Bionic Palm discloses the possession of male-sterile Jatropha curcas plants descending directly from a wild plant in Southwest Guatemala

1. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF JATROPHA
BREEDING INFORMATION
Bionic Palm Ltd., Accra, Ghana, is disclosing the ownership
of a male-sterile Jatropha plant which is a direct descendant
from seeds collected from a wild Jatropha curcas L. plant in
the Southwest of Guatemala
Responsible for the content: Ulrich B Riemann, MD Bionic Palm Ltd.
Email: info@bionic-palm.com
Bionic Palm Limited: bionic-palm.com
Jatropha Breeder by Bionic Palm: jatropha.bionic-enterprises.com
© COPYRIGHT 2013 BIONIC PALM LIMITED 29/01/2013 1

2. MOTIVATION FOR THIS DISCLOSURE
 Patent application EP2521438 by SG Biofuels attempts to protect a
generic „female only (FO)“ trait in Jatropha curcas L. (JcL)
 The same patent application is trying to protect an absolutly standard
general method for hybrid seed production in its use for JcL
 This disclosure proves that male sterility or a so called „FO trait“ occurs
naturally in JcL, at least in one accession picked from the wild in Guatemala
 Bionic Palm is in possesion of that accession and using it actively in its
breeding efforts for improved JcL
 Bionic Palm is determined to keep Jatropha development as open as
possible for all, as the only sound possibility to make significant plant
enhancement possible in the short term.
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3. FROM SEED COLLECTION TO DISCOVERY
OF THE MALE-STERILE TRAIT
 Seeds were collected from a single wild plant in Southwestern
Guatemala (exact coordinates are available to BPL)
 Seedlings were raised in Europe
 A clone (cutting) was transferred to Ghana 11/2011
 First flowering occured in 4/2012
 Second flowering fruits have been harvested
 Third & forth flowering is currently ongoing
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4. PICTURE SERIES OF INFLORESCENSE DEVELOPMENT
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5. PROCESS OF MALE FLOWER „CRIPPLING“
Occured that way without exception
P1: crippling starts, most male & all female flower buds seem intact
P2: all male buds clearly crippled, female buds doing fine
P3: after fuit development started crippled male buds still around
P4: fruits almost ripe, crippled male buds unchanged
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6. P1: MOST BUDS SEEM FINE
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7. P2: ALMOST ALL MALE BUDS ARE DEAD
(5 DAYS AFTER THE LAST PICTURE, SAME INFLORESCENSE)
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8. P3: CRIPPLED MALE BUDS STILL AROUND
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9. P4: ...AND THEY ARE STILL VISIBLE IN THE END
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10. ANOTHER MALE STERILE FROM OUR
PARENTAL ACCESSIONS
For 2 years and many dozens of
inflorescenses this and a sister
plant have consistently not opened
any male flowers.
The behavior is however completely
different: Female flowers open first
while male buds are still looking good.
At a later stage (days to weeks after
pollination of the female flowers)
the male buds turn yellow and fall
off completely.
This plant is a direct descendant from seeds collected from a wild plant
in Mexico. Only some of the seeds taken from this very plant produced a male
sterile line, while the others are completely fertile which makes the family
extremely interesting for breeding tests. Even more interesting, the male steriles
are toxic (a trait to be reconfirmed) while the fertiles are non-toxic on PE.
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11. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF JATROPHA
BREEDING INFORMATION BY BIONIC
PALM LTD., ACCRA, GHANA
Please address questions you might have regarding
this disclosure via email to the below address:
Email: info@bionic-palm.com
More about our work can be found on our websites:
Bionic Palm Limited: bionic-palm.com
Jatropha Breeder by Bionic Palm: jatropha.bionic-enterprises.com
© COPYRIGHT 2013 BIONIC PALM LIMITED 29/01/2013 11