Switzerland: Modification of seed germination repressor gene

Licensing opportunity

Luis Lopez-Molina, from the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Geneva, is looking to license a method that relies on genetically increasing the activity of ABI5, a seed germination repressor, to prevent erratic seed germination.

The seed germination repressor ABI5, when accumulated in plants, can keep seeds in an embryonic-like state for over a month even when germination conditions are optimal. Therefore, enhancing the activity of this repressor gene in plants will prevent precocious germination in conditions that could otherwise induce erratic germination.

Lopez-Molina and team have studied the effects of genetically modifying ABI5 in the Arabidopsis thaliana plant and have proven effective repression of seed germination. He states that, given the widespread expression of the ABI5 gene in many plant species, this method could be used to delay germination of many crop plants.