Tobacco Plants with Enhanced Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Burley tobacco requires high amounts of nitrogen fertilizer for optimal yields, whereas Maryland tobacco uses significantly less, leading to increased costs in tobacco cultivation. There is a need for tobacco plants with nitrogen efficiency similar to Maryland tobacco to reduce fertilizer costs.
Innovation Solution
The development of tobacco hybrids with mutations in specific endogenous nucleic acids ( SEQ ID NOs: 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, and 18) that enhance nitrogen utilization efficiency, resulting in increased yields and reduced chlorophyll loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If high amounts of nitrogen fertilizer are applied to burley tobacco, then yield is improved, but cultivation cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the expression levels of specific nitrogen metabolism genes (NIA1, NIA2, GS1, GS2, GDH1, GDH2) through genetic engineering to alter the plant's nitrogen utilization parameters. This enables the tobacco plant to maintain high yield with reduced nitrogen fertilizer input by changing its internal nitrogen metabolic efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the external mechanical input of high nitrogen fertilizer with an internal biological system modification. By engineering enhanced nitrogen metabolic pathways within the plant, the system substitutes chemical fertilizer dependency with endogenous nitrogen utilization efficiency
2Quantity of substance
If nitrogen fertilizer amount is reduced, then cultivation cost decreases, but yield may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the nitrogen metabolic parameters of the tobacco plant through genetic modification of key enzymes. This parameter change allows the plant to maintain high productivity on low nitrogen by improving its internal nitrogen use efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The genetically modified tobacco plant serves itself by possessing enhanced endogenous nitrogen metabolic capabilities. The plant can efficiently acquire, assimilate, and utilize nitrogen from limited external sources through its engineered metabolic pathways, reducing dependency on external fertilizer inputs
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides a number of sequences involved in nitrogen utilization, methods of using such sequences, tobacco plants carrying modifications to such sequences, tobacco plants transgenic for such sequences, and tobacco products made from such plants.