Maize Inbred PH477R Accelerates Hybrid Development
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The development of new maize varieties and hybrids is a time-consuming process that takes six to twelve years, and there is a continuous need for stable, high-yielding maize varieties with improved traits such as disease resistance, drought tolerance, and better agronomic characteristics.
Innovation Solution
A novel maize variety, PH477R, is developed through careful breeding and selection, incorporating traits like male sterility, disease resistance, and improved agronomic characteristics, using techniques such as backcross conversion, genetic manipulation, and transformation, allowing for the creation of hybrid seeds with enhanced properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional maize breeding processes are used to develop new varieties with desirable traits, then traits such as disease resistance, drought tolerance, and yield improvement can be achieved, but the development process takes six to twelve years which is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes pre-existing male-sterile inbred lines (such as PH207 and PH209) that have been developed and characterized in advance. These pre-developed genetic resources with known male-sterility traits and disease resistance characteristics serve as ready-to-use parental materials, eliminating the need to develop male-sterile lines from scratch for each new hybrid variety, thus significantly reducing breeding time while maintaining reliability of disease resistance traits
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) systems where specific mitochondrial genomes (cytoplasms) are copied and transferred through controlled crosses. The male-sterile trait is replicated across multiple inbred lines and hybrid combinations using the same CMS cytoplasm (e.g., PH207A, PH209A cytoplasms), allowing rapid propagation of the male-sterility characteristic without repeated developmental processes
2Productivity
If traditional breeding methods are used to create stable, high-yielding maize varieties, then agronomic soundness and maximal yield can be achieved, but the process requires multiple generations of crossing and selection over six to twelve years
Solution Approach 1:
The patent prepares and characterizes multiple inbred lines with known yield potentials and agronomic characteristics before hybrid development. Parental inbreds such as PH207R, PH209R, and other recurrent parents are pre-selected and pre-characterized for their high-yielding and agronomically sound traits, allowing immediate use in hybrid production without requiring additional generations of selection and testing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent develops a universal CMS-based hybrid system where a single male-sterile inbred line can be crossed with multiple different male-fertile inbred lines to produce multiple hybrid varieties. This multi-functional approach allows one parental line to serve as a recurrent parent across numerous hybrid combinations, accelerating the development of multiple high-yielding varieties simultaneously rather than developing each variety independently through the full breeding cycle
3Productivity
If male-sterile inbred lines are developed through traditional breeding to enable hybrid seed production, then hybrid vigor and high yield can be achieved, but the development of stable male-sterile lines requires extensive crossing and selection over multiple years
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes cytoplasmic male sterility where the male-sterile trait is copied through mitochondrial genome inheritance. The CMS cytoplasm (e.g., from PH207A or PH209A) is transferred to various nuclear backgrounds through controlled crosses, and the male-sterile phenotype is replicated across multiple inbred lines without requiring independent development of male-sterility mechanisms in each line. This copying approach maintains hybrid vigor while dramatically reducing development time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs maintainer lines (such as PH207B and PH209B) as intermediaries to preserve and propagate male-sterile inbred lines. These maintainer lines possess normal fertility but are genetically compatible with the male-sterile lines, allowing production of the male-sterile phenotype without self-pollination. The intermediaries facilitate the maintenance and distribution of male-sterile germplasm across breeding programs, enabling rapid deployment of hybrid varieties
Data Source
AI summary
A novel maize variety designated PH477R and seed, plants and plant parts thereof are provided. Methods for producing a maize plant comprise crossing maize variety PH477R with another maize plant are provided. Methods for producing a maize plant containing in its genetic material one or more traits introgressed into PH477R through backcross conversion and/or transformation, and to the maize seed, plant and plant part produced thereby are provided. Hybrid maize seed, plants or plant parts are produced by crossing the variety PH477R or a locus conversion of PH477R with another maize variety.