Hybrid Corn CH011059 Cytoplasmic Male Sterility Seed Production

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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 hybrid seed production.

Innovation Solution

The development of the hybrid corn variety CH011059, which incorporates genetic modifications and cytoplasmic male sterility to prevent self-pollination, along with tissue culture methods for regenerating plants with specific traits like herbicide resistance and improved agronomic characteristics, enables efficient hybrid seed production and genetic stability.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If traditional self-pollination breeding methods are used, then genetic uniformity can be achieved, but self-pollination limits hybrid seed production efficiency

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 self-pollination capability from the corn plant by introducing cytoplasmic male sterility factors (such as CMS-T or CMS-E) that prevent pollen formation. This allows the female parent to be completely dependent on cross-pollination, eliminating self-pollination contamination and significantly improving hybrid seed production efficiency while maintaining genetic stability through controlled mating.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces restorer genes (Rf1, Rf2, Rf3) as intermediary genetic elements that can restore male fertility when present. These restorer genes act as mediators between the cytoplasmic male sterility factor and the nuclear genome, allowing precise control over pollen production. By strategically placing these restorer genes, breeders can control which plants produce pollen and which remain sterile, enabling efficient hybrid seed production without self-pollination issues.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If cytoplasmic male sterility is introduced to prevent self-pollination, then hybrid seed production efficiency improves, but genetic complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehybrid seed production efficiencyVSAvoidgenetic complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by introducing cytoplasmic male sterility specifically into the female parent line while keeping the male parent line genetically normal and fertile. This localized genetic modification means only the female parent carries the sterility factor and associated restorer genes, while the male parent remains simple and unchanged. This approach improves hybrid seed production efficiency without unnecessarily complicating the entire breeding system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent utilizes restorer genes that serve multiple functions: they can restore male fertility in cytoplasmically sterile plants, they can be used to create maintaining lines for sterile hybrids, and they can be strategically deployed in different breeding scenarios. This multi-functionality reduces overall genetic complexity by using a single set of restorer genes for multiple breeding purposes rather than requiring separate genetic systems.

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

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple desirable traits are combined in hybrid varieties, then agronomic quality improves, but breeding program complexity increases

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

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the breeding program into distinct components: female parent lines with cytoplasmic male sterility and specific trait combinations, male parent lines with complementary traits, and restorer gene carriers. This segmentation allows each parent line to be developed and optimized independently for specific traits, then combined through controlled crosses. The cytoplasmic male sterility system ensures complete hybridization and prevents self-pollination contamination, simplifying the selection and evaluation processes despite multiple desirable traits being combined.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS20220078994A1Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety ch011059
Publication Date: 2022.03.17 MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH011059. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH011059, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH011059 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 CH011059.