Making Plant Genetic Engineering More Efficient with a Nitrogen Enzyme
This patent describes a method to make genetic engineering and gene editing in plants more successful by increasing the activity of a specific gene called NiR, which helps with how plants use nitrogen.
Original patent title: “Method for improving efficiency of genetic transformation and gene editing in plants”
This patent describes a method to make genetic engineering and gene editing in plants more successful by increasing the activity of a specific gene called NiR, which helps with how plants use nitrogen. Owned by Suzhou QI Biodesign Biotechnology Co with 19 claims and 1 forward citation, and it is expected to expire in 2042.
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
The invention improves the process of changing plant genes by overexpressing, or making a lot of, the NiR gene within plant cells. This overexpression can be achieved by introducing a special piece of DNA called an expression construct containing the NiR gene into the plant cell (claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → 1). This method is used to achieve two main goals: first, to improve the plant's ability to regenerate into a whole plant from a single modified cell (claim 1); and second, to make the actual gene editing or genetic transformation process more efficient (claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more → 2 and 3). For example, a scientist could introduce the NiR gene alongside a gene editing system like CRISPR (claim 6) into a callus cell (claim 8) of a crop like corn (claim 9) to more easily create a new plant with desired traits.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover plant genetic transformation or gene editing methods that do not involve overexpressing the NiR gene.
- Does not cover genetic modification techniques applied to non-plant organisms, such as animal or fungal cells.
- Does not cover methods that improve plant traits without involving the regeneration of an intact plant from a modified cell.
- Does not cover methods where the NiR gene is not introduced into the plant cell via an expression construct.
- Does not cover gene editing systems that are not introduced into the plant cell via an expression construct.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
Key facts
What made this novel
The clever bit is identifying that overexpressing the NiR gene, which plays a role in nitrogen metabolism, can directly boost the success rate of regenerating a whole plant from a modified cell and the overall efficiency of gene editing. This links a fundamental plant metabolic pathway to a key bottleneck in genetic engineering.
The Patent Drawing
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Genetically modified corn
Herbicide-resistant soybeans
Disease-resistant wheat
Biofortified rice
CRISPR-edited tomatoes
Why it matters
The bigger picture
Improving the efficiency of genetic transformation and gene editing in plants is critical for developing new crop varieties faster and more affordably. Many genetically modified (GM) crops, like herbicide-resistant soybeans or insect-resistant corn, rely on these techniques. By making the process more efficient, this invention could help accelerate the creation of plants with improved yields, better nutritional value, or increased resistance to diseases and pests, which are important for global food security.
Filed
March 24, 2022
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Suzhou QI Biodesign Biotechnology Co Ltd, the assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →, is actively working in this space, focusing on plant genetic engineering. Major agricultural biotechnology companies like Corteva Agriscience, Bayer Crop Science, and Syngenta are continuously seeking ways to improve the efficiency and speed of developing new crop varieties using genetic transformation and gene editing techniques.
Market impact
This invention aims to reduce the time and cost associated with creating genetically modified and gene-edited plants. By increasing the success rate of regeneration and gene editing, it can accelerate the development pipeline for new crop traits. This could lead to more rapid introduction of crops with improved characteristics, potentially impacting seed markets and agricultural productivity by making advanced breeding techniques more accessible and efficient.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
The invention improves the process of changing plant genes by overexpressing, or making a lot of, the NiR gene within plant cells. This overexpression can be achieved by introducing a special piece of DNA called an expression construct containing the NiR gene into the plant cell (claim 1). This method is used to achieve two main goals: first, to improve the plant's ability to regenerate into a whole plant from a single modified cell (claim 1); and second, to make the actual gene editing or genetic transformation process more efficient (claims 2 and 3). For example, a scientist could introduce the NiR gene alongside a gene editing system like CRISPR (claim 6) into a callus cell (claim 8) of a crop like corn (claim 9) to more easily create a new plant with desired traits.
The clever bit
The clever bit is identifying that overexpressing the NiR gene, which plays a role in nitrogen metabolism, can directly boost the success rate of regenerating a whole plant from a modified cell and the overall efficiency of gene editing. This links a fundamental plant metabolic pathway to a key bottleneck in genetic engineering.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover plant genetic transformation or gene editing methods that do not involve overexpressing the NiR gene.
- Does not cover genetic modification techniques applied to non-plant organisms, such as animal or fungal cells.
- Does not cover methods that improve plant traits without involving the regeneration of an intact plant from a modified cell.
- Does not cover methods where the NiR gene is not introduced into the plant cell via an expression construct.
- Does not cover gene editing systems that are not introduced into the plant cell via an expression construct.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Patent enters public domain
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Limited data
Citation count
6/40
Early citations
Claim breadth
13/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
0/20
Older than 20 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$117K – $374K
Midpoint $234K · 15.4 yr remaining · industry ×3.0
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
Claim text not yet imported for this patent
The original legal language
Original claims
19 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
GAO, C., & Chen, L. Making Plant Genetic Engineering More Efficient with a Nitrogen Enzyme (U.S. Patent No. 20,240,167,048). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/20240167048/method-for-improving-efficiency-of-genetic-transformation-and-gene-editing-in-pl
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Making Plant Genetic Engineering More Efficient with a Nitrogen Enzyme cover?
This patent describes a method to make genetic engineering and gene editing in plants more successful by increasing the activity of a specific gene called NiR, which helps with how plants use nitrogen.
Who owns patent US 20240167048?
This patent is owned by Suzhou QI Biodesign Biotechnology Co.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on March 24, 2042, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 20240167048 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 1 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
Improving the efficiency of genetic transformation and gene editing in plants is critical for developing new crop varieties faster and more affordably. Many genetically modified (GM) crops, like herbicide-resistant soybeans or insect-resistant corn, rely on these techniques. By making the process more efficient, this invention could help accelerate the creation of plants with improved yields, better nutritional value, or increased resistance to diseases and pests, which are important for global food security.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover plant genetic transformation or gene editing methods that do not involve overexpressing the NiR gene.
Patent monitoring