Hybrid Corn CH375235 Emasculation for Uniform 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 CH375235, which incorporates genetic modifications and cytoplasmic male sterility traits to prevent self-pollination, along with specific genetic loci conferring herbicide resistance, insect resistance, and other desirable characteristics, using advanced breeding methods and genetic transformation techniques like genome editing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If corn plants are allowed to self-pollinate, then seed production is simplified, but hybrid uniformity and genetic stability are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveseed production simplicityVSAvoidhybrid uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the male reproductive organs (tassels) from the corn plant through emasculation, extracting the self-pollination capability from the plant. This forces the plant to rely on cross-pollination from controlled sources, ensuring hybrid uniformity while maintaining seed production through the removed reproductive function.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary pollination system where controlled cross-pollination serves as the mediator between parent plants and hybrid progeny. By using controlled pollination as an intermediary process, the patent ensures genetic stability and uniformity while maintaining seed production efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Manufacturing precision

If cross-pollination is used to produce hybrids, then hybrid uniformity is improved, but self-pollination prevention complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehybrid uniformityVSAvoidself-pollination prevention complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the male reproductive function from the corn plant through emasculation, removing the tassel structures that would enable self-pollination. This simple physical removal prevents self-pollination without requiring complex mechanical or chemical systems, thus maintaining hybrid uniformity while avoiding excessive complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Productivity

If multiple desirable traits are combined in a single hybrid, then breeding efficiency is improved, but genetic stability and variety purity are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebreeding efficiencyVSAvoidgenetic stability
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the breeding process into distinct stages: developing pure inbred lines through self-pollination, then creating hybrids through controlled cross-pollination. This segmentation allows each stage to optimize for its specific goals - purity in the inbred stage and trait combination in the hybrid stage - thereby maintaining genetic stability while improving breeding efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary self-pollination and selection to develop stable inbred lines before creating the final hybrid. This preliminary action ensures genetic stability and purity of the parent lines, which then can be confidently crossed to produce hybrids with desired traits, maintaining overall genetic stability while improving breeding efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

4Adaptability or versatility

If traditional breeding methods are used, then genetic diversity is maintained, but development time for new varieties is excessive

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegenetic diversityVSAvoidvariety development time
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary development of inbred lines through self-pollination and selection, creating genetically diverse and stable parent lines before the final hybridization step. This preliminary action consolidates genetic diversity work in advance, allowing the final variety development to proceed more quickly while maintaining the benefits of genetic diversity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10462999B1Plants and seeds of hybrid corn variety CH375235
Publication Date: 2019.11.05 MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC

AI summary

According to the invention, there is provided seed and plants of the hybrid corn variety designated CH375235. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of the variety CH375235, and to methods for producing a corn plant produced by crossing a corn plant of variety CH375235 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 CH375235.