# US 12,600,976 B2 · Maize gene KRN2 and uses thereof

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- Number: US 12,600,976 B2
- Document ID: US12600976B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/626,739
- Filed: 2024-04-04
- Published: 2024-11-14
- Granted: 2026-04-14
- Earliest claimed: 2017-11-28
- Assignees: China Agricultural University
- Applicants: China Agricultural University
- Inventors: Xiaohong Yang; Jiansheng Li; Wenkang Chen; Xuan Zhang; Lichun Cai; Yirong Zhang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12600976B2

## CPC

- C12N 15/8218: {Antisense, co-suppression, viral induced gene silencing [VIGS], post-transcriptional induced gene silencing [PTGS]}
- C12Q 1/6895: for plants, fungi or algae
- C12N 15/09: Recombinant DNA-technology
- C12N 15/8213: {Targeted insertion of genes into the plant genome by homologous recombination}
- C12N 15/8261: {with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield}
- C07K 14/415: from plants
- C12N 2310/20: involving clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats [CRISPR]
- C12Q 2600/13: Plant traits
- C12Q 2600/156: Polymorphic or mutational markers
- Y02A 40/146: Genetically Modified [GMO] plants, e.g. transgenic plants
- C12N: MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA (microbiological testing media C12Q1/00)
- C12Q: MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEIC ACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS (immunoassay G01N33/53); COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL OR ENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES
- C07K: PEPTIDES (peptides in foodstuffs A23; obtaining protein compositions for foodstuffs, working-up proteins for foodstuffs A23J; preparations for medicinal purposes A61K; peptides containing beta-lactam rings C07D; cyclic dipeptides not having in their molecule any other peptide link than those which form their ring, e.g. piperazine-2,5-diones, C07D; ergot alkaloids of the cyclic peptide type C07D519/02; macromolecular compounds having statistically distributed amino acid units in their molecules, i.e. when the preparation does not provide for a specific; but for a random sequence of the amino acid units, homopolyamides and block copolyamides derived from amino acids C08G69/00; macromolecular products derived from proteins C08H1/00; preparation of glue or gelatine C09H; single cell proteins, enzymes C12N; genetic engineering processes for obtaining peptides C12N15/00; compositions for measuring or testing processes involving enzymes C12Q; investigation or analysis of biological material G01N33/00)
- Y02A: TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

## Abstract

Provided herein are KRN2 gene controlling kernel row number in plant, molecular markers closely linked to KRN2 and their application in molecular breeding.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A construct comprising a sequence encoding a guide RNA designed to target the KRN2 gene, wherein the expression of the construct in a maize plant together with the expression of a Cas-associated gene results in a loss-of-function in the KRN2 gene.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A transgenic maize plant, maize plant part or maize plant cell thereof comprising the construct of claim 1.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

A seed produced by growing the transgenic maize plant according to claim 2, wherein the seed comprises the loss-of-function in the KRN2 gene.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

A maize plant, maize plant cell, or maize plant parts thereof, grown from the seed of claim 3.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

A commodity product made from the maize plant, maize plant cell, or maize plant parts thereof, of claim 4, wherein the commodity product comprises a construct comprising a sequence encoding a guide RNA designed to target the KRN2 gene, wherein the expression of the construct in a maize plant together with the expression of a Cas-associated gene results in a loss-of-function in the KRN2 gene.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The commodity product of claim 5, wherein the commodity product is protein concentrate, protein isolate, cereal, meal, flour or biomass.