Methods for the commercial production of transgenic plants
View Patent ↗Compositions and methods for producing a crop having a predetermined level of at least one primary trait of interest are provided. The compositions comprise seeds and plants exhibiting a primary trait of interest. Primary traits include traits that improve or otherwise facilitate the conversion of harvested plant material into a commercially useful product. The predetermined level of the primary trait is obtained by blending harvested plant material from at least two varieties of plants, wherein at least one of the varieties exhibits the primary trait. The blend can be customized for use in a variety of commercially important industrial or agricultural downstream uses.
1. A method to produce a predetermined level of a transgenic trait in a harvested crop comprising:
a) measuring expression level of the transgenic trait in a first variety of seeds;
b) determining the yield potential of said first variety of seeds;
c) determining the yield potential of a second variety of seeds;
d) calculating a blend ratio of the first variety of seeds to the second variety of seeds that will produce the predetermined level of the transgenic trait in the harvested crop, wherein the predetermined level of the trait in the harvested crop, the expression level of a trait in the first variety of seeds, yield potential of said first variety of seeds and the yield potential of said second variety of seeds are used to determine the blend ratio of the first variety of seeds to the second variety of seeds; wherein the calculating is performed using the equation E(A)=(X A ×Z A ×Y A )/[(Z A ×Y A )+(Z O ×Y O )]; wherein E(A) is the amylase activity in the harvested grain, X A is the expression level of amylase in grain, Y A is the yield potential of the amylase expressing corn variety, Z A is the percentage of trait expressing corn variety, Y O is the yield potential of the non-trait corn variety, and Z O is the percentage of non-trait corn variety; and wherein E(A) is in activity units per mass unit, X is in activity units per mass unit, Y is in weight units per surface unit and the Z percentages are determined by weighing both varieties prior to seed blending;
e) blending the first variety of seeds with the second variety of seeds to the blend ratio calculated in step d);
f) planting the blend of seeds; and
g) harvesting the crop with the predetermined level of the transgenic trait, wherein said transgenic trait of interest is an enzyme, wherein said enzyme is an amylase.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the seeds from each variety are blended prior to distribution to a seed grower.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said blending occurs at the time of planting said seeds.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the percentage of the variety of seed that will produce said transgenic trait is between 0.1% and 99.9% of the total blend.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said first variety of seed is distinguishable from said second variety of seed.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said first variety of seed is distinguishable from said second variety of seed by having a distinct seed coat color.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein said first variety of seed is distinguishable from said second variety of seed by having a distinct seed treatment.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said crop is obtained from a plant selected from the group consisting of rice, barley, potato, sweet potato, canola, sunflower, rye, oats, wheat, corn, soybean, sugar beet, tobacco, Miscanthus grass, Switch grass, safflower, cotton, cassava, tomato, sorghum, alfalfa and sugarcane.