Patent ID: 6291741
Filing Date: 2001-09-18
Classification: C12N

Abstract:
A method for producing a male sterile plant, the method comprising crossing a first plant which is not male sterile with a second plant which is not male sterile, wherein the first plant contains:(i) an expressed gene giving rise to the male sterile phenotypic trait, wherein the expressed gene encodes a ribonuclease driven by a male organ-specific promoter; and(ii) an expressed restorer gene which restores male fertility, wherein the expressed restorer gene encodes a ribonuclease inhibitor protein; and wherein the second plant contains:a repressor gene which represses the activity of the restorer gene, wherein the repressor gene is a gene encoding an antisense molecule to the restorer gene; andwherein the male sterility does not result from the action of a transactivator polypeptide on a target sequence.