Hybrid Corn CH011138 Cytoplasmic Male Sterility Seed Production

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current corn breeding techniques face challenges in developing hybrid varieties that combine desirable traits such as high yield, disease resistance, and uniformity, while maintaining genetic stability and avoiding self-pollination, which limits the efficiency of trait introduction and hybrid seed production.

Innovation Solution

The development of the hybrid corn variety CH011138, which incorporates genetic modifications and cytoplasmic male sterility to prevent self-pollination, along with tissue culture methods for regenerating plants with specific traits, enables the introduction of traits like herbicide resistance, disease resistance, and improved agronomic characteristics, and allows for controlled cross-pollination to produce hybrid seeds.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If traditional breeding methods are used to develop hybrid corn varieties, then genetic diversity and trait introduction are possible, but self-pollination occurs which reduces hybrid seed production efficiency and genetic stability

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehybrid seed production efficiencyVSAvoidgenetic stability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes the male reproductive capability from the female parent plant through cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), eliminating self-pollination ability. This allows the female parent to only accept cross-pollen, ensuring 100% hybrid seed production and complete genetic stability without any self-pollinated contaminants

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a male sterility system as an intermediary mechanism that controls pollination. The CMS female parent acts as a passive recipient that can only be fertilized by designated male parents, while the male parent's fertility is controlled by conditional expression systems, creating a controlled intermediary state that ensures precise cross-pollination

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple desirable traits are combined in hybrid corn varieties, then agronomic quality and yield improve, but the complexity of breeding programs and trait introduction increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveagronomic qualityVSAvoidbreeding program complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a universal breeding platform using CMS female parents that can be crossed with multiple different male parents carrying various trait combinations. The same CMS female parent line can serve as a foundation for developing multiple hybrid varieties with different agronomic qualities, yield potentials, and disease resistances, eliminating the need to develop separate breeding programs for each trait combination

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the fertility parameter of the female parent from fertile to sterile through cytoplasmic male sterility, fundamentally altering the breeding system. This parameter change enables controlled cross-pollination and simplifies the breeding program by eliminating the need for manual emasculation and complex selection processes required in traditional breeding methods

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If manual emasculation is used to prevent self-pollination, then hybrid seed production is possible, but labor requirements and production costs increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehybrid seed productionVSAvoidproduction cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs cytoplasmic male sterility in the female parent, which is a self-expressing trait that automatically prevents self-pollination without requiring external intervention. The plant itself serves the function of preventing self-fertilization through its sterile cytoplasm, eliminating the need for manual emasculation labor and significantly reducing production costs while maintaining high hybrid seed production efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS11445677B2Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH011138
Publication Date: 2022.09.20 MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH011138. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH011138, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH011138 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to genetic complements of plants of variety CH011138.