The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology
and concerns a method for enhancing various economically important
yield-related traits in plants. More specifically, the present invention
concerns a method for enhancing yield-related traits in plants by
modulating expression in a plant of a nucleic acid encoding a Yield
Enhancing Protein (YEP). The YEP is selected from a Vacuolar Processing
Enzyme (VPE) or a CCA1-like polypeptide or a SAP-like polypeptide or a
Seed Yield Promoting Factor 1 (SYPF1) polypeptide or a
Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) activase (RCA)
polypeptide. The present invention also concerns plants having modulated
expression of a nucleic acid encoding such a YEP, which plants have
enhanced yield-related traits relative to control plants. The invention
also provides hitherto unknown YEP-encoding nucleic acids, and constructs
comprising the same, useful in performing the methods of the invention.