P. somniferum plants for the production of codeine
OwnerGregory Michael SYMONS, Corey James HUDSON +1inventors
InventorsGregory Michael SYMONS, Corey James HUDSON, Mark Leon LIVERMORE
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Abstract
There are provided plants of Papaver somniferum for the production of codeine, methods for providing the plants, and poppy straw, concentrate of poppy straw, latex, opium and codeine from the plants. The plants have codeine as the predominant alkaloid. Also disclosed are plants in which a stably inheritable high codeine chemotype trait is linked to a recessive trait for lighter leaf colour. Methods of producing such plants through the exposure of parent plant lines to mutagenizing agents are also disclosed.
Claims32
An isolated plant of Papaver somniferum having a stably heritable codeine chemotype in which codeine is the predominant alkaloid and which upon harvesting of its poppy capsules will yield a poppy straw having a codeine content of greater than 2.0% on a w/w basis of the poppy straw, wherein the plant is a plant of a Papaver somniferum plant line having an introduced trait for a lightened leaf colour and the trait is associated with a higher codeine content by weight and/or a lower thebaine to codeine ratio in the poppy straw of the plant than in the absence of the trait.
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An isolated viable plant of Papaver somniferum having a stably heritable codeine chemotype in which codeine is the predominant alkaloid and which upon harvesting of its poppy capsules yields a poppy straw having a codeine content of greater than 2.0% on a w/w basis of the poppy straw, wherein the leaves of the plant are predominantly of a colour exhibiting a dominant wavelength in a range of from about 561 nm to about 568 nm as determined by reflective spectrophotometry on the adaxial leaf surface using D65 illumination and CIE 1964 10° standard observer coordinates.
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A method for producing a plant of Papaver somniferum having a stably heritable codeine chemotype characterised by higher codeine content by weight than a combined morphine and thebaine content, or a descendent plant thereof, the method comprising the steps of:
- a) exposing at least one poppy seed of a Papaver somniferum parent plant to a mutagenizing agent, the parent plant being a plant which upon the harvesting of its poppy capsules will yield a poppy straw having codeine constituting about 40% by weight or greater of an alkaloid combination comprising morphine, codeine, thebaine and oripavine;
- b) growing the at least one poppy seed exposed to the mutagenizing agent to produce one or more further plants, optionally through one or more self-fertilised generations;
- wherein upon harvesting of its poppy capsules, said one or more further plants yields a poppy straw having a higher absolute codeine content and/or a lower thebaine to codeine ratio by weight, than the poppy straw of the parent plant, and further wherein the one or more further plants has a trait for a lightened leaf colour whereby the adaxial leaf surface of the leaves of the one or more further plants are a colour that is visually lighter relative to the leaves of the parent plant.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.