Mutated HPPD Enzyme Herbicide Tolerance in Crops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods lack effective means to create plants tolerant to HPPD-inhibiting herbicides like pyrazolones, isoxazoles, and triketones, as prior art does not describe plants with mutated HPPD nucleic acids or tolerance genes from additional genomes, limiting crop tolerance and weed control strategies.
Innovation Solution
Development of plants with nucleic acids encoding mutated HPPD or HST enzymes resistant to HPPD-inhibiting herbicides, achieved through mutagenesis and transformation, allowing for increased tolerance and effective weed control by applying these herbicides directly to the plants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If HPPD-inhibiting herbicides are applied for weed control, then weed control effectiveness is improved, but crop plants are damaged due to lack of tolerance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by introducing mutations in the HPPD gene sequence that alter the enzyme's sensitivity to HPPD-inhibiting herbicides. The mutated HPPD enzyme maintains its biological function in plastoquinone biosynthesis while exhibiting reduced binding affinity to the herbicide, thereby changing the parameter of herbicide sensitivity from high (in wild-type plants) to low (in transgenic plants), enabling tolerance and selective weed control.
2Reliability
If plants are engineered with mutated HPPD genes for herbicide tolerance, then crop tolerance to HPPD-inhibiting herbicides is improved, but the complexity of plant modification increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs copying by replicating the mutated HPPD gene from a donor organism (such as bacteria or other plants) into the crop plant's genome. Instead of attempting complex de novo engineering of the enzyme structure, the invention copies an already-mutated functional gene that confers herbicide tolerance, thereby achieving the desired trait through a relatively straightforward genetic transformation process rather than complex multi-step engineering.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The approach significantly enhances plant tolerance to HPPD-inhibiting herbicides, enabling their use for selective weed control without harming crop plants, thus improving agricultural practices.
Implementation Method 1
achieved through mutagenesis and transformation
Implementation Method 2
plants having an increased tolerance to HPPD-inhibiting, preferably a pyrazolone, isoxazole, or triketone derivative herbicides
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention refers to a method for controlling undesired vegetation at a plant cultivation site, the method comprising the steps of providing, at said site, a plant that comprises at least one nucleic acid comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a wild-type hydroxyphenyl pyruvate dioxygenase or a mutated hydroxyphenyl pyruvate dioxygenase (mut-HPPD) which is resistant or tolerant to a HPPD-inhibiting herbicide and/or a nucleotide sequence encoding a wild-type homogentisate solanesyl transferase or a mutated homogentisate solanesyl transferase (mut-HST) which is resistant or tolerant to a HPPD-inhibiting herbicide, applying to said site an effective amount of said herbicide. The invention further refers to plants comprising mut-HPPD, and methods of obtaining such plants.