Nucleic Acid Molecules Modulating Plant Growth Rate and Biomass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for improving plant growth and crop performance are time-consuming and limited to specific plant species, requiring the development of generally applicable processes to enhance agricultural and forest plant growth under varying environmental conditions.
Innovation Solution
The use of isolated nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides that modulate plant growth rate, vegetative growth, organ size, architecture, and biomass by introducing recombinant DNA molecules into plants, allowing for the creation of transgenic plants with altered characteristics such as increased biomass and seedling vigor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional plant breeding methods are used to improve crop performance, then plant growth and crop performance can be improved, but the process is time-consuming and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical breeding methods with molecular genetics approaches. Specifically, it uses recombinant nucleic acid molecules and their encoded polypeptides to directly manipulate plant growth characteristics, substituting the time-consuming process of cross-breeding and selection with precise molecular intervention that can achieve desired traits in a single generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of how plant traits are modified - shifting from phenotypic selection in breeding to genotypic modification through recombinant DNA technology. By introducing specific nucleic acid sequences that encode growth-modulating polypeptides, the invention directly alters the genetic parameters controlling plant growth rate, biomass, and other characteristics, achieving rapid trait improvement without traditional breeding timelines.
2Productivity
If conventional plant breeding is used, then plant growth can be improved, but the methods are limited to specific plant species
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves universality by using recombinant nucleic acid molecules that can be transformed across multiple plant species. The molecular genetics approach described in the patent is not restricted to one species but can be applied broadly to different plants, allowing the same growth-modulating polypeptides to enhance plant growth across diverse species including agricultural crops and forest trees, thereby overcoming the species-specific limitation of conventional breeding.
3Productivity
If molecular genetics approaches are used to manipulate plants, then crop performance can be improved with higher efficiency, but the complexity of the process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates specific functional elements (nucleic acid sequences encoding growth-modulating polypeptides) that can be independently manipulated and transferred. By identifying and separating these key genetic determinants from complex genomic backgrounds, the invention simplifies the molecular genetics process - rather than manipulating entire genomes or complex breeding programs, the approach focuses on introducing specific, well-defined nucleic acid molecules that directly confer desired growth traits.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to isolated nucleic acid molecules and their corresponding encoded polypeptides able confer the trait of modulated plant size, vegetative growth, organ number, plant architecture, growth rate, seedling vigor, growth rate, fruit and seed yield, tillering and/or biomass in plants. The present invention further relates to the use of these nucleic acid molecules and polypeptides in making transgenic plants, plant cells, plant materials or seeds of a plant having plant size, vegetative growth, organ number, plant architecture, growth rate, seedling vigor and/or biomass that are altered with respect to wild type plants grown under similar conditions.