Methods and compositions for altering a nucleotide sequence of interest in
a plant is provided. The method involves introducing a chimeric oligonucleotide
into a plant cell, wherein the oligonucleotide comprises at least two intervening
blocks of RNA residues with intervening DNA residues. The RNA blocks are homologous
to a plant nucleotide sequence. The chimeric oligonucleotide is capable of folding
to form a duplex oligonucleotide. The chimeric oligonucleotide is maintained within
the nucleus of the plant whereby the alteration is introduced into the target sequences
of the plant genome.
