Hybrid Corn CH615495 Breeding via Cytoplasmic Male Sterility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Corn breeding techniques face challenges in developing uniform hybrid plants with desirable traits such as high yield, disease resistance, and uniformity, as self-pollination often leads to homozygosity and predictable performance, while cross-pollination results in non-uniformity and unpredictability.

Innovation Solution

The development of the hybrid corn variety CH615495, which includes cytoplasmic or nuclear factors for male sterility and other desirable traits like herbicide resistance, insect resistance, and disease resistance, using genetic transformation techniques and backcrossing methods to introduce specific genetic loci and cytoplasmically-inherited traits, along with tissue culture methods for regenerating plants with consistent characteristics.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Stability of the object's composition

If self-pollination is used for corn breeding, then homozygosity and uniformity are achieved, but genetic diversity and adaptability are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveuniformityVSAvoidgenetic diversity
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The breeding program segments the population into distinct inbred lines through repeated self-pollination, creating homozygous groups with uniform characteristics. These segmented lines can then be strategically crossed to combine desirable traits while maintaining uniformity within each parental line.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The breeding process changes the genetic parameter from heterozygous to homozygous through self-pollination, achieving uniformity. However, this parameter change reduces genetic diversity, which is why the patent employs multiple inbred lines with different homozygous compositions that can be crossed to restore diversity in the hybrid generation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Adaptability or versatility

If cross-pollination is used for corn breeding, then genetic diversity is increased, but uniformity and predictability of performance are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegenetic diversityVSAvoiduniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

Before cross-pollination, the patent performs preliminary self-pollination for multiple generations to create homozygous inbred lines with uniform and predictable characteristics. This preliminary action ensures that when cross-pollination occurs, the resulting hybrids exhibit consistent performance because the parental lines are genetically stable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses inbred lines as intermediaries between complete self-pollination (which gives uniformity) and random cross-pollination (which gives diversity). These inbred lines serve as controlled parental sources that, when crossed, produce uniform F1 hybrids with predictable performance while incorporating genetic diversity from different parental lines.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Reliability

If multiple generations of selfing and selection are performed to develop inbred plants, then uniform hybrid parents are obtained, but breeding time and complexity are increased

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesuperior inbred parental plantsVSAvoidbreeding time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs periodic cycles of self-pollination followed by selection over multiple generations to develop inbred lines. This periodic action of selfing and selecting repeats until uniformity is achieved, creating reliable inbred parental plants through systematic generational cycles.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces lengthy traditional breeding cycles with more efficient methods including cytoplasmic male sterility systems that eliminate the need for manual detasseling, and molecular marker-assisted selection that accelerates the identification of desirable traits, thereby reducing breeding time while maintaining reliability.

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

4Manufacturing precision

If manual detasseling is performed to prevent self-pollination, then cross-pollination control is achieved, but labor intensity and cost are increased

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecross-pollination controlVSAvoidlabor intensity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) where the female parent plant self-regulates by being genetically incapable of producing functional pollen. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for manual detasseling labor while ensuring complete cross-pollination control, as the sterile cytoplasm naturally prevents self-pollination.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces cytoplasmic male sterility as an intermediary mechanism between the need for cross-pollination control and the desire to reduce labor. The CMS trait acts as a biological intermediary that automatically prevents self-pollination without requiring human intervention for detasseling, thereby maintaining precision while reducing labor intensity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS9974263B2Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH615495
Publication Date: 2018.05.22 MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH615495. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH615495, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH615495 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 CH615495.