US Patent Issued to Washington State University on June 16 for "Control of ripening and senescence in pre-harvest and post-harvest plants and plant materials by manipulating alternative oxidase activity" (Washington Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,653,181, issued on June 16, was assigned to Washington State University (Pullman, Wash.).

"Control of ripening and senescence in pre-harvest and post-harvest plants and plant materials by manipulating alternative oxidase activity" was invented by Amit Dhingra (Pullman, Wash.), Seanna L. Hewitt (Pullman, Wash.) and Evan C. Stowe (Pullman, Wash.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Methods of controlling the maturation of plants and/or plant products (e.g. fruit, vegetable, ornamentals, etc.) by manipulating Alternative Oxidase (AOX) activity. An increase in activity hastens the maturation process while a decrease in activity slows or stops matu...