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PSR, Inc. offers Purity Test for presence of Bt gene in corn hybrids and inbreds

Sugar Grove, Illinois
July 17, 1998

Professional Seed Research, Inc. (PSR, Inc.) announces that it will offer a new test for the purity of Bt corn seed lots. The purity of seedlots with special traits such as the Bt gene require special tests to confirm that the trait is present in all plants. PSR, Inc. utilizes their Seedling Morphology Fingerprinting® technology combined with a specific screening test for the Bt gene to offer an accurate evaluation of a seedlot sample.

Impurities in Bt hybrids and inbreds can occur when
1) seed stocks are increased using non-homozygous plants,
2) outside pollen contaminates seedstock increase,
3) mutation occurs in seedstock increase,
4) volunteer plant pollen contaminates seedstock increase,
5) seed lots are mis-identified,
6) the pollinator carries the gene and contamination occurs in the production of the hybrid,
7) the pollinator carries the gene and selfing occurs in the production of the hybrid.

The Bt purity Test includes a Seedling Growout® purity test which utilizes the Seedling Morphology Fingerprinting® technology and selects all selfs, offtypes, and outcrosses. All selfs, offtypes, and outcrosses along with a sampling of the correct type are tested for the presence of the Bt gene. The results are returned in 10-14 days.

Professional seed Research, Inc. is a privately owned company that has provided services for the Corn Seed Industry for the past eleven years. These services include various quality and genetic purity tests, corn pathology work, and breeding projects such as backcrossing of special traits, sterile conversions, and Rapid Inbreeding®. The genetic purity tests and all breeding projects use the Seedling Morphology Fingerprinting® technology.

For more information, please contact:
Professional Seed Research, Inc.
7South437 Dugan Rd.
Sugar Grove, IL 60554
psrinc@skognet.com
Tel: +1 (630) 466 1060

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