Pale Microseed Watermelon via PPO Gene Modification
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production of triploid watermelon fruits is complex and expensive due to the need for synchronized pollenizer and triploid varieties, resulting in asynchrony and lower yields, with consumers objecting to the presence of undeveloped seeds in seedless fruits.
Innovation Solution
A modified POLYPHENOL OXIDASE (PPO) gene in watermelon plants that confers a pale seed color and microseed size, eliminating the need for triploid production by making the seeds appear absent, using genetic modifications such as insertions and deletions to render the PPO protein non-functional, combined with non-functional HLS1 and BAG4 genes to achieve the desired seed characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If triploid watermelon production is used to achieve seedless fruits, then consumer acceptance is improved, but production complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the parameters of the seeds themselves by modifying the PPO gene to alter seed color (pale instead of dark) and by manipulating HLS1 and BAG4 genes to control seed size (microseed instead of normal size). This transforms the harmful presence of visible seeds into an acceptable appearance of seedless fruit, eliminating consumer objection without requiring complex triploid production systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates the problematic characteristics of seeds (dark color and large size) through genetic modification. By removing the functional PPO gene and modifying HLS1 and BAG4 genes, the seeds become pale and microscopic, effectively taking out the visual and textural problems that cause consumer rejection while maintaining the biological seed structure for natural seedless watermelon production.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If triploid watermelon production is used to achieve seedless fruits, then consumer acceptance is improved, but production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes seed parameters (color and size) through gene modification rather than through complex triploid breeding programs. This approach reduces production costs by eliminating the need for synchronized pollenizer and triploid variety management, as well as reducing the labor and resources required for separating seeded and seedless fruits during harvesting.
Solution Approach 2:
The modified diploid watermelon plants self-produce pale microseeds that appear absent in the fruit, eliminating the need for external triploid production systems. The plants naturally generate the desired seedless phenotype through their own genetic modifications, reducing dependency on complex cross-breeding programs and external pollenizer management.
3Device complexity
If diploid watermelon plants are used instead of triploid, then production simplicity is improved, but seeds remain visible and objectionable
Solution Approach 1:
The invention directly changes the visual and physical parameters of seeds in diploid plants by modifying the PPO gene for pale color and HLS1/BAG4 genes for microseed size. This transformation makes the seeds invisible to consumers while maintaining the simplicity of diploid production, eliminating the need for triploid systems solely for aesthetic reasons.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a modified watermelon PPO gene, the wild type of which is identified as SEQ ID NO: 1, encoding the protein of SEQ ID NO: 5, or the wild type of which encodes a protein that has at least 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 5, wherein the modified PPO gene comprises one or more nucleotides replaced, inserted and/or deleted relative to the wild type, and wherein said one or more replaced, inserted and/or deleted nucleotides result in an absence of functional PPO protein. The present invention further relates to a watermelon plant which may comprise the modified PPO gene, wherein the homozygous presence of the modified PPO gene confers a pale seed color to the plant. The present invention also relates to methods for selecting, producing or the use of the watermelon plant of the invention.