Olomouc Botanists Granted U.S. Patent

United States patent No. US 8,222,260 B2 ‘Substituted 6-anilinopurine derivatives as inhibitors of cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase and preparations containing these derivatives’ was granted on 17 July 2012. The team of patent authors from the   the Centre for the Haná Region consists of Lukáš Spíchal, Markéta Gemrotová, Marek Zatloukal, Jitka Frébortová, Petr Galuszka, Tomáš Werner, Thomas Schmülling, Karel Doležal, and Miroslav Strnad.

The INCYDE compound developed in the  the Centre for the Haná Region for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research at Palacký University in Olomouc was recently granted a U.S. patent, which is currently being tested on crops plants by an important agrochemical multinational corporation. The newly discovered compound belongs to a group of cytokinins which are derivatives of plant growth hormones. It is supposed to increase crop yields.

 

The cytokinin derivatives occur naturally in plants, supporting their growth and development. An increase in their levels is one of the ways to stimulate the growth of crops. The Olomouc scientists have succeeded in the mission by employing a mechanism which controls the level of cytokinins.

 

‘The cytokinins present in plant tissues are degraded by a special enzyme. We have managed to isolate a compound blocking the enzyme’s activity. As a result, cytokinins are not degraded, and as new ones are produced, their concentration increases. This may, for instance, increase crop yields and their resilience to pests,’ explains Lukáš Spíchal, one of the key members of the research team from the Department of Growth Regulators at the the Centre for the Haná Region.

 

The Olomouc scientists have been conducting research on the potential benefits of cytokinin derivatives in crop production on a long term basis. The Centre for the Haná Region team consists of Lukáš Spíchal, Markéta Gemrotová, Marek Zatloukal, Jitka Frébortová, Petr Galuszka, Tomáš Werner, Thomas Schmülling, Karel Doležal, and Miroslav Strnad. The INCYDE compound was developed in cooperation with researchers at Freie Universität in Berlin, Germany.

 

The Centre for the Haná Region  has been granted more than forty patents in the Czech Republic, the United States, Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world. These mostly deal with the cytokinin derivatives and their pharmaceutical, biotechnological, agrochemical, and cosmetic applications and production. The Department of Growth Regulators holds a number of important patents, especially in the field of cancer treatment.

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