Corn Variety I109922 Breeding for Genetic Uniformity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current corn breeding techniques face challenges in developing uniform corn hybrids with desirable traits such as high yield, disease resistance, and uniformity, as they often result in unpredictable performance due to genetic non-uniformity among hybrid plants.

Innovation Solution

The development of the corn variety I109922, which includes methods for producing inbred corn plants with specific traits like male sterility, herbicide tolerance, and disease resistance, using cytoplasmic-male sterility and genetic transformation techniques to ensure uniformity and stability, along with tissue culture methods for regenerating plants with consistent physiological and morphological characteristics.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional corn breeding techniques are used to develop hybrids, then various desirable traits can be combined in a single variety, but the resulting hybrid plants exhibit genetic non-uniformity leading to unpredictable performance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecombination of desirable traitsVSAvoidperformance predictability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs male sterile lines and male fertile maintainers that are genetically homogeneous within each line. By using cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) systems, the invention ensures that all female parent plants have identical cytoplasmic genetics, eliminating genetic variation among hybrid progeny and ensuring uniform performance while maintaining the ability to combine multiple desirable traits from different inbred lines

Inventive Principle:
Principle #33Homogeneity

2Stability of the object's composition

If self-pollination is used to develop homozygous inbred plants, then uniform true breeding progeny are produced, but the process requires multiple generations and extensive selection time

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovehomozygosityVSAvoidbreeding cycle duration
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent utilizes cytoplasmic male sterility as a preliminary action to prevent self-pollination in the female parent line, ensuring that only cross-pollinated seeds are produced. This preliminary genetic setup eliminates the need for manual emasculation and ensures consistent heterozygosity in F1 hybrids, significantly reducing the time and labor required for hybrid seed production while maintaining homozygosity in parental lines through continued selfing of maintainers

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If cross-pollination is used to produce hybrid plants, then heterosis and improved vigor are achieved, but genetic uniformity among hybrid plants is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehybrid vigorVSAvoidgenetic uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent achieves both hybrid vigor and genetic uniformity by using highly homozygous inbred lines as parents, where each parent line is genetically uniform. The cytoplasmic male sterility system ensures that all F1 hybrids receive identical cytoplasmic material from the female parent and identical nuclear genes from both parents, resulting in genetically uniform hybrid plants that consistently express heterosis across the entire population

Inventive Principle:
Principle #33Homogeneity

Data Source

PatentUS7511200B1Plants and seeds of corn variety I109922
Publication Date: 2009.03.31 MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the corn variety designated I109922. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety I109922, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety I109922 with itself or with another corn plant, such as a plant of another variety. The invention further relates to corn seeds and plants produced by crossing plants of variety I109922 with plants of another variety, such as another inbred line. The invention further relates to the inbred and hybrid genetic complements of plants of variety I109922.