# US 12,004,461 B2 · Inbred watermelon line WTL0088

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- Number: US 12,004,461 B2
- Document ID: US12004461B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/130,445
- Filed: 2020-12-22
- Published: 2022-06-23
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2020-12-22
- Assignees: Sakata Seed A merica, Inc.
- Applicants: Sakata Seed America, Inc.
- Inventors: Nihat Guner
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12004461B2

## CPC

- A01H 6/342: {Citrullus lanatus [watermelon]}
- A01H 5/08: Fruits
- A01H: NEW PLANTS OR {NON-TRANSGENIC} PROCESSES FOR OBTAINING THEM; PLANT REPRODUCTION BY TISSUE CULTURE TECHNIQUES

## Abstract

One embodiment relates to seed and plants of inbred watermelon line WTL0088. Another embodiment relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of inbred watermelon line WTL0088, and to methods for producing a watermelon plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves, with another watermelon plant, such as a plant of another genotype, or with vegetatively propagating said plant. Another embodiment further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. Further embodiments relate to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A seed of inbred watermelon line WTL0088, wherein a representative sample of seed of said inbred watermelon line was deposited under NCMA No. 202103002.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A watermelon plant, or a part thereof, produced by the seed of claim 1.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

A tissue culture produced from protoplasts or cells from the plant of claim 2, wherein said cells or protoplasts are produced from a plant part selected from the group consisting of leaf, pollen, ovule, embryo, cotyledon, taproot, hypocotyl, meristematic cell, callus, root, root tip, pistil, anther, flower, fruit, seed, shoot, stem, and petiole.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

A watermelon plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim 3, wherein said plant has all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of inbred watermelon line WTL0088.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

A method of producing a progeny watermelon seed, wherein the method comprises crossing the plant of claim 2 with a different watermelon plant and harvesting the resultant watermelon seed.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

A watermelon seed produced by the method of claim 5.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

A watermelon plant, or a part thereof, produced by growing the seed of claim 6.

### Claim 8 (depends on 2)

A method of producing a progeny watermelon seed, wherein the method comprises selfing the plant of claim 2 and harvesting the resultant watermelon seed.

### Claim 9

A method of introducing a desired trait into inbred watermelon line WTL0088, wherein the method comprises: (a) crossing a WTL0088 plant, wherein a representative sample of seed was deposited under NCMA No. 202103002, with a plant of another inbred watermelon line that comprises a desired trait to produce progeny plants; (b) selecting one or more progeny plants that have the desired trait; (c) backcrossing the selected progeny plants with WTL0088 plants to produce backcross progeny plants; (d) selecting for backcross progeny plants that have the desired trait; and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) two or more times in succession to produce selected third or higher backcross progeny plants that comprise the desired trait and all of the physiological and morphological characteristics of watermelon WTL0088.

### Claim 10 (depends on 2)

A method for producing a seed of a watermelon plant derived from inbred watermelon line WTL0088, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) crossing the watermelon plant of claim 2 with itself or a second watermelon plant; and
(b) allowing seed of an inbred WTL0088-derived watermelon plant to form.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:
(a) sowing a plant grown from said inbred WTL0088-derived watermelon seed to yield additional inbred WTL0088-derived watermelon seed; and
(b) growing said additional inbred WTL0088-derived watermelon seed of step (a) to yield additional inbred WTL0088-derived watermelon plants.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein said second watermelon plant is an inbred watermelon plant, wherein said method further comprises, growing said watermelon seed of step (b) to yield a hybrid watermelon plant.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein said second watermelon plant is the male inbred WDL0090 watermelon line, wherein a representative sample of seed of the inbred WDL0090 watermelon line was deposited under NCMA No. 202103004.

### Claim 14 (depends on 2)

A method of vegetatively propagating a plant of inbred watermelon WTL0088, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated from the plant of claim 2;
(b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferated shoots; and
(c) rooting said proliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, further comprising growing plants from said rooted plantlets.

### Claim 16 (depends on 2)

A plant part of the plant of claim 2, wherein the plant part comprises a cell of said inbred watermelon line WTL0088.

### Claim 17 (depends on 2)

A method for developing a watermelon plant in a plant breeding program, said method comprising applying plant breeding techniques to the plant, or plant part thereof, of claim 2, comprising crossing, recurrent selection, mutation breeding, wherein said mutation breeding selects for a mutation that is spontaneous or artificially induced, backcrossing, pedigree breeding, marker enhanced selection, haploid/double haploid production, or transformation wherein application of said techniques results in development of a watermelon plant.

### Claim 18 (depends on 2)

A method of introducing a mutation into the genome of watermelon plant WTL0088, said method comprising mutagenesis of the plant, or plant part thereof, of claim 2, wherein the method is performed using a material or technique selected from the group consisting of, long-term seed storage, tissue culture conditions, ionizing radiation, chemical mutagens, or targeting induced local lesions in genomes, and wherein the resulting plant comprises at least one genome mutation.

### Claim 19 (depends on 2)

A method of editing the genome of watermelon plant WTL0088, said method comprising editing the genome of the plant, or plant part thereof, of claim 2, wherein said method comprises a gene-editing tool or technology, wherein said gene-editing tool or technology is selected from the group comprising zinc finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), engineered homing endonucleases/meganucleases, and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated protein9 (Cas9) system.

### Claim 20 (depends on 2)

The plant part of claim 2, wherein said plant part is a fruit, a leaf, pollen, an ovule, a cell, a scion, a root, a rootstock, a cutting, or a flower.