Hybrid Corn CH011121 CMS Breeding for Seed Purity
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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 trait introduction and hybrid seed production.
Innovation Solution
The development of the hybrid corn variety CH011121, which incorporates genetic modifications and cytoplasmic male sterility to prevent self-pollination, along with a method for producing hybrid seeds by crossing specific parental varieties, ensuring genetic stability and introducing desirable traits like herbicide resistance and disease resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional breeding techniques are used to develop hybrid corn varieties, then genetic diversity and trait combination are improved, but self-pollination occurs which reduces hybrid seed production efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the male reproductive capability from the female parent line by inducing cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). This prevents self-pollination in the female parent, ensuring that all pollen comes from the male parent, thereby guaranteeing 100% hybrid seed production and eliminating the need for manual emasculation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a restorer gene (Rf1) as an intermediary genetic element that controls pollen fertility. The restorer gene acts as a switch: when present in the male parent, it restores pollen fertility to enable cross-pollination; when absent in the female parent, it maintains sterility to prevent self-pollination. This intermediary mechanism efficiently controls pollination without manual intervention.
2Reliability
If manual emasculation is performed to prevent self-pollination, then hybrid seed purity is improved, but labor cost and production time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the plant system to automatically prevent self-pollination through cytoplasmic male sterility. The female parent line inherently lacks functional pollen due to CMS, so no external intervention (manual emasculation) is needed. The system serves itself by biologically preventing self-pollination, thereby maintaining hybrid seed purity while eliminating labor-intensive emasculation steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the male fertility function from the female parent line through CMS induction. By removing the ability to produce functional pollen in the female parent, the system eliminates the need for manual emasculation entirely, reducing both labor time and production costs while maintaining seed purity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If inbred lines are developed through multiple generations of selfing, then genetic uniformity is improved, but time to maturity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-developing homozygous inbred lines (MO17 and LG1) through multiple generations of selfing before the hybridization step. This preliminary development of genetically uniform parent lines ensures that when crossing occurs, the F1 hybrid progeny exhibit uniformity without requiring additional generations of selfing. The genetic uniformity is established in advance in the parent lines, accelerating the overall breeding timeline.
4Adaptability or versatility
If desirable traits are introduced through genetic modification, then trait expression is improved, but genetic stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by introducing specific genetic modifications (such as herbicide resistance genes or disease resistance genes) at localized positions in the genome of the parent lines, rather than throughout the entire genome. These targeted modifications confer desirable traits while leaving the rest of the genome unchanged and stable. The restorer gene Rf1 is also a localized modification that specifically controls pollen fertility without affecting other genetic traits.
Data Source
AI summary
According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH011121. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH011121, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH011121 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 CH011121.