6.86E−02	4	4	LBY186	0.90	5.68E−03	4	56
LBY192	0.80	2.97E−02	4	56	LGN54	0.88	9.25E−03	4	7
LGN57	0.72	6.55E−02	4	5	LGN6	0.93	2.47E−03	4	6

Table 79. Provided are the correlations (R) between the genes expression levels in various tissues and the phenotypic performance. “Corr. ID “—correlation set ID according to the correlated parameters specified in Table 60. “Exp. Set”—Expression set specified in Table 59 “R” = Pearson correlation coefficient; “P” = p value

To produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Maize oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60K Maize genes and transcripts designed based on data from Public databases (Example 1). To define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield, biomass components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 12 different Maize hybrids were analyzed. Among them, 10 hybrids encompassing the observed variance were selected for RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

All 10 selected maize hybrids were sampled in three time points (TP2=V2-V3 (when two to three collar leaf are visible, rapid growth phase and kernel row determination begins), TP5=R1-R2 (silking-blister), TP6=R3-R4 (milk-dough). Four types of plant tissues [Ear, flag leaf indicated in Table as leaf, grain distal part, and internode] were sampled and RNA was extracted as described in “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”. For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 80 below.

TABLE 80

Tissues used for Maize transcriptome expression sets

Expression Set	Set ID

Ear under normal conditions at reproductive stage: R1-R2	1
Ear under normal conditions at reproductive stage: R3-R4	2
Internode under normal conditions at vegetative stage:	3
Vegetative V2-3
Internode under normal conditions at reproductive stage:	4
R1-R2
Internode under normal conditions at reproductive stage:	5
R3-R4
Leaf under normal conditions at vegetative stage:	6
Vegetative V2-3
Leaf under normal conditions at reproductive stage:	7
R1-R2
Grain distal under normal conditions at reproductive	8
stage: R1-R2

Table 80: Provided are the identification (ID) number of each of the Maize expression sets

The following parameters were collected:

Grain Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Length and Grain width (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain lengths/or width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Ear Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 6 ears were, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of Ears.

Ear Length and Ear Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period 6 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear length and width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ears.

Filled per Whole Ear—it was calculated as the length of the ear with grains out of the total ear.

Percent Filled Ear—At the end of the growing period 6 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The percent filled Ear grain was the ear with grains out of the total ear and was measured from those images and was divided by the number of Ears.

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling 6 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

Normalized Grain Weight per plant (gr.), measurement of yield parameter—At the end of the experiment all ears from plots within blocks A-C were collected. Six ears were separately threshed and grains were weighted, all additional ears were threshed together and weighted as well. The grain weight was normalized using the relative humidity to be 0%. The normalized average grain weight per ear was calculated by dividing the total normalized grain weight by the total number of ears per plot (based on plot). In case of 6 ears, the total grains weight of 6 ears was divided by 6.

Ear fresh weight (FW) (gr.)—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots within blocks A-C were collected separately. The plants' ears (total and 6) were weighted (gr.) separately and the average ear per plant was calculated for total (Ear FW per plot) and for 6 (Ear FW per plant).

Plant height and Ear height—Plants were characterized for height at harvesting. In each measure, 6 plants were measured for their height using a measuring tape. Height was measured from ground level to top of the plant below the tassel. Ear height was measured from the ground level to the place were the main ear is located Leaf number per plant—Plants were characterized for leaf number during growing period at 5 time points. In each measure, plants were measured for their leaf number by counting all the leaves of 3 selected plants per plot.

Relative Growth Rate was calculated using regression coefficient of leaf number change a long time course.

Dry weight=total weight of the vegetative portion above ground (excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours.

Dry weight per plant—At the end of the experiment when all vegetative material from plots within blocks A-C were collected, weight and divided by the number of plants.

Ear diameter [cm]—The diameter of the ear at the mid of the ear was measured using a ruler.

Cob diameter [cm]—The diameter of the cob without grains was measured using a ruler.

Kernel Row Number per Ear—The number of rows in each ear was counted. The average of 6 ears per plot was calculated.

Leaf area index [LAI]=total leaf area of all plants in a plot. Measurement was performed using a Leaf area-meter.

Yield/LAI [kg]—is the ratio between total grain yields and total leaf area index.

TABLE 81

Maize correlated parameters (vectors)

Correlated parameter with	Correlation ID

Cob Diameter (mm)	1
DW per Plant based on 6 (gr.)	2
Ear Area (cm²)	3
Ear FW per Plant based on 6 (gr.)	4
Ear Height (cm)	5
Ear Length (cm)	6
Ear Width (cm)	7
Ears FW per plant based on all (gr.)	8
Filled per Whole Ear	9
Grain Area (cm²)	10
Grain Length (cm)	11
Grain Width (cm)	12
Growth Rate Leaf Number	13
Kernel Row Number per Ear	14
Leaf Number per Plant	15
Normalized Grain Weight per Plant based on all (gr.)	16
Normalized Grain Weight per plant based on 6 (gr.)	17
Percent Filled Ear	18
Plant Height per Plot (cm)	19
SPAD R1	20
SPAD R2	21

Table 81.

Twelve maize varieties were grown and characterized for parameters, as described above. The average for each parameter was calculated using the JMP software, and values are summarized in Tables 82-83 below. Subsequent correlation between the various transcriptome sets for all or sub sets of lines was done by the bioinformatic unit and results were integrated into the database (Table 84 below).

TABLE 82

Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6

1	28.96	25.08	28.05	25.73	28.72	25.78
2	657.50	491.67	641.11	580.56	655.56	569.44
3	85.06	85.84	90.51	95.95	91.62	72.41
4	245.83	208.33	262.22	263.89	272.22	177.78
5	135.17	122.33	131.97	114.00	135.28	94.28
6	19.69	19.05	20.52	21.34	20.92	18.23
7	5.58	5.15	5.67	5.53	5.73	5.23
8	278.19	217.50	288.28	247.88	280.11	175.84
9	0.916	0.922	0.927	0.917	0.908	0.950
10	0.75	0.71	0.75	0.77	0.81	0.71
11	1.17	1.09	1.18	1.20	1.23	1.12
12	0.81	0.81	0.80	0.80	0.82	0.80
13	0.28	0.22	0.28	0.27	0.31	0.24
14	16.17	14.67	16.20	15.89	16.17	15.17
15	12.00	11.11	11.69	11.78	11.94	12.33
16	153.90	135.88	152.50	159.16	140.46	117.14
17	140.68	139.54	153.67	176.98	156.61	119.67
18	80.62	86.76	82.14	92.71	80.38	82.76
19	278.08	260.50	275.13	238.50	286.94	224.83
20	51.67	56.41	53.55	55.21	55.30	59.35
21	54.28	57.18	56.01	59.68	54.77	59.14

Table 82.

TABLE 83

Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid additional parameters

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-7	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12

1	26.43	25.19		26.67
2	511.11	544.44		574.17	522.22
3	74.03	76.53		55.20	95.36
4	188.89	197.22		141.11	261.11
5	120.94	107.72		60.44	112.50
6	19.02	18.57		16.69	21.70
7	5.22	5.33		4.12	5.58
8	192.47	204.70		142.72	264.24
9	0.87	0.94		0.80	0.96
10	0.71	0.75		0.50	0.76
11	1.14	1.13		0.92	1.18
12	0.79	0.84		0.67	0.81
13	0.24	0.27		0.19	0.30
14	16.00	14.83		14.27	15.39
15	12.44	12.22		9.28	12.56
16	123.24	131.27		40.84	170.66
17	119.69	133.51		54.32	173.23
18	73.25	81.06		81.06	91.60
19	264.44	251.61		163.78	278.44
20	58.48	55.88	52.98	53.86	59.75	49.99
21	57.99	60.36	54.77	51.39	61.14	53.34

Table 83

TABLE 84

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across
maize varieties

Gene				Corr.	Gene				Corr.
Name	R	P value	Exp. set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	Exp. set	Set ID

LBY103	0.80	5.38E−02	1	1	LBY103	0.83	4.17E−02	2	12
LBY104	0.77	7.55E−02	7	1	LBY104	0.71	7.40E−02	1	15
LBY104	0.72	6.85E−02	1	9	LBY104	0.76	4.90E−02	1	12
LBY104	0.83	1.07E−02	8	1	LBY104	0.81	1.53E−02	8	14
LBY104	0.93	7.12E−04	8	13	LBY104	0.92	1.32E−03	8	11
LBY104	0.74	3.47E−02	8	6	LBY104	0.84	9.30E−03	8	10
LBY104	0.92	1.05E−03	8	2	LBY104	0.96	1.42E−04	8	7
LBY104	0.79	2.05E−02	8	8	LBY104	0.81	1.47E−02	8	4
LBY104	0.72	1.03E−01	2	14	LBY104	0.79	6.28E−02	2	9
LBY105	0.77	4.07E−02	4	3	LBY105	0.73	6.18E−02	4	16
LBY105	0.83	2.19E−02	4	14	LBY105	0.72	6.98E−02	4	6
LBY105	0.80	3.15E−02	4	19	LBY105	0.87	1.14E−02	4	5
LBY105	0.77	4.17E−02	4	7	LBY105	0.92	3.50E−03	4	8
LBY105	0.82	2.37E−02	4	4	LBY105	0.72	6.90E−02	1	14
LBY105	0.76	4.61E−02	1	11	LBY105	0.76	4.84E−02	1	10
LBY105	0.72	6.82E−02	1	19	LBY105	0.75	5.20E−02	1	7
LBY105	0.71	7.64E−02	1	12	LBY105	0.77	2.57E−02	8	9
LBY105	0.72	3.00E−02	3	14	LBY105	0.71	3.36E−02	3	11
LBY105	0.71	3.15E−02	3	10	LBY105	0.78	1.28E−02	3	18
LBY105	0.74	2.13E−02	3	19	LBY105	0.83	5.48E−03	3	5
LBY105	0.77	1.63E−02	3	7	LBY105	0.81	8.53E−03	3	8
LBY105	0.72	2.95E−02	3	4	LBY105	0.77	7.04E−02	2	14
LBY105	0.87	2.56E−02	2	2	LBY105	0.81	5.01E−02	2	5
LBY106	0.71	4.65E−02	5	12	LBY106	0.74	5.58E−02	4	8
LBY107	0.79	2.02E−02	5	9	LBY107	0.71	7.11E−02	4	6
LBY107	0.77	4.25E−02	4	18	LBY107	0.71	7.14E−02	4	2
LBY107	0.74	5.78E−02	7	15	LBY107	0.75	5.06E−02	7	21
LBY107	0.82	2.37E−02	7	9	LBY107	0.84	1.93E−02	7	12
LBY107	0.76	1.08E−02	6	3	LBY107	0.77	9.15E−03	6	16
LBY107	0.76	1.06E−02	6	17	LBY107	0.83	4.32E−02	2	9
LBY107	0.74	9.17E−02	2	18	LBY107	0.72	1.05E−01	2	12
LBY110	0.70	7.69E−02	7	3	LBY110	0.77	4.38E−02	7	16
LBY110	0.74	5.64E−02	7	15	LBY110	0.91	3.87E−03	7	13
LBY110	0.79	3.46E−02	7	21	LBY110	0.79	3.38E−02	7	11
LBY110	0.78	3.82E−02	7	6	LBY110	0.76	4.61E−02	7	10
LBY110	0.75	5.09E−02	7	7	LBY110	0.74	5.50E−02	7	4
LBY110	0.78	3.70E−02	7	17	LBY110	0.72	4.21E−02	8	1
LBY110	0.77	1.51E−02	3	9	LBY110	0.75	8.75E−02	2	12
LBY112	0.71	7.35E−02	4	14	LBY112	0.78	3.73E−02	1	15
LBY112	0.78	3.89E−02	1	9	LBY112	0.72	6.88E−02	1	10
LBY112	0.77	4.48E−02	1	12	LBY112	0.73	9.94E−02	2	14
LBY113	0.80	3.14E−02	1	15	LBY113	0.82	2.40E−02	1	9
LBY113	0.82	2.48E−02	1	12	LBY113	0.78	2.26E−02	8	1
LBY113	0.92	1.35E−03	8	13	LBY113	0.82	1.33E−02	8	11
LBY113	0.88	3.82E−03	8	10	LBY113	0.80	1.70E−02	8	2
LBY113	0.82	1.19E−02	8	7	LBY113	0.71	4.78E−02	8	8
LBY113	0.70	5.15E−02	8	4	LBY114	0.73	6.49E−02	4	3
LBY116	0.74	3.44E−02	5	6	LBY116	0.89	1.89E−02	7	1
LBY116	0.77	4.21E−02	7	2	LBY116	0.73	4.16E−02	8	13
LBY116	0.76	3.00E−02	8	11	LBY116	0.76	3.03E−02	8	2
LBY116	0.87	2.37E−02	2	14	LBY117	0.77	4.17E−02	1	15
LBY117	0.78	3.82E−02	1	9	LBY117	0.71	7.41E−02	1	12
LBY117	0.86	5.61E−03	8	15	LBY117	0.97	1.59E−03	2	14
LBY117	0.92	9.96E−03	2	5	LBY118	0.70	7.89E−02	1	5
LBY118	0.75	3.26E−02	8	13	LBY118	0.80	1.63E−02	8	2
LBY118	0.79	6.29E−02	2	14	LBY119	0.71	7.40E−02	1	16
LBY119	0.89	7.69E−03	1	15	LBY119	0.76	4.62E−02	1	11
LBY119	0.94	1.93E−03	1	9	LBY119	0.86	1.41E−02	1	10
LBY119	0.73	6.33E−02	1	19	LBY119	0.80	3.21E−02	1	7
LBY119	0.93	2.20E−03	1	12	LBY119	0.74	3.57E−02	8	13
LBY119	0.78	2.25E−02	8	2	LBY120	0.72	1.08E−01	4	1
LBY120	0.70	5.17E−02	8	14	LBY120	0.72	4.19E−02	8	13
LBY120	0.73	4.09E−02	8	11	LBY120	0.85	7.21E−03	8	2
LBY120	0.81	1.55E−02	8	7	LBY120	0.74	9.26E−02	2	14
LBY121	0.82	2.25E−02	7	19	LBY121	0.73	6.24E−02	7	5
LBY121	0.75	5.18E−02	7	12	LBY121	0.94	1.45E−03	1	3
LBY121	0.86	1.27E−02	1	16	LBY121	0.82	2.43E−02	1	14
LBY121	0.74	5.70E−02	1	13	LBY121	0.84	1.88E−02	1	11
LBY121	0.92	3.46E−03	1	6	LBY121	0.79	3.31E−02	1	9
LBY121	0.77	4.36E−02	1	10	LBY121	0.70	7.96E−02	1	18
LBY121	0.73	6.00E−02	1	19	LBY121	0.82	2.31E−02	1	5
LBY121	0.80	3.00E−02	1	7	LBY121	0.89	7.17E−03	1	8
LBY121	0.89	7.24E−03	1	12	LBY121	0.95	1.07E−03	1	4
LBY121	0.91	4.34E−03	1	17	LBY121	0.73	1.03E−01	2	15
LBY123	0.79	3.30E−02	4	14	LBY123	0.79	3.62E−02	1	3
LBY123	0.74	5.72E−02	1	16	LBY123	0.84	1.68E−02	1	14
LBY123	0.79	3.57E−02	1	13	LBY123	0.71	7.65E−02	1	11
LBY123	0.86	1.36E−02	1	6	LBY123	0.71	7.60E−02	1	19
LBY123	0.74	5.80E−02	1	7	LBY123	0.90	6.03E−03	1	8
LBY123	0.87	1.07E−02	1	4	LBY123	0.73	6.36E−02	1	17
LBY123	0.73	3.82E−02	8	1	LBY123	0.79	1.06E−02	3	3
LBY123	0.76	1.82E−02	3	11	LBY123	0.81	7.96E−03	3	6
LBY123	0.75	2.03E−02	3	10	LBY123	0.78	1.34E−02	3	19
LBY123	0.72	2.89E−02	3	7	LBY123	0.76	1.76E−02	3	4
LBY123	0.79	1.19E−02	3	17	LBY233	0.88	2.10E−02	2	14
LBY233	0.71	1.13E−01	2	5	LBY5	0.76	4.59E−02	7	15
LBY5	0.75	2.07E−02	6	1	LBY5	0.74	1.44E−02	6	14
LBY5	0.76	1.09E−02	6	2	LBY5	0.73	1.67E−02	6	5
LBY5	0.78	8.34E−03	6	8	LBY5	0.76	2.84E−02	3	1
LBY5	0.78	6.53E−02	2	9	LBY5	0.78	6.57E−02	2	18
LBY5	0.96	2.27E−03	2	12	LBY6	0.77	4.29E−02	4	13
LBY6	0.78	3.67E−02	4	6	LBY6	0.87	1.03E−02	1	13
LBY6	0.74	5.80E−02	1	6	LBY6	0.74	5.76E−02	1	4
LGN17	0.72	4.42E−02	5	18	LGN17	0.84	3.85E−02	4	1
LGN17	0.85	1.63E−02	4	2	LGN17	0.76	7.70E−02	1	1
LGN17	0.74	5.57E−02	1	2	LGN17	0.89	1.71E−02	2	9
LGN17	0.88	2.20E−02	2	18	LGN20	0.70	7.85E−02	4	3
LGN20	0.81	2.63E−02	4	18	LGN20	0.73	6.22E−02	7	3
LGN20	0.72	6.58E−02	7	5	LGN20	0.74	5.85E−02	1	19
LGN20	0.71	7.17E−02	1	12	LGN20	0.72	2.97E−02	3	3
LGN20	0.73	2.51E−02	3	13	LGN20	0.73	2.52E−02	3	19
LGN20	0.74	2.37E−02	3	5	LGN20	0.75	1.91E−02	3	8
LGN20	0.77	1.51E−02	3	4	LGN20	0.80	5.37E−02	2	13
LGN20	0.71	1.15E−01	2	9	LGN20	0.92	1.04E−02	2	10
LGN20	0.71	1.11E−01	2	18	LGN20	0.74	9.14E−02	2	12
LGN20	0.73	1.02E−01	2	17	LGN23	0.91	6.58E−04	6	1
LGN23	0.79	6.88E−03	6	13	LGN23	0.85	2.00E−03	6	2
LGN23	0.83	2.68E−03	6	8	LGN23	0.78	7.60E−03	6	4
LGN24	0.76	8.07E−02	2	9	LGN26	0.77	2.65E−02	5	10
LGN26	0.73	9.62E−02	1	1	LGN26	0.82	1.22E−02	8	1
LGN26	0.73	3.78E−02	8	14	LGN26	0.77	2.58E−02	8	13
LGN26	0.71	4.85E−02	8	11	LGN26	0.73	4.08E−02	8	2
LGN26	0.71	4.99E−02	8	5	LGN26	0.72	4.39E−02	8	7
LGN26	0.70	5.25E−02	8	8	LGN33	0.73	1.02E−01	2	9
LGN33	0.96	2.67E−03	2	12	LGN34	0.79	1.87E−02	5	9
LGN34	0.85	1.43E−02	4	3	LGN34	0.92	3.81E−03	4	16
LGN34	0.79	3.46E−02	4	14	LGN34	0.80	3.02E−02	4	15
LGN34	0.86	1.40E−02	4	11	LGN34	0.79	3.40E−02	4	6
LGN34	0.91	5.03E−03	4	9	LGN34	0.89	6.98E−03	4	10
LGN34	0.92	2.89E−03	4	19	LGN34	0.90	5.43E−03	4	5
LGN34	0.90	5.75E−03	4	7	LGN34	0.88	8.56E−03	4	8
LGN34	0.87	1.09E−02	4	12	LGN34	0.82	2.39E−02	4	4
LGN34	0.87	1.17E−02	4	17	LGN34	0.86	1.38E−02	1	3
LGN34	0.92	3.40E−03	1	16	LGN34	0.78	4.06E−02	1	14
LGN34	0.94	1.95E−03	1	15	LGN34	0.74	5.79E−02	1	13
LGN34	0.93	2.15E−03	1	11	LGN34	0.77	4.40E−02	1	6
LGN34	0.96	7.52E−04	1	9	LGN34	0.93	2.48E−03	1	10
LGN34	0.86	1.37E−02	1	19	LGN34	0.88	8.85E−03	1	5
LGN34	0.95	1.06E−03	1	7	LGN34	0.78	4.01E−02	1	8
LGN34	0.86	1.37E−02	1	12	LGN34	0.79	3.47E−02	1	4
LGN34	0.89	7.17E−03	1	17	LGN34	0.81	1.39E−02	8	1
LGN34	0.75	3.17E−02	8	2	LGN34	0.83	5.24E−03	3	3
LGN34	0.88	1.89E−03	3	16	LGN34	0.83	5.86E−03	3	15
LGN34	0.88	1.92E−03	3	13	LGN34	0.90	1.08E−03	3	11
LGN34	0.75	1.93E−02	3	6	LGN34	0.84	4.77E−03	3	9
LGN34	0.93	2.61E−04	3	10	LGN34	0.83	5.17E−03	3	19
LGN34	0.78	1.38E−02	3	5	LGN34	0.94	2.12E−04	3	7
LGN34	0.82	6.92E−03	3	8	LGN34	0.89	1.28E−03	3	12
LGN34	0.83	6.02E−03	3	4	LGN34	0.89	1.40E−03	3	17
LGN34	0.77	7.59E−02	2	15	LGN35	0.77	2.45E−02	5	5
LGN35	0.84	4.42E−03	6	1	LGN35	0.79	7.08E−03	6	2
LGN35	0.70	1.19E−01	2	7	LGN36	0.74	8.96E−02	7	1
LGN36	0.78	8.34E−03	6	18	LGN36	0.79	5.95E−02	2	12
LGN39	0.71	7.54E−02	4	16	LGN39	0.74	5.83E−02	4	15
LGN39	0.82	2.34E−02	4	13	LGN39	0.75	5.34E−02	4	6
LGN39	0.74	9.14E−02	1	1	LGN39	0.74	5.97E−02	1	14
LGN39	0.71	7.50E−02	1	13	LGN39	0.72	7.02E−02	1	6
LGN39	0.71	7.30E−02	1	8	LGN39	0.73	6.52E−02	1	4
LGN39	0.78	2.16E−02	8	19	LGN39	0.77	2.62E−02	8	5
LGN49	0.70	7.73E−02	4	9	LGN49	0.82	1.27E−02	8	1
LGN49	0.78	2.34E−02	8	2	LGN61	0.83	1.10E−02	5	2

Table 84. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of the yield improving genes and their hom*ologs in various tissues [Expression (Exp) sets, Table 80] and the phenotypic performance [yield, biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components (Table 82-83) as determined using the Correlation vector (Corr.) in Table 81)] under normal conditions across maize varieties. P = p value.

Maize vigor related parameters under low nitrogen, 100 mM NaCl, low temperature (10±2° C.) and normal growth conditions—Twelve Maize hybrids were grown in 5 repetitive plots, each containing 7 plants, at a net house under semi-hydroponics conditions. Briefly, the growing protocol was as follows: Maize seeds were sown in trays filled with a mix of vermiculite and peat in a 1:1 ratio. Following germination, the trays were transferred to the high salinity solution (100 mM NaCl in addition to the Full Hoagland solution at 28±2° C., low temperature (“cold conditions” of 10±2° C. in the presence of Full Hoagland solution), low nitrogen solution (the amount of total nitrogen was reduced in 90% from the full Hoagland solution (i.e., to a final concentration of 10% from full Hoagland solution, final amount of 1.6 mM N, at 28±2° C.) or at Normal growth solution (Full Hoagland containing 16 mM N solution, at 28±2° C.). Plants were grown at 28±2° C.

Full Hoagland solution consists of: KNO₃—0.808 grams/liter, MgSO₄—0.12 grams/liter, KH₂PO₄—0.136 grams/liter and 0.01% (volume/volume) of ‘Super coratin’ micro elements (Iron-EDDHA [ethylenediamine-N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid)]—40.5 grams/liter; Mn—20.2 grams/liter; Zn 10.1 grams/liter; Co 1.5 grams/liter; and Mo 1.1 grams/liter), solution's pH should be 6.5-6.8].

Analyzed Maize tissues—Twelve selected Maize hybrids were sampled per each treatment. Two tissues [leaves and root tip] growing at 100 mM NaCl, low temperature (10±2° C.), low Nitrogen (1.6 mM N) or under Normal conditions were sampled at the vegetative stage (V4-5) and RNA was extracted as described above. Each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Table 85-88 below.

TABLE 85

Maize transcriptome expression sets under semi
hydroponics and normal conditions

Expression set	Set ID

leaf at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under Normal conditions	1
root tip at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under Normal	2
conditions

Table 85: Provided are the Maize transcriptome expression sets at normal conditions.

TABLE 86

Maize transcriptome expression sets under semi hydroponics
and cold conditions

Expression set	Set ID

leaf at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under cold conditions	1
root tip at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under cold conditions	2

Table 86: Provided are the Maize transcriptome expression sets at cold conditions.

TABLE 87

Maize transcriptome expression sets under semi hydroponics and
low N (Nitrogen deficient) conditions

	Expression set	Set ID

	leaf at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under low N	1
	conditions (1.6 mM N)
	root tip at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under low N	2
	conditions (1.6 mM N)

	Table 87: Provided are the Maize transcriptome expression sets at low nitrogen conditions 1.6 mM Nitrogen.

TABLE 88

Maize transcriptome expression sets under semi hydroponics
and salinity conditions

	Expression set	Set ID

	leaf at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under	1
	salinity conditions (NaCl 100 mM)
	root tip at vegetative stage (V4-V5) under	2
	salinity conditions (NaCl 100 mM)

	Table 88: Provided are the Maize transcriptome expression sets at 100 mM NaCl.

The following parameters were collected:

Leaves DW—leaves dry weight per plant (average of five plants).

Plant Height growth—was calculated as regression coefficient of plant height [cm] along time course (average of five plants).

Root DW—root dry weight per plant, all vegetative tissue above ground (average of four plants).

Root length—the length of the root was measured at V4 developmental stage.

Shoot DW—shoot dry weight per plant, all vegetative tissue above ground (average of four plants) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours.

Shoot FW—shoot fresh weight per plant, all vegetative tissue above ground (average of four plants).

SPAD—Chlorophyll content was determined using a Minolta SPAD 502 chlorophyll meter and measurement was performed 30 days post sowing. SPAD meter readings were done on young fully developed leaf. Three measurements per leaf were taken per plot.

12 different Maize hybrids were grown and characterized at the vegetative stage (V4-5) for different parameters. The correlated parameters are described in Table 89 below. The average for each of the measured parameter was calculated using the JMP software and values are summarized in Tables 90-97 below. Subsequent correlation analysis was performed (Table 98-101). Results were then integrated to the database.

TABLE 89

Maize correlated parameters (vectors)

	Correlated parameter with	Correlation ID

	Leaves DW [gr]	1
	Plant height growth [cm/day]	2
	Root DW [gr]	3
	Root length [cm]	4
	SPAD	5
	Shoot DW [gr]	6
	Shoot FW [gr]	7

	Table 89: Provided are the Maize correlated parameters. “DW”-dry weight; “FW”-fresh weight.

TABLE 90

Maize accessions, measured parameters under low nitrogen
growth conditions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6

1	0.57	0.45	0.46	0.48	0.36	0.51
2	0.75	0.81	0.88	0.69	0.83	0.84
3	0.38	0.35	0.25	0.36	0.31	0.30
4	44.50	45.63	44.25	43.59	40.67	42.03
5	21.43	21.24	22.23	24.56	22.75	26.47
6	2.56	1.96	2.01	1.94	1.94	2.52
7	23.27	20.58	19.26	20.02	17.98	22.06

Table 90: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under low nitrogen (nitrogen deficient) conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 91

Maize accessions, measured parameters under low nitrogen
growth conditions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-7	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12

1	0.53	0.58	0.55	0.51	0.56	0.39
2	0.78	0.92	0.89	0.85	0.80	0.64
3	0.29	0.31	0.29	0.32	0.43	0.17
4	42.65	45.06	45.31	42.17	41.03	37.65
5	22.08	25.09	23.73	25.68	25.02	19.51
6	2.03	2.37	2.09	2.17	2.62	1.53
7	21.28	22.13	20.29	19.94	22.50	15.93

Table 91: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under low nitrogen (nitrogen deficient) conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 92

Maize accessions, measured parameters under 100 mM NaCl
growth conditions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6

1	0.41	0.50	0.43	0.48	0.43	0.56
2	0.46	0.40	0.45	0.32	0.32	0.31
3	0.05	0.05	0.03	0.07	0.05	0.03
4	10.88	11.28	11.82	10.08	8.46	10.56
5	36.55	39.92	37.82	41.33	40.82	44.40
6	2.43	2.19	2.25	2.26	1.54	1.94
7	19.58	20.78	18.45	19.35	15.65	16.09

Table 92: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under 100 mM NaCl (salinity) growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 93

Maize accessions, measured parameters under 100 mM NaCl
growth conditions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-7	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12

1	0.33	0.51	0.47	0.98	0.48	0.15
2	0.29	0.36	0.37	0.35	0.31	0.27
3	0.10	0.06	0.02	0.04	0.05	0.01
4	10.14	11.83	10.55	11.18	10.09	8.90
5	37.92	43.22	39.83	38.20	38.14	37.84
6	1.78	1.90	1.89	2.20	1.86	0.97
7	12.46	16.92	16.75	17.64	15.90	9.40

Table 93: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under 100 mM NaCl (salinity) growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 94

Maize accessions, measured parameters under cold
growth conditions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6

1	1.19	1.17	1.02	1.18	1.04	1.23
2	2.15	1.93	2.12	1.80	2.32	2.15
3	0.05	0.07	0.10	0.08	0.07	0.07
5	28.88	29.11	27.08	32.38	32.68	32.89
6	5.74	4.86	3.98	4.22	4.63	4.93
7	73.79	55.46	53.26	54.92	58.95	62.36

Table 94: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under cold growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 95

Maize accessions, measured parameters under cold
growth conditions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-7	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12

1	1.13	0.98	0.88	1.28	1.10	0.60
2	2.49	2.01	1.95	2.03	1.85	1.21
3	0.14	0.07	0.07	0.02	0.05	0.06
5	31.58	33.01	28.65	31.43	30.64	30.71
6	4.82	4.03	3.57	3.99	4.64	1.89
7	63.65	54.90	48.25	52.83	55.08	29.61

Table 95: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under cold growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 96

Maize accessions, measured parameters under regular
growth conditions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6

1	1.16	1.10	0.92	1.01	0.93	0.91
2	1.99	1.92	1.93	1.93	2.15	1.95
3	0.14	0.11	0.23	0.16	0.08	0.05
4	20.15	15.89	18.59	18.72	16.38	14.93
5	34.50	35.77	34.70	34.42	35.26	37.52
6	5.27	4.67	3.88	5.08	4.10	4.46
7	79.00	62.85	59.73	63.92	60.06	64.67

Table 96: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under regular growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 97

Maize accessions, measured parameters under regular
growth conditions

Ecotype/
Treatment	Line-7	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12

1	1.11	1.01	1.01	1.02	1.23	0.44
2	2.23	1.94	1.97	2.05	1.74	1.26
3	0.17	0.10	0.07	0.10	0.14	0.03
4	17.48	15.74	15.71	17.58	16.13	17.43
5	36.50	36.07	33.74	34.34	35.74	29.04
6	4.68	4.59	4.08	4.61	5.42	2.02
7	68.10	65.81	58.31	61.87	70.04	35.96

Table 97: Provided are the values of each of the parameters (as described above) measured in Maize accessions (Seed ID) under regular growth conditions. Growth conditions are specified in the experimental procedure section.

TABLE 98

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under normal conditions across
Maize accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY107	0.77	9.51E−03	1	1	LBY114	0.74	2.34E−02	2	4
LBY120	0.73	2.64E−02	2	7	LBY120	0.72	3.00E−02	2	3
LGN17	0.80	1.03E−02	2	7	LGN33	0.77	8.77E−03	1	7
LGN36	0.81	8.75E−03	2	5	LGN36	0.70	2.29E−02	1	5
LGN49	0.73	2.53E−02	2	7	LGN49	0.78	1.35E−02	2	5

Table 98. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their hom*ologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp), Table 85] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Tables 96-97 using the Correlation vector (corr.) as described in Table 89] under normal conditions across Maize accessions. P = p value.

TABLE 99

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under low nitrogen conditions
across Maize accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LGN34	0.77	1.51E−02	2	2	LGN36	0.79	1.13E−02	2	2
LGN36	0.83	5.33E−03	2	5	LGN49	0.88	1.76E−03	2	5
LGN62	0.71	2.05E−02	1	5	LGN62	0.76	1.14E−02	1	6

Table 99. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their hom*ologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp), Table 87] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Tables 90-91 using the Correlation vector (corr.) as described in Table 89] under low nitrogen conditions across Maize accessions. P = p value.

TABLE 100

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under cold conditions across
Maize accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY104	0.71	3.27E−02	2	6	LBY117	0.70	3.45E−02	2	7
LBY5	0.71	4.78E−02	1	6	LGN17	0.81	1.42E−02	1	3
LGN18	0.71	3.08E−02	2	7

Table 100. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their hom*ologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp), Table 86] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Tables 94-95 using the Correlation vector (corr.) as described in Table 89] under cold conditions (10 ± 2° C.) across Maize accessions. P = p value.

TABLE 101

Correlation between the expression level of selected genes of some embodiments of the
invention in various tissues and the phenotypic performance under salinity conditions across
Maize accessions

Gene			Exp.	Corr.	Gene			Exp.	Corr.
Name	R	P value	set	Set ID	Name	R	P value	set	Set ID

LBY105	0.72	3.00E−02	2	2	LBY107	0.74	2.13E−02	2	1
LBY107	0.76	1.11E−02	1	7	LBY113	0.77	1.60E−02	2	3
LBY121	0.75	2.10E−02	2	1	LBY121	0.76	1.15E−02	1	1
LGN26	0.80	9.46E−03	2	3	LGN36	0.79	7.08E−03	1	2

Table 101. Provided are the correlations (R) between the expression levels of yield improving genes and their hom*ologues in tissues [Leaves or roots; Expression sets (Exp), Table 88] and the phenotypic performance in various biomass, growth rate and/or vigor components [Tables 92-93 using the Correlation vector (corr.) as described in Table 89] under salinity conditions (100 mM NaCl) across Maize accessions. P = p value.

To produce a high throughput correlation analysis, the present inventors utilized a Maize oligonucleotide micro-array, produced by Agilent Technologies [chem. (dot) agilent (dot) com/Scripts/PDS (dot) asp?1Page=50879]. The array oligonucleotide represents about 60K Maize genes and transcripts designed based on data from Public databases (Example 1). To define correlations between the levels of RNA expression and yield, biomass components or vigor related parameters, various plant characteristics of 13 different Maize hybrids were analyzed under normal and defoliation conditions. Same hybrids were subjected to RNA expression analysis. The correlation between the RNA levels and the characterized parameters was analyzed using Pearson correlation test [davidmlane (dot) com/hyperstat/A34739 (dot) html].

13 maize hybrids lines were grown in 6 repetitive plots, in field. Maize seeds were planted and plants were grown in the field using commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols. After silking, 3 plots in every hybrid line underwent the defoliation treatment. In this treatment all the leaves above the ear (about 75% of the total leaves) were removed. After the treatment, all the plants were grown according to the same commercial fertilization and irrigation protocols.

Three tissues at flowering developmental (R1) and grain filling (R3) stage including leaf (flowering -R1), stem (flowering -R1 and grain filling -R3), and flowering meristem (flowering -R1) representing different plant characteristics, were sampled from treated and untreated plants. RNA was extracted as described in “GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL AND BIOINFORMATICS METHODS”. For convenience, each micro-array expression information tissue type has received a Set ID as summarized in Tables 102-103 below.

TABLE 102

Tissues used for Maize transcriptome expression sets
(Under normal conditions)

Expression Set	Set ID

Female meristem at flowering stage under normal conditions	1
leaf at flowering stage under normal conditions	2
stem at flowering stage under normal conditions	3
stem at grain filling stage under normal conditions	4

Table 102: Provided are the identification (ID) numbers of each of the Maize expression sets.

TABLE 103

Tissues used for Maize transcriptome expression sets
(Under defoliation treatment)

Expression Set	Set ID

Female meristem at flowering stage under defoliation treatment	1
Leaf at flowering stage under defoliation treatment	2
Stem at flowering stage under defoliation treatment	3
Stem at grain filling stage under defoliation treatment	4

Table 103: Provided are the identification (ID) numbers of each of the Maize expression sets.

The following parameters were collected by imaging.

1000 grain weight—At the end of the experiment all seeds from all plots were collected and weighed and the weight of 1000 was calculated.

Ear Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 5 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ears.

Ear Length and Ear Width (cm)—At the end of the growing period 6 ears were, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear length and width (longest axis) was measured from those images and was divided by the number of ears.

Grain Area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains were weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The grain area was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Grain Perimeter (cm)—At the end of the growing period the grains were separated from the ear. A sample of ˜200 grains was weighted, photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The sum of grain perimeter was measured from those images and was divided by the number of grains.

Ear filled grain area (cm²)—At the end of the growing period 5 ears were photographed and images were processed using the below described image processing system. The Ear area filled with kernels was measured from those images and was divided by the number of Ears.

Filled per Whole Ear—was calculated as the length of the ear with grains out of the total ear.

Additional parameters were collected either by sampling 6 plants per plot or by measuring the parameter across all the plants within the plot.

Cob width [cm]—The diameter of the cob without grains was measured using a ruler.

Ear average weight [kg]—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots were collected. The ears were weighted and the average ear per plant was calculated. The ear weight was normalized using the relative humidity to be 0%.

Ear row num—The number of rows per ear was counted.

Ear fresh weight per plant (GF)—During the grain filling period (GF) and total and 6 selected ears per plot were collected separately. The ears were weighted and the average ear weight per plant was calculated.

Ears dry weight—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots were collected and weighted. The ear weight was normalized using the relative humidity to be 0%.

Ears fresh weight—At the end of the experiment (when ears were harvested) total and 6 selected ears per plots were collected and weighted.

Ears per plant—number of ears per plant were counted.

Grains weight (Kg.)—At the end of the experiment all ears were collected. Ears from 6 plants from each plot were separately threshed and grains were weighted.

Grains dry weight (Kg.)—At the end of the experiment all ears were collected. Ears from 6 plants from each plot were separately threshed and grains were weighted. The grain weight was normalized using the relative humidity to be 0%.

Grain weight per ear (Kg.)—At the end of the experiment all ears were collected. 5 ears from each plot were separately threshed and grains were weighted. The average grain weight per ear was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of ears.

Leaves area per plant at GF and HD [LAI, leaf area index]=Total leaf area of 6 plants in a plot his parameter was measured at two time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD) and during the grain filling period (GF). Measurement was performed using a Leaf area-meter at two time points in the course of the experiment; during the grain filling period and at the heading stage (VT).

Leaves fresh weight at GF and HD—This parameter was measured at two time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD) and during the grain filling period (GF). Leaves used for measurement of the LAI were weighted.

Lower stem fresh weight at GF, HD and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment: at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Lower internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted. The average internode weight per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Lower stem length at GF, HD and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Lower internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their length was measured using a ruler. The average internode length per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Lower stem width at GF, HD, and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment: at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Lower internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their diameter was measured using a caliber. The average internode width per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Plant height growth—the relative growth rate (RGR) of Plant Height was calculated as described in Formula III above.

Stem fresh weight at GF and HD—This parameter was measured at two time points during the course of the experiment: at heading (HD) and during the grain filling period (GF). Stems of the plants used for measurement of the LAI were weighted.

Total dry matter—Total dry matter was calculated using Formula XXI above.

Upper stem fresh weight at GF, HD and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Upper internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and weighted. The average internode weight per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Upper stem length at GF, HD, and H—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Upper internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their length was measured using a ruler. The average internode length per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Upper stem width at GF, HD and H (mm)—This parameter was measured at three time points during the course of the experiment; at heading (HD), during the grain filling period (GF) and at harvest (H). Upper internodes from at least 4 plants per plot were separated from the plant and their diameter was measured using a caliber. The average internode width per plant was calculated by dividing the total grain weight by the number of plants.

Vegetative dry weight (Kg.)—total weight of the vegetative portion of 6 plants (above ground excluding roots) after drying at 70° C. in oven for 48 hours weight by the number of plants.

Vegetative fresh weight (Kg.)—total weight of the vegetative portion of 6 plants (above ground excluding roots).

Node number—nodes on the stem were counted at the heading stage of plant development.

TABLE 104

Maize correlated parameters (vectors) under normal grown
conditions and under the treatment of defoliation

Normal conditions

Defoliation treatment

	Corr.		Corr.
Correlated parameter with	ID	Correlated parameter with	ID

1000 grains weight [gr.]	1	1000 grains weight [gr.]	1
Cob width [mm]	2	Cob width [mm]	2
Ear Area [cm²]	3	Ear Area [cm²]	3
Ear Filled Grain Area [cm²]	4	Ear Filled Grain Area [cm²]	4
Ear Width [cm]	5	Ear Width [cm]	5
Ear avr. Weight [gr.]	6	Ear avr weight [gr.]	6
Ear height [cm]	7	Ear height [cm]	7
Ear length [feret's diameter]	8	Ear length (feret's diameter)	8
[cm]		[cm]
Ear row number [num]	9	Ear row number [num]	9
Ears FW per plant (GF)	10	Ears dry weight (SP) [gr.]	10
[gr./plant]
Ears dry weight (SP) [kg]	11	Ears fresh weight (SP) [kg]	11
Ears fresh weight (SP) [kg]	12	Ears per plant (SP) [num]	12
Ears per plant (SP) [num]	13	Filled/Whole Ear [ratio]	13
Filled/Whole Ear [ratio]	14	Grain Perimeter [cm]	14
Grain Perimeter [cm]	15	Grain area [cm²]	15
Grain area [cm²]	16	Grain length [cm]	16
Grain length [cm]	17	Grain width [mm]	17
Grain width [cm]	18	Grains dry yield (SP) [kg]	18
Grains dry yield (SP) [kg]	19	Grains yield (SP) [kg]	19
Grains yield (SP) [kg]	20	Grains yield per ear (SP)	20
		[kg]
Grains yield per ear (SP) [kg]	21	Leaves FW (HD) [gr.]	21
Leaves FW (GF) [gr.]	22	Leaves area PP (HD) [cm²]	22
Leaves FW (HD) [gr.]	23	Leaves	23
		temperature_[GF] [° C.]
Leaves area PP (GF) [cm²]	24	Lower Stem FW [H] [gr.]	24
Leaves area PP (HD) [cm²]	25	Lower Stem FW (HD) [gr.]	25
Leaves temperature	26	Lower Stem length [H]	26
(GF) [° C.]		[cm]
Lower Stem FW (GF) [gr.]	27	Lower Stem length (HD)	27
		[cm]
Lower Stem FW (H) [gr.]	28	Lower Stem width [H]	28
		[mm]
Lower Stem FW (HD) [gr.]	29	Lower Stem width	29
		(HD) [mm]
Lower Stem length (GF) [cm]	30	Node number [num]	30
Lower Stem length (H) [cm]	31	Plant_height [cm]	31
Lower Stem length	32	Plant height growth	32
(HD) [cm]		[cm/day]
Lower Stem width (GF)	33	SPAD (GF) [SPAD unit]	33
[mm]
Lower Stem width (H) [mm]	34	Stem FW (HD) [gr.]	34
Lower Stem width	35	Total dry matter (SP) [kg]	35
(HD) [mm]
Node number [num]	36	Upper Stem FW (H) [gr.]	36
Plant height [cm]	37	Upper Stem length (H) [cm]	37
Plant height growth [cm/day]	38	Upper Stem width (H) [mm]	38
SPAD (GF) [SPAD unit]	39	Vegetative DW (SP) [kg]	39
Stem FW (GF) [gr.]	40	Vegetative FW (SP) [kg]	40
Stem FW (HD) [gr.]	41
Total dry matter (SP) [kg]	42
Upper Stem FW (GF) [gr.]	43
Upper Stem FW (H) [gr.]	44
Upper Stem length (GF) [cm]	45
Upper Stem length (H) [cm]	46
Upper Stem width (GF) [mm]	47
Upper Stem width (H) [mm]	48
Vegetative DW (SP) [kg]	49
Vegetative FW (SP) [kg]	50

Table 104.

Thirteen maize varieties were grown, and characterized for parameters, as described above. The average for each parameter was calculated using the JMP software, and values are summarized in Tables 105-108 below. Subsequent correlation between the various transcriptome sets for all or sub set of lines was done and results were integrated into the database (Tables 109 and 110 below).

TABLE 105

Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid under normal conditions

Line/Corr.
ID	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6	Line-7

1	296.50	263.25	303.61	304.70	281.18	330.45	290.88
2	24.63	25.11	23.21	23.69	22.81	22.40	23.18
3	82.30	74.63	77.00	90.15	83.80	96.63	78.36
4	80.89	72.42	73.43	85.96	80.64	95.03	74.41
5	4.656	4.787	4.961	4.998	4.650	4.802	4.786
6	209.50	164.63	177.44	218.53	205.58	135.77	147.49
7	121.67	134.24	149.64	152.14	143.83	133.65	118.39
8	22.09	19.62	20.02	23.21	22.63	23.74	20.31
9	13.00	14.94	14.56	14.56	13.56	13.06	16.12
10	351.26	323.08	307.87	330.60	320.51	434.60	325.08
11	1.257	1.087	1.065	1.311	1.234	1.354	1.159
12	1.687	1.457	1.412	1.699	1.519	1.739	1.800
13	1.000	1.111	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.056	1.000
14	0.982	0.969	0.953	0.953	0.949	0.937	0.930
15	3.299	3.233	3.275	3.338	3.178	3.382	3.246
16	0.720	0.667	0.706	0.722	0.671	0.753	0.665
17	1.125	1.123	1.133	1.170	1.081	1.159	1.142
18	0.808	0.753	0.789	0.782	0.787	0.823	0.740
19	0.907	0.800	0.766	0.923	0.833	0.986	0.820
20	1.037	0.913	0.869	1.058	0.953	1.123	0.940
21	0.151	0.133	0.128	0.154	0.139	0.164	0.137
22	230.13	197.64	201.03	205.53	224.81	204.49	212.41
23	110.97	80.57	157.21	128.83	100.57	111.80	116.75
24	7034.60	6402.80	6353.07	6443.92	6835.50	6507.33	7123.48
25	4341.25	3171.00	4205.50	4347.50	3527.00	4517.33	3984.75
26	33.11	33.52	33.87	34.18	33.78	32.85	33.19
27	35.40	25.03	26.51	21.74	26.13	34.44	27.61
28	23.52	20.34	25.08	14.18	17.53	25.74	20.60
29	72.99	59.90	74.72	90.48	69.52	66.91	60.36
30	19.35	20.40	20.93	21.38	20.03	20.31	18.08
31	16.76	20.02	22.59	21.68	22.34	21.39	17.07
32	14.50	17.75	20.00	19.35	20.33	20.75	15.00
33	19.86	16.84	16.14	16.37	17.01	17.53	18.11
34	19.42	17.19	16.09	16.92	17.52	17.88	17.96
35	24.14	20.53	20.97	24.43	21.70	19.49	23.47
36	15.22	14.56	14.61	14.83	15.00	13.83	14.28
37	265.11	255.94	271.11	283.89	279.72	268.78	244.25
38	6.30	6.52	7.14	6.98	7.41	7.50	5.60
39	59.77	53.17	53.21	54.95	53.99	55.24	55.38
40	649.03	489.32	524.06	512.66	542.16	627.76	507.78
41	758.61	587.88	801.32	794.80	721.87	708.38	660.70
42	2.57	2.06	2.32	2.44	2.36	2.57	2.23
43	19.61	15.54	17.82	10.79	14.41	20.31	15.85
44	12.94	11.21	12.98	6.50	7.99	12.08	9.72
45	16.63	18.75	18.38	17.92	17.60	18.79	17.07
46	16.93	18.76	18.72	20.01	19.40	19.65	16.42
47	16.00	14.11	13.50	11.89	13.08	14.34	15.04
48	14.93	13.00	12.44	12.04	12.89	13.28	13.10
49	1.308	0.971	1.251	1.131	1.128	1.213	1.073
50	3.157	2.252	2.607	2.596	2.416	2.640	2.220

Table 105.

TABLE 106

Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid under normal conditions, additional maize lines

Line/Corr.
ID	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12	Line-13

1	250.26	306.20	253.19	277.03	269.53	274.81
2	24.88	26.47	23.09	22.69	23.55	26.31
3	93.91	96.77	85.44	76.77	97.99
4	92.31	95.43	83.28	74.35	96.88
5	5.182	5.001	4.952	4.786	5.426
6	207.11	228.44	215.92	198.69	188.50	254.42
7	145.24	133.78	143.71	134.17	143.00	147.78
8	22.60	23.84	21.74	20.04	22.41
9	15.89	14.00	15.44	14.89	14.94	16.78
10	327.15	363.70	405.72	338.24	345.32	369.69
11	1.292	1.371	1.296	1.192	1.131	1.527
12	1.595	1.739	1.681	1.565	1.421	1.891
13	1.056	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000
14	0.982	0.986	0.974	0.966	0.989
15	3.182	3.291	3.269	3.216	3.155	3.384
16	0.646	0.705	0.678	0.670	0.652	0.723
17	1.118	1.151	1.163	1.124	1.090	1.206
18	0.730	0.774	0.739	0.756	0.757	0.760
19	0.921	1.017	0.942	0.852	0.813	1.142
20	1.050	1.155	1.076	0.974	0.924	1.287
21	0.154	0.169	0.157	0.142	0.136	0.190
22	181.43	199.22	206.91	168.54	199.42	200.12
23	106.95	85.97	102.71	105.73	102.12	143.06
24	6075.21	6597.67	6030.40	6307.06	6617.65	6848.03
25	3696.75	3926.67	3127.67	3942.75	3955.00	4854.00
26	33.66	33.78	32.64	33.95	33.28	33.90
27	25.26	26.18	34.31	25.50	23.06	25.59
28	16.35	18.90	27.30	22.35	19.26	22.82
29	63.07	55.89	82.13	60.02	58.70	116.12
30	20.18	19.81	22.89	19.81	19.53	21.40
31	20.69	18.48	23.31	19.39	19.66	19.97
32	18.68	20.50	22.57	19.83	14.50	20.33
33	17.09	16.87	17.49	16.62	17.10	17.38
34	18.42	17.43	18.07	17.68	17.61	18.93
35	20.97	21.46	21.41	22.12	23.25	24.31
36	14.72	15.44	14.33	14.44	14.89	14.39
37	273.56	273.22	295.33	259.25	257.89	277.19
38	6.96	7.02	7.83	6.98	6.56	7.25
39	56.76	55.81	58.54	51.68	55.16	54.16
40	549.34	509.74	662.13	527.43	474.68	544.03
41	724.58	618.46	837.56	612.81	728.00	950.29
42	2.73	2.33	2.40	2.20	2.08	2.84
43	14.39	17.85	20.42	13.93	13.05	16.45
44	6.98	9.40	13.58	9.20	7.69	10.17
45	17.52	18.15	18.61	17.69	18.15	18.64
46	18.34	16.63	19.38	16.71	16.27	15.92
47	13.63	14.73	14.61	13.17	12.77	14.15
48	13.48	13.42	13.27	13.14	12.53	13.79
49	1.438	0.961	1.100	1.007	0.953	1.313
50	2.897	2.224	2.827	2.295	2.151	2.900

Table 106.

TABLE 107

Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid under defoliation treatment

Line/
Corr. ID	Line-1	Line-2	Line-3	Line-4	Line-5	Line-6	Line-7

1	280.03	251.86	294.29	295.36	288.40	308.25	230.12
2	19.03	22.12	16.31	21.54	19.84	18.21	19.77
3	53.60	45.50	38.31	58.47	53.89	63.54	39.83
4	51.50	42.95	34.59	55.67	51.36	61.44	36.31
5	4.181	4.207	3.919	4.773	4.506	4.612	4.099
6	89.20	100.75	73.39	129.84	129.78	115.06	85.04
7	119.44	131.56	145.53	156.06	145.28	129.53	123.38
8	16.34	13.63	12.89	15.94	15.34	17.53	13.21
9	12.71	14.36	13.00	14.12	13.47	13.07	14.06
10	0.747	0.583	0.440	0.742	0.779	0.576	0.454
11	0.973	0.833	0.629	0.979	1.010	0.803	0.648
12	1.000	0.944	1.000	0.944	1.000	0.941	0.889
13	0.954	0.915	0.873	0.950	0.948	0.961	0.905
14	3.109	3.144	3.179	3.207	3.196	3.230	3.130
15	0.649	0.632	0.669	0.675	0.677	0.683	0.631
16	1.052	1.080	1.079	1.110	1.087	1.094	1.066
17	0.777	0.740	0.781	0.765	0.786	0.788	0.750
18	0.523	0.400	0.289	0.517	0.547	0.398	0.302
19	0.604	0.456	0.331	0.588	0.624	0.458	0.345
20	0.087	0.069	0.048	0.090	0.091	0.080	0.056
21	112.27	94.99	125.14	144.48	112.50	116.16	113.78
22	3914.00	3480.00	4276.50	4985.50	4643.50	4223.00	3436.00
23	32.47	33.09	33.64	32.29	32.87	33.40	33.43
24	23.02	26.50	26.98	15.24	18.19	37.21	27.88
25	64.16	53.81	56.41	80.95	71.27	66.69	64.19
26	16.29	21.44	20.85	22.58	22.94	21.62	18.76
27	15.15	18.50	16.67	18.07	18.00	19.83	16.10
28	19.54	16.90	15.79	17.01	17.12	18.17	18.21
29	24.30	20.57	21.06	24.87	20.85	20.46	20.96
30	15.17	14.39	15.00	15.11	14.50	14.22	14.39
31	251.42	248.64	268.06	285.11	278.83	261.88	254.64
32	6.38	6.32	6.31	6.93	6.83	7.14	6.48
33	61.21	57.36	58.02	62.36	60.72	62.22	59.65
34	713.54	538.04	705.53	803.33	703.36	664.23	673.24
35	1.539	1.365	1.440	1.532	1.571	1.574	1.337
36	8.68	11.08	14.10	4.89	6.04	13.95	10.93
37	16.24	18.83	17.74	19.64	20.74	20.14	17.18
38	14.27	12.82	12.69	11.09	12.00	13.03	14.25
39	0.792	0.782	1.000	0.790	0.792	0.998	0.883
40	2.511	1.955	2.797	2.107	2.205	2.785	2.541

Table 107.

TABLE 108

Measured parameters in Maize Hybrid under defoliation treatment, additional maize lines

Line/Corr.
ID	Line-8	Line-9	Line-10	Line-11	Line-12	Line-13

1	271.25	259.43	243.98	262.41	248.64	244.16
2	22.44	20.28	19.64	22.32	23.31	27.78
3	47.33	65.90	43.83	43.28	52.30	58.31
4	43.34	64.80	39.56	40.43	49.28	55.69
5	4.202	4.664	4.056	4.012	4.407	4.975
6	33.10	161.76	89.36	87.68	88.18	124.58
7	135.00	136.50	136.39	130.32	139.71	143.44
8	14.82	17.60	13.78	13.75	15.53	14.87
9	13.75	13.94	12.79	13.00	14.29	15.83
10	0.630	0.803	0.536	0.552	0.512