Hybrid Corn CH538091 Cytoplasmic Male Sterility Breeding

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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 CH538091, which incorporates genetic modifications and cytoplasmic male sterility traits to prevent self-pollination, along with a process for crossing parent plants to produce hybrid seeds, utilizing techniques like emasculation and genetic transformation to introduce desired traits like herbicide resistance and disease resistance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If physical emasculation methods are used to prevent self-pollination, then hybrid seed production is achieved, but labor intensity and production cost increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprevention of self-pollinationVSAvoidbreeding efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces mechanical emasculation with a biological system - cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). The CMS trait genetically prevents pollen production in the female parent, eliminating the need for manual or mechanical removal of male organs. This biological substitution dramatically reduces labor intensity while maintaining reliable prevention of self-pollination in hybrid seed production

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs self-service by utilizing the plant's own genetic system to prevent self-pollination. The CMS cytoplasm inherently prevents the female parent from producing viable pollen, so the plant effectively services its own emasculation requirement without external intervention. This self-service mechanism automates what previously required manual labor

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple desirable traits are combined in hybrid varieties, then agronomic performance improves, but genetic stability becomes more difficult to maintain

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecombination of desirable traitsVSAvoidgenetic stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the genetic material into distinct components - separate inbred lines with specific traits - and combines them through controlled cross-pollination to create the hybrid. This segmentation allows each parent line to maintain its genetic stability independently while the hybrid offspring expresses the desired combination of traits from both parents, resolving the conflict between trait combination and genetic stability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a composite genetic structure by combining DNA from two different inbred parent lines. The hybrid corn plant contains composite genetic material that integrates desirable traits from both parents while maintaining stable inheritance patterns. This composite approach allows multiple traits to be combined without compromising the overall genetic stability of the hybrid variety

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Adaptability or versatility

If conventional breeding methods are used to develop hybrid varieties, then genetic diversity is achieved, but time and resource consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegenetic diversityVSAvoidbreeding cycle duration
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by first developing and stabilizing distinct inbred parent lines with desired traits before performing the hybrid cross. This preliminary development of pure lines accelerates the breeding process because the genetic composition of parents is already optimized and stable, eliminating the need for extended testing and selection phases that would be required if starting from heterogeneous populations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses copying by creating true-breeding inbred lines that can be repeatedly used as parents to produce identical hybrid offspring. Once the parent lines are established, they can be copied and propagated to produce large quantities of hybrid seed with consistent trait expression, significantly reducing the time required compared to developing new varieties from scratch each time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS10575486B2Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH538091
Publication Date: 2020.03.03 MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH538091. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH538091, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH538091 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 CH538091.