Patent NZ-597802-A (NZ)
Title: Methods for enhancing the production and consumer traits of plants
Inventor: LONG BRYANT JEROME
IPC: A01H5/10
Filed: 2010-08-06
Abstract: Disclosed is a method for producing a hybrid plant, plant material or seed that has an enhanced vigour in comparison with a conventional mutant shrunken-2 hybrid plant, plant material or seed and one or more additional desirable traits, including an enhanced ability to retain sugar over a period of time following a prime eating stage thereof in comparison with a conventional mutant sugary-1 or shrunken-2i hybrid plant, plant material or seed, comprising the following steps in any suitable order: (a) identifying an inbred plant line that includes one or more desired mutant endosperm alleles in its genome, singly or in combination, optionally using one or more molecular markers; (b) constructing one or more female near isogenic plant lines having a desired genotype for use as a genetic background in a combination with a female parental plant line that includes a shrunken-2i mutant endosperm allele in its genome; (c) incorporating a shrunken-2i mutant endosperm allele into the genome of the female near isogenic plant line having the desired genetic background of step (b); (d) selecting a female near isogenic plant line of step (c) having a shrunken-2i mutant endosperm allele incorporated into the genetic background of step (c), wherein the female near isogenic plant line includes an endosperm allelic combination of Su1Su1 se1se1 sh2-I sh2-i, Su1Su1 sh2-i sh2-i, Se1Se1 su1su1 sh2-i sh2-i, Se1Se1 sh2-I sh2-i, su1su1 se1se1 sh2-i sh2-i, su1su1 sh2-i sh2-i, se1se1 sh2-i sh2-i, or another desirable endosperm allelic combination of the shrunken-2i mutant endosperm allele in homozygous condition together with either or both of the sugary-1 or sugary enhancer-1 mutant endosperm alleles each in homozygous condition, in its genome; (e) crossing the selected female converted near isogenic plant line of step (d) with a male plant line that does not include a shrunken-2i mutant endosperm allele in its genome, and that includes a homozygous recessive endosperm allelic construction in its genome, wherein such homozygous recessive endosperm allelic construction is Su1Su1 Se1Se1 sh2sh2, Su1Su1 se1se1 sh2sh2, su1su1 Se1Se1 sh2sh2, su1su1 sh2sh2, su1su1 se1se1 sh2sh2, se1se1 sh2sh2, su1su1 Se1Se1 sh2sh2, or another homozygous recessive endosperm allelic combination including either the sugary-1 or sugary enhancer-1 mutant endosperm alleles together with the shrunken-2 mutant endosperm allele, that can provide a hybrid plant with a high or enhanced eating quality; to produce a hybrid plant comprising the allelic construction sh2 sh2-i at the shrunken-2 locus and homozygous recessive alleles at either or both of the su1 and se1 loci, said hybrid plant having one or more desired grower traits, consumer traits, or both traits; wherein the hybrid plant, plant material or seed has an enhanced vigour in comparison with a conventional mutant shrunken-2 hybrid plant, plant material or seed; and wherein the hybrid plant, plant material or seed has an enhanced ability to retain sugar over a period of time following a prime eating stage thereof in comparison with a conventional mutant sugary-1 or shrunken-2i hybrid plant, plant material or seed.