US Patent Issued to RIJK ZWAAN ZAADTEELT EN ZAADHANDEL on Feb. 10 for "Mutant gene conferring a compact growth phenotype in watermelon" (Dutch Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 11 -- United States Patent no. 12,545,923, issued on Feb. 10, was assigned to RIJK ZWAAN ZAADTEELT EN ZAADHANDEL B.V. (De Lier, Netherlands).

"Mutant gene conferring a compact growth phenotype in watermelon" was invented by Lilian Van Der Linde (De Lier, Netherlands) and Sara Movahedi (De Lier, Netherlands).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention relates to a mutant Cullin1 gene which when present in a watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) plant leads to a compact growth phenotype that enables efficient cultivation. The invention also relates to watermelon plants comprising the mutant Cullin1 gene. The mutant Cullin1 gene provides watermelon plants with a compact gr...