Hybrid Corn CH011117 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 CH011117, which incorporates genetic modifications and cytoplasmic male sterility to prevent self-pollination, along with specific traits like herbicide resistance and disease resistance, achieved through genetic transformation and backcrossing techniques, allowing for controlled cross-pollination and stable hybrid seed production.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If self-pollination is allowed in corn breeding, then genetic diversity is maintained, but hybrid seed production efficiency decreases due to inability to control pollination

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

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the male reproductive function from the plant by introducing cytoplasmic male sterility, which eliminates pollen production in the female parent. This allows complete control over pollination in hybrid seed production while maintaining the ability to restore fertility when needed, directly resolving the contradiction between production efficiency and genetic stability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses a restorer gene as an intermediary element that can switch the male sterility state on or off. This mediator allows the system to maintain hybrid purity during seed production while enabling controlled self-pollination when required for breeding programs, thus balancing efficiency and genetic stability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If multiple desirable traits are combined in hybrid corn, then yield and resistance improve, but breeding complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedisease resistanceVSAvoidbreeding program complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs cytoplasmic male sterility as a universal tool that serves multiple functions: it prevents self-pollination during hybrid seed production, ensures complete cross-pollination, and works independently of the nuclear genome. This multi-functional approach simplifies breeding programs by providing a single mechanism that addresses multiple breeding requirements simultaneously

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

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the fertility control mechanism into cytoplasmic (maternal) and nuclear (restorer gene) components. This segmentation allows independent manipulation of male sterility and trait inheritance, enabling breeders to combine multiple desirable traits without increasing overall program complexity, as the fertility control mechanism remains constant while trait combinations can be varied

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS11399486B2Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH011117
Publication Date: 2022.08.02 MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH011117. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH011117, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH011117 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 CH011117.