Carrot Lines with Increased Lycopene Content
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current carrot breeding methods have not successfully increased lycopene content beyond beta-carotene, limiting the nutritional value and market appeal of carrots.
Innovation Solution
Development of carrot lines with increased lycopene content through specific breeding techniques, including crossing cytoplasmic male-sterile lines and using genetic loci to introduce desirable traits like herbicide tolerance and disease resistance, resulting in hybrid varieties like 0710 0325, 0710 0339, and 0710 0346 with lycopene levels between 100-250 ppm.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional carrot breeding methods are used, then beta-carotene content has been increased by 75%, but lycopene content remains limited and nutritional value is not fully enhanced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by introducing specific genetic loci (psbA, psbD, psbC) that control lycopene biosynthesis pathways. By selecting and combining specific alleles at these loci, the patent transforms the chemical composition parameters of carrot roots, achieving lycopene content of 100-250 ppm while maintaining other nutritional qualities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite genetic structure by combining multiple gene loci from different parental lines. The hybrid carrot varieties incorporate lycopene biosynthesis genes from one parent while maintaining beta-carotene production genes from another parent, resulting in a composite nutritional profile containing both lycopene (100-250 ppm) and beta-carotene.
2Stability of the object's composition
If homozygous inbred plants are developed through self-pollination, then uniform varieties are produced, but genetic diversity and trait combination are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the breeding process into distinct phases: first developing homozygous inbred lines through self-pollination to ensure genetic stability and uniformity, then crossing these stabilized lines to combine desirable traits. This segmentation allows each parental line to be optimized independently before hybridization, achieving both uniformity within lines and trait diversity in hybrids.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by developing and stabilizing homozygous inbred lines before the crossing step. Multiple generations of self-pollination are conducted to fix desirable traits in parental lines, ensuring that when crossing occurs, the resulting hybrids inherit stable, uniform traits from each parent while combining their advantages.
3Adaptability or versatility
If cross-pollination between different varieties is performed, then genetic diversity and new trait combinations are achieved, but uniformity and predictability of the population is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses homozygous inbred lines as intermediaries between conventional varieties and the final hybrid population. These inbred lines serve as stable, uniform parental stocks that can be consistently crossed to produce predictable F1 hybrids. The intermediary inbred lines bridge the gap between genetic diversity needs and population uniformity requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the genetic parameter state by creating highly homozygous parental lines with fixed trait expressions, then using controlled cross-pollination to generate F1 hybrids with predictable trait inheritance. This parameter transformation from heterogeneous varieties to homozygous lines to uniform hybrids resolves the contradiction between diversity and uniformity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If breeding pools are created from multiple plants, then broad-based genetic sources are combined, but the complexity of selection and evaluation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts specific desirable traits from broad breeding pools by identifying and selecting plants with exceptional lycopene content or other desired characteristics. Rather than managing complexity of entire breeding pools, the process extracts and fixes individual superior traits into homozygous lines, then combines these extracted traits through controlled crossing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by focusing selection efforts on specific traits (lycopene content, disease resistance, yield) in specific parental lines rather than attempting to optimize all traits simultaneously in breeding pools. Each parental line is optimized for specific local qualities, which are then combined in hybrids.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to carrot lines having roots containing increased levels of lycopene, as well as containers of such carrots. The present invention also relates to parts of carrot plants from lines having roots with increased lycopene content, including seeds capable of growing carrot plants with increased root lycopene content. The invention also provides seed and plants of the carrot lines designated RN 71-4904C, RF 71-4911A, RF 71-4912A, RIF 71-4966C, RIF 71-4967B, or RIF 71-4968B. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of carrot line RN 71-4904C, RF 71-4911A, RF 71-4912A, RIF 71-4966C, RIF 71-4967B, or RIF 71-4968B, and to methods for producing a carrot plant produced by crossing a plant of carrot line RN 71-4904C, RF 71-4911A, RF 71-4912A, RIF 71-4966C, RIF 71-4967B, or RIF 71-4968B with itself or with another carrot plant, such as a plant of another line. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of a plant of carrot line RN 71-4904C, RF 71-4911A, RF 71-4912A, RIF 71-4966C, RIF 71-4967B, or RIF 71-4968B, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.