Mutant Cucumber Ethylene Insensitivity Shelf Life
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cucumber fruits experience post-harvest deterioration due to sensitivity to ethylene, leading to reduced shelf life and increased susceptibility to fungal growth, which is challenging to address without affecting sex expression or requiring costly preventive measures.
Innovation Solution
Development of a mutant cucumber plant with a monogenic genetic trait that reduces ethylene sensitivity, maintaining fruit firmness and preventing fungal growth for an extended period without altering sex expression, achieved through crossing and selection using seeds deposited under NCIMB accession number 41716.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cucumber varieties are used, then they maintain normal sex expression, but they exhibit high sensitivity to ethylene leading to rapid post-harvest deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the ethylene sensitivity parameter of cucumber fruits through genetic mutation. The mutant cucumber variety exhibits altered physiological response to ethylene, specifically reduced sensitivity that delays senescence and maintains firmness during post-harvest storage, thereby resolving the contradiction between normal sex expression and ethylene sensitivity.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If ethylene sensitivity is reduced to improve shelf life, then post-harvest quality is enhanced, but sex expression of flowers may be altered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by achieving moderate ethylene insensitivity rather than complete resistance. The mutant cucumber exhibits partial insensitivity that is sufficient to extend shelf life by maintaining firmness and delaying yellowing, while remaining below the threshold that would trigger abnormal sex expression, thus resolving the contradiction between extended shelf life and stable flower development.
3Reliability
If post-harvest treatments are applied to prevent deterioration, then fruit quality is maintained, but costs and complexity of production increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the cucumber fruit to inherently resist post-harvest deterioration through genetic modification. The mutant variety autonomously maintains firmness and resists ethylene-induced senescence without requiring external interventions such as chemical treatments or controlled atmosphere storage, thereby eliminating the need for complex post-harvest management systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plant, which has the same genetic trait that causes an improved shelf life as found in plants and fruits grown from seeds of cucumber EX5003 representative seeds of which were deposited under NCIMB accession number 41716. The fruits of the cucumber plant have an improved shelf life as compared to the fruits of a control plant that have a normal shelf life, and the plant producing these fruits is obtainable by crossing a cucumber plant with a plant grown from seeds of cucumber EX5003 representative seeds of which were deposited with the NCIMB under NCIMB accession number 41716 and selecting in the F1 progeny of the cross for plants showing an improved shelf life. The invention further relates to progeny and seeds of the plant, to the fruits and to propagation material.