"Alteration of Plant Self-Compatibility Using Genetic Manipulation of the S-genes"
Inventor: T.H. Kao
PSU Inv. Disc. No. 1317
Attached
is a publication, "S Proteins Control Rejection of Incompatible Pollen in Petunia Inflata", which appeared in
the 10 February 1994 issue of Nature which will provide you with
detailed information regarding this invention.
As this publication illustrates, Dr. Kao has identified the plant gene responsible for self-incompatibility in petunias. By neutralizing the incompatibility gene with standard genetic-engineering techniques, Dr. Kao has reversed the petunias inherited inability to fertilize themselves and enabled these plants to produce seeds. Dr. Kao also demonstrated the ability to confer on non-self-fertilizing plants the ability to reject pollen that is normally accepted by the plants. This result implies that it is possible to transform self-fertilizing plants into non-self-fertilizing plants.
The
inventor believes that this technology may have commercial value in the
agricultural and horticultural industries, in that self-fertilizing cultivated
species can be transformed to non-self-fertilizing cultivars for F1 hybrid seed
production, and non-self-fertilizing fruit trees can be transformed into
self-fertilizing fruit trees for fruit production. The following plants are believed to be suitable hosts for this
technology; tomatoes, tobacco, peppers, potatoes, egg plants, apple, peach and
cherry trees.