Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and – Method of using a plant or plant part in a breeding process... – Method of breeding using interspecific crosses
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-16
2003-02-04
Fox, David T. (Department: 1638)
Multicellular living organisms and unmodified parts thereof and
Method of using a plant or plant part in a breeding process...
Method of breeding using interspecific crosses
C047S006000, C435S410000, C435S430100, C800S260000, C800S295000, C800S298000, C800S323000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06515200
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to Euphorbia interspecific hybrid plants and methods for making the same. More particularly, it concerns interspecific hybrid plants derived from the cross of
Euphorbia pulcherrima
and
Euphorbia cornastra
and methods for the interspecific transfer of altered growth characteristics to this and other plants.
2. Description of Related Art
A characteristic of plants is the ability to cross with other species, called interspecific hybridization. Interspecific hybridization has been identified in a number of species. For example, within the genus Allium, a few crosses between onion (
A. cepa L
.) and its closest relatives of the section Cepa have proved successful (Van Raamsdonk et al. 1992). However, crosses of onion with species of other sections or subgenera were found mostly unsuccessful, including crosses with
A. angtilosuim L., A. schoenoprasum L., A. senescens L
. (Gonzalez and Ford-Lloyd 1987), and
A. sphaerocephalon L
. (Keller et al., 1996).
Interspecific hybridization has allowed creation of new forms of plants and the transfer desirable -features from one species into another, e.g., via introgression from wild into related cultivated species. However, the ability of any two species to create viable interspecific hybrid seeds or plants is unpredictable and often has proved impossible. In crosses where interspecific hybridization is possible in the greenhouse, in many cases no such hybridization will occur naturally. This may result from a number of factors, including, ethological factors such as pollinator specificity, e.g., where flowers differ morphologically, because of the need for human intervention to obtain viable embryos, or because of ecological separation.
A technique which has been used to increase the likelihood of obtaining viable interspecific hybrid plants is embryo rescue (Dolezel el al. 1980). However, even with embryo rescue, the ability to obtain interspecific hybrids is unpredictable and frequently has been completely unsuccessful, particularly in the case of distantly related species.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the invention provides an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant or part thereof derived from the cross of
Euphorbia pulcherrima
and
Euphorbia cornastra
. In one embodiment of the invention, the interspecific plant may be defined as comprising one or more characteristics selected from the group consisting of vibrant pink color, short day response for flowering, floriferous, free branching and attractive medium dark foliage. Further provided by the invention are any parts of the interspecific hybrid plant, including a flower, cutting, pollen, ovule or any other plant part, including a single cell or collection of cells of such a plant. Still further provided by the invention is an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant or part thereof clonally propagated from such a plant. By the term “clonally propagated,” it is meant any generation of a Euphorbia interspecific hybrid plant clonally derived from a plant provided by the instant invention. Such clonal propagation may be carried out, for example, by taking a cutting of a plant and cultivating the cutting such that it produces roots. The rooted cutting may then be grown as a new plant which is a clone of the starting plant. Clonal propagation may be carried out an essentially unlimited number of times to produce great numbers of clonally propagated plants, each of which is essentially identical to the starting plant from which the cutting is taken.
In another aspect, the invention provides a process of producing an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant or part thereof In one embodiment of the invention, the process comprises crossing a
Euphorbia pulcherrima
plant to a
Euphorbia cornastra
plant. The process may still further be defined as comprising the steps of (a) cultivating first and second plants, wherein either the first plant is a
Euphorbia pulcherrima
plant and the second plant is a
Euphorbia cornastra
plant, or the first plant is a
Euphorbia cornastra
plant and the second plant is a
Euphorbia pulcherrima
plant; (b) collecting pollen from the first plant, (c) pollinating a flower on the second plant with the pollen; and (d) obtaining an interspecific hybrid plant resulting from the pollinating. The process may still further be defined as comprising embryo rescue of an embryo resulting from the pollinating. In particular embodiments of the invention, the first plant is a
Euphorbia pulcherrima
plant and the second plant is a
Euphorbia cornastra
plant, while in other embodiments the first plant is a
Euphorbia cornastra
plant and the second plant is a
Euphorbia pulcherrima
plant. In yet another aspect, the invention provides a plant or any part thereof produced by crossing a
Euphorbia pulcherrima
plant to a
Euphorbia cornastra
plant, including any clonal propagations thereof.
In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a process of preparing an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant or part thereof comprising the steps of: a) obtaining a cutting of an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant derived from the cross of
Euphorbia pulcherrima
and
Euphorbia cornastra
; and b) cultivating said cutting to obtain an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant. Accordingly, any derivatives of a plant derived from the cross of
Euphorbia pulcherrima
and
Euphorbia cornastra
are specifically within the scope of the invention. As such, those of skill in the art will recognize that once a Euphorbia interspecific hybrid plant is prepared, it may be propagated for a potentially unlimited number of generations. Each plant produced by such a method and the process for the propagation additionally form a part of the instant invention. One such process of propagating may comprise applying a hormone composition to a cutting of a plant of the invention to induce formation of roots, although any other process of propagating a plant of the invention could potentially be used.
In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a process of altering the plant growth characteristics of an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant derived from the cross of
Euphorbia pulcherrima
and
Euphorbia cornastra
, or a part thereof, the process comprising the steps of (a) providing a plant having free-branching characteristics to be used as understock, (b) providing a scion of an interspecific hybrid. Euphorbia plant derived from the cross of
Euphorbia pulcherrima
and
Euphorbia cornastra
; (c) making a graft union between the cellular tissue of the understock plant and scion plant, whereby the characteristics of a vegetative shoot arising from said scion of said interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant are altered; and (d) cultivating said shoot to obtain an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant comprising altered growth characteristics. Exemplary growth characteristics that may be altered by the technique are branching characteristics, such as exhibition of the free-branching phenotype.
In still yet another aspect, the invention provides an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant or part thereof which has been prepared by a method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a plant having free-branching characteristics to be used as understock; (b) providing a scion of an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant derived from the cross of
Euphorbia pulcherrima
and
Euphorbia cornastra
; (c) making a graft union between the cellular tissue of the understock plant and scion plant, whereby the characteristics of a vegetative shoot arising from the scion of the interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant are altered; and (d) cultivating the shoot to obtain an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant comprising altered growth characteristics, Included within the invention are any parts of such a plant, including a flower, cutting, pollen, an ovule, or cell or any other part of the plant. Still further provided by the invention is an interspecific hybrid Euphorbia plant or part thereof clonally propagated from such a plant.
In s
Fox David T.
Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
Kruse David H
Paul Ecke Ranch Inc.
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