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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Plant Stress and Germplasm Development Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #110348
Title: DEVELOPMENT OF A GENETICALLY BASED SEED TECHNOLOGY PROTECTION SYSTEM

Author
item Oliver, Melvin
item Velten, Jeffrey
item COLLINS, HARRY - DELTA & PINE LAND CO.

Submitted to: Annual Meeting and Expo of the American Oil Chemists' Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/25/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The use of plant biotechnology for crop improvement has been hampered by two concerns: 1.The need to prevent escape of transgenes into wild species. 2. The ability to recuperate the investment in technology development. We have developed a genetic system that addresses these concerns. The system consists of three elements; a chemically inducible promoter, a site specific recombinase (CRE), and a late embryogenesis (Lea) specific promoter. A chemical seed treatment activates the CRE gene, CRE is synthesized and removes a blocking DNA sequence. This results in the joining of a Lea promoter to a protein synthesis inhibitor protein coding sequence to form an active gene. The protein synthesis inhibitor is only synthesized in the embryo and late in seed maturation and renders the seed nongerminable. Seeds from this plant can be used but cannot form the basis of a new crop. The pollen also carries the dominant protein synthesis inhibitor gene and thus the traits cannot be passed onto closely related weedy species. We are presently testing the systems efficacy in cotton and tobacco. This embodiment of the system was designed specifically for self pollinating crops, an alternate design is required for open-pollinating crops. The benefits of such a system to agriculture will be discussed.