Fruit formation in the absence of fertilisation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9253953-B2
Application number	US-201313774622-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 22, 2013
Priority date	Dec 22, 2010
Publication date	Feb 9, 2016
Grant date	Feb 9, 2016

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pepper plant showing the trait fruit formation in the absence of fertilization wherein said trait is obtainable by introgression from a plant grown from seed that was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41678, NCIMB 41680, or NCIMB 41684. The invention further relates to progeny of the plant, propagation material for producing the plant, to fruits of the plant and to a food product comprising the fruit or parts thereof.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A Capsicum annuum pepper plant having a genetic background comprising a genetic determinant which causes parthenocarpic fruit formation when homozygously present,
wherein said genetic determinant is as found in a plant grown from seed that was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41678, NCIMB 41680, or NCIMB 41684 and
wherein the parthenocarpic fruits have a size and/or shape similar to that of fruits formed after fertilisation.

2. The pepper plant as claimed in claim 1 , obtained by:
a) growing plants from seed that was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41678, NCIMB 41680, or NCIMB 41684;
b) preventing pollination of the plants;
c) selecting plants producing fruits as plants showing parthenocarpic fruit formation;
d) crossing a plant selected in step c) with a plant not carrying the genetic determinant to obtain a F1 population;
e) selling plants from the F1 to obtain a F2 population; and
f) repeating steps b) and c) to identify plants showing parthenocarpic fruit formation.

3. The pepper plant as claimed in claim 2 , wherein pollination is prevented by emasculating the flowers.

4. The pepper plant as claimed in claim 2 , wherein pollination is prevented by using a pepper plant in step a) which is male sterile.

5. A progeny of a pepper plant as claimed in claim 1 , comprising the genetic determinant.

6. The pepper plant as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the mature fruit of the plant is green, yellow, orange, red, ivory, brown, or purple.

7. The pepper plant as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the mature fruit of the plant is a dolce-type pepper, a bell pepper, a big rectangular pepper, a conical pepper, a long conical pepper or a blocky-type pepper.

8. The pepper plant as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the pepper plant is a hybrid.

9. A seed capable of growing into the plant as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said seed comprises said genetic determinant.

10. A parthenocarpic pepper fruit of a plant as claimed in claim 1 , or of a plant grown from a seed as claimed in claim 9 .

11. The parthenocarpic pepper fruit as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the parthenocarpic fruit is at least 90% seedless.

12. A propagation material capable of growing into a plant as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said propagation material comprises said genetic determinant.

13. A propagation material derived from a plant as claimed in claim 1 , comprising the genetic determinant.

14. The propagation material as claimed in claim 12 or 13 , wherein the propagation material comprises a microspore, pollen, an ovary, an ovule, an embryo, an embryo sac, an egg cell, a cutting, a root, a root tip, a hypocotyl, a cotyledon, a stem, a leaf, a flower, an anther, a seed, a meristematic cell, or a protoplast.

15. A tissue culture of propagation material as claimed in claim 12 or 13 .

16. A tissue culture of propagation material as claimed in claim 14 .

17. A food product comprising a parthenocarpic fruit or parts thereof as claimed in claim 10 , opionally in processed from, wherein said food product comprises said genetic determinant.

18. The pepper plant of claim 1 wherein 10 randomly picked parthenocarpic fruits have an average width of at least about 90% of that of 10 randomly picked seeded fruits of two fruit sets of a plant having the same genetic background.

19. The pepper plant of claim 18 wherein 10 randomly picked parthenocarpic fruits of two fruit sets comply at least with the US Fancy standard classification.

20. The parthenocarpic pepper fruit as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the parthenocarpic fruit is at least 95% seedless.

21. The parthenocarpic pepper fruit as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the parthenocarpic fruit is at least 98% seedless.

22. The parthenocarpic pepper fruit as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the parthenocarpic fruit is at least 99% seedless.

23. The parthenocarpic pepper fruit as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the parthenocarpic fruit is 100% seedless.

Assignees

• Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt En Zaadhandel Bv
• Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt En Zaadhandel Bv

Inventors

• Eggink Pieter Martijn
• Van Dun Cornelis Maria Petrus
• Haanstra Jacob Pieter Willem

Classifications

• A01H1/06 Primary

  Processes for producing mutations, e.g. treatment with chemicals or with radiation (specific mutations prepared by genetic engineering on plant cell or plant tissues C12N15/00 {; process for producing transgenic plants C12N15/82}) · CPC title

• A01H1/02 Primary

  Methods or apparatus for hybridisation; Artificial pollination {; Fertility} · CPC title

• A01H1/04

  Processes of selection {involving genotypic or phenotypic markers; Methods of using phenotypic markers for selection} · CPC title

• A23L19/00

  Products from fruits or vegetables; Preparation or treatment thereof (marmalades, jams, jellies or the like A23L21/10; treating harvested fruit or vegetables in bulk A23N) · CPC title

• A01H5/08 Primary

  Fruits · CPC title