sh2 Sweet Corn with Colored Pericarp via Gene Merging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sweet corn varieties with the sh2 mutant gene, known as 'super sweet corn,' primarily have yellow or white kernels, lacking colored pericarp, which limits their aesthetic and nutritional appeal.
Innovation Solution
Development of an sh2 type sweet corn with a colored pericarp, specifically red or purple, achieved by crossing Ruby Queen, an se type sweet corn, with sh2 type sweet corn, resulting in progenies with enhanced antioxidant components like anthocyanins, which are more abundant than in existing varieties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sh2 mutant gene is used to produce super sweet corn, then sweetness and shelf-life are improved, but pericarp color remains limited to yellow, white, or purple (not red)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the sh2 mutant gene (providing sweetness and shelf-life) with the se mutant gene (providing red pericarp color through anthocyanin accumulation). This merging of two different mutant genes creates a new variety that exhibits both the sweetness characteristics of sh2 type corn and the red pericarp coloration of se type corn, thereby resolving the contradiction between sweetness reliability and color versatility.
2Ease of manufacture
If existing sweet corn varieties are used, then production is simple, but antioxidant content and nutritional appeal are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the genetic parameters by introducing the se mutant gene into the sh2 genetic background. This parameter change results in increased accumulation of anthocyanins (antioxidants) in the pericarp, while maintaining the relatively simple production process of conventional sweet corn breeding. The new variety thus achieves higher antioxidant content without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.
Data Source
AI summary
An sh2 type corn which has a novel feature of having colored pericarp (pericarp layer) is provided. The corn is an sh2 type sweet corn, which is obtained by crossing Ruby Queen and an sh2 type sweet corn, and which has colored pericarp or pericarp containing antioxidant components.