Methods and materials for producing coreless fruit

Abstract

The invention provides materials and methods for producing coreless fruit, or plants that produce coreless fruit. The invention involves combining reduced expression of AGAMOUS (AG) with parthenocarpy. Parthenocarpy can be induced by hormone treatment, or can be provided by reduced or eliminated expression of PISTILATA (PI) or APETALA3 (AP3). The invention provides methods and materials for producing the plants and coreless fruit by genetic modification (GM) and non-GM means. The invention also provides the plants and coreless fruit.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to methods and materials for producing seedless fruit. Background technique [0002] The nuclei present in many fruits carry seeds which, under the right conditions, can germinate to eventually produce new fruit-bearing plants. The fruit is often attractive to animals, and the seeds are ingested along with the fruit, which can facilitate the dispersal of fruiting plant species by depositing by animals at locations distant from the original fruit-bearing plants. [0003] Although seeds with nuclei are clearly an evolutionary advantage for many plants, the presence of nuclei can be inconvenient for humans. The pits of many fruits are fibrous and tough and, therefore, are unpleasant for human consumption and may be difficult to digest. For these reasons, the pits are often discarded by those who eat the fruit, or removed before the fruit is further processed and / or incorporated into other food products. This treatment or r...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This treatment of pits or removal represents a significant waste of fruit biomass and adds significantly to the cost of fruit processing

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