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BACKGROUND: Cuphea is a tropically
grown flowering plant which is known as a rich source
of medium-chain fatty acids having high commercial value.
However, this plant is not commercially utilized in
large-scale agriculture due to its characteristic, sequential
maturation and release of oil seeds from the seed pods,
which precludes mechanized harvesting. Cuphea is generally
harvested by hand at present. Technology which would
allow the cultivation and harvesting of Cuphea using
modern agricultural methods and equipment would have
the potential to create a new, high-value, oil-seed
crop of major industrial importance.
DESCRIPTION: A UCSD scientist has
discovered a transgenic construct that suppresses seed
pod shattering in the laboratory by constitutively expressing
a gene in arabidopsis thaliana that appears to
be necessary and sufficient expression of the dehiscence
zone and subsequent valve opening.. The gene is fully
expressible in other species. Seed release (shattering)
can be delayed or stopped completely by altering the
expressions of this gene. Applied specifically to the
construction of transgenic Cuphea displaying severe
delay of natural pod shattering, this invention has
the potential to yield for the first time a practical
crop technology for modern commercialization of this
species, and economical exploitation of its high-value
oil.
ADVANTAGES: In the control of shattering
generally, substantial losses of yield occur every year
from premature seed dispersal, so delaying or halting
seed release could allow for much greater seed recovery,
to boost yields. In the case of Cuphea bearing this
transgene, this invention creates a new crop plant for
the production of medium-chain fatty acids. This technology
has the added advantage of increasing seed size as well
as delaying or preventing natural pod shattering. Shatter-resistant
transgenic Cuphea may provide an important new source
of income for Third World countries where it is currently
harvested by hand on a small scale.
CASE NUMBER: SD98-063
INQUIRIES TO: invent@ucsd.edu
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