June 2010

http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2010/Jun10.pdf 

Table of Contents

PLANT RESEARCH

Identification and Use of Rare Natural Genetic Sequence Variation to Improve Levels of ß-Carotene in Maize
Marilyn L. Warburton
Association mapping, validated by linkage mapping and expression studies, has been used to boost the nutritional value of corn. The carotenoid pathway has been elucidated in model crop species, and with few exceptions, all plants use the same pathway, although the number of genes mediating each step can vary. The Arabidopsis carotenoid pathway was used to identify candidate genes and find the orthologous copies in maize for use in association analysis studies to confirm which of the genes mediate the most important steps in the accumulation of high levels of ß-carotene.

A New Approach to Confer Plant Broad-Spectrum Disease Resistance
Alejandra Rougon-Cardoso and Cyril Zipfel
Engineering plants with increased broad-spectrum disease resistance that is durable can be a challenge for biotechnologists. In a recent study published in Nature Biotechnology, we reported a novel way to improve disease resistance in crops by enhancing the recognition spectrum of the plants’ own immune system. This method relies on the transfer of a perception system for a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) across plant families. The transgene confers broad-spectrum bacterial disease resistance with no apparent fitness penalty for the plant.

REGULATORY NEWS

Federal Circuit Asks: What’s in Your Patent?
Phillip Jones
US patent law encourages innovation by creating a bargain. In exchange for limited exclusivity on patented inventions, inventors must file a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office that fully describes and precisely claims the invention. Section 112 of the patent law sets out several requirements for disclosing an invention in a patent specification. The section clearly establishes the best mode requirement and the enablement requirement—the duty to disclose a sufficiently detailed description of the invention to enable others to make and to use the invention. Does it also set up a written description requirement, or does the phrase “written description” merely serve to explain the enablement requirement? That’s the $65 million dollar question raised in Ariad Pharmaceuticals v. Eli Lilly.

Website: http://www.isb.vt.edu

Published: June 21, 2010