Methods are described for selecting or producing a cereal plant comprising functional restorer genes for wheat G-type cytoplasmic male sterility and nucleic acids for use therein.

Methods are described for selecting or producing a cereal plant comprising a functional restorer gene for wheat G-type cytoplasmic male sterility and nucleic acids for use therein.

The present invention generally relates to seedless pepper (SLP); and more specifically, it pertains to male sterile pepper plants having unique characteristics including the capability of growing edible seedless fruits, wherein the seedless trait is controlled by a genetic determinant independent of exogenous factors.

The invention provides Catharanthus plants comprising a male sterility allele and methods for producing a plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by crossing Catharanthus plants comprising a male sterility allele. The invention further relates to parts of such plants.

The present invention relates to methods and compositions for identifying, selecting and/or producing a maize plant or plant part having increased fertility. A maize plant or plant part that has been identified, selected and/or produced by any of the methods of the present invention is also provided.

Genetic male sterile plants are provided in which complementing constructs result in suppression of a parental phenotype in the progeny. Methods to generate and maintain such plants and methods of use of said plants, are provided, including use of parental plants to produce sterile plants for hybrid seed production.

This disclosure concerns methods and compositions for identifying sunflower plants that have a low palmitic acid content phenotype. Some embodiments concern molecular markers to identify, select, and/or construct low palmitic acid content plants and germplasm, or to identify and counter-select relatively high palmitic acid content plants. This disclosure also concerns sunflower plants comprising a low palmitic acid content phenotype that are generated by methods utilizing at least one marker described herein.

The present invention generally relates to seedless pepper (SLP); and more specifically, it pertains to male sterile pepper plants having unique characteristics including the capability of growing edible seedless fruits, wherein the seedless trait is controlled by a genetic determinant independent of exogenous factors.

This invention describes a new method to generate hybrid seed in any crop plant while also reducing contamination from out-crossings and self-pollination. In contrast to conventional seed production methods, the method of the invention is not dependent on the use of any form of male sterility in the female parent plants, nor the use of isolation distances from unrelated and undesirable plants of the same species, nor the use of male parent plants in proximity to the targeted females. The process involves the delivery of pollen of the male parent at will, as available either in a preserved pollen bank, or using real-time collection from male plants as they become available. Desired pollen is delivered to fertile females during the period when viable pollen from the females and locally proximal unrelated plants is not being released. The delivered male pollen is in such amounts and fortuitously timed that it preferentially pollinates the females and produces relatively pure hybrid seed at levels much higher than if one used current hybrid production practices and did not utilize male sterility practices or prescribed isolation distances. Such fortuitous timing may involve the intentional application of pollen to females a day or two prior to female parent pollen becoming viable, and/or several consecutive mornings prior to female parent pollen or other proximal plant pollen beginning to shed each day.

This disclosure concerns high-resolution mapping and candidate gene cloning of Rf4, a maize restorer of fertility gene that restores fertility to C-type cytoplasmic male sterility. The disclosure also relates to molecular markers that are tightly-linked to, or reside within, the Rf4 gene. In some embodiments, methods are provided whereby hybrid seeds may be produced from crosses of a male plant comprising nucleic acid molecular markers that are linked to or that reside within the Rf4 gene and a female plant carrying C-type CMS.