Low-Pollen Stevia Plants Redirecting Nutrients to Leaf Growth
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a lack of understanding about gene information and control mechanisms in Stevia plants, particularly regarding pollen formation, which hinders the development of Stevia varieties with optimized sweet component content and productivity.
Innovation Solution
A Stevia plant with a low ability to form pollens is developed through specific genetic modifications, including alleles at positions corresponding to SEQ ID NOs: 151, 152, 153, and others, and is produced using mutagenesis and screening methods, allowing for higher leaf productivity and steviol glycoside content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If Stevia plants are cultivated to maximize sweet component content and productivity, then the economic value increases, but the lack of understanding about gene information and control mechanisms hinders optimization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary genetic analysis and identification of pollen-related genes before breeding optimization. By预先 identifying the gene family involved in pollen formation and developing screening methods, the research lays the foundation for subsequent productivity optimization without needing complete gene information
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces marker genes and screening methods as intermediaries to bridge the gap between incomplete gene information and breeding goals. These molecular markers serve as proxies to identify and select plants with desired traits without requiring full understanding of all underlying genetic mechanisms
2Productivity
If nutrients are allocated to pollen formation, then reproductive success increases, but leaf productivity and steviol glycoside accumulation decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts or removes the pollen formation function from the Stevia plant by identifying and manipulating genes specifically involved in pollen development. This allows the plant to retain reproductive capability while redirecting resources away from pollen production toward leaf growth and sweet component accumulation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the genetic parameters controlling pollen formation by introducing mutations or selecting alleles that reduce pollen production. This parameter change in gene expression or function leads to altered resource allocation, favoring leaf biomass and steviol glycoside production over reproductive output
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a Stevia plant having a low ability to form pollens as compared with the wild type Stevia species. The present invention also provides a method of producing such a Stevia plant having a low ability to form pollens, and an extract or a steviol glycoside purified product obtainable from such a plant.