FIELD

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for taking samples from biological materials such as seeds.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

In plant development and improvement, genetic improvements are made in the plant, either through selective breeding or genetic manipulation, and when a desirable improvement is achieved, a commercial quantity is developed by planting and harvesting seeds over several generations. Not all seeds express the desired traits, and thus these seeds need to be culled from the population. To speed up the process of bulking up the population, statistical samples are taken and tested to cull seeds from the population that do not adequately express the desired trait. However, this statistical sampling necessarily allows some seeds without the desirable trait to remain in the population, and also can inadvertently exclude some seeds with the desirable trait from the desired population.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,430 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,431 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,432 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,434 (filed Aug. 26, 2005); and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/213,435 (filed Aug. 26, 2005), which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety, disclose apparatus and systems for the automated sampling of seeds as well as methods of sampling, testing and bulking seeds.

However, at least some known automated sampling and testing systems allow for various types of contamination to taint collected samples and skew results. Therefore, there exists a need for the automated sampling of seeds in a substantially contamination-free manner.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods of non-destructively sampling material from seeds. The methods are particularly adapted for automation, which permits greater sampling than was previously practical. With automated, non-destructive sampling permitted by at least some of the embodiments of this disclosure, it is possible to test every seed in the population, and cull those seeds that do not express a desired trait. This greatly speeds up the process of bulking a given seed population, and can result in an improved final population.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure facilitate the testing of most or all of the seeds in a population before planting, so that time and resources are not wasted in growing plants without the desired traits. Further, various embodiments allow for the automated sampling of seeds in a contamination-free manner, thereby substantially eliminating cross-over between samples.

In various embodiments, the present disclosure provides an automated seed sampler system that includes a milling station for removing at least a portion of seed coat material from a seed and a sampling station for extracting a sample of seed material from the seed where the seed coat has been removed. A seed transport subsystem conveys the seed between the milling station and the sampling station and a seed deposit subsystem conveys the seed from the seed transport subsystem to a selected well in a seed tray after the seed has been sampled.

In various other embodiments, the present disclosure provides an automated seed sampler system that includes a milling station for removing at least a portion of seed coat material from a seed and a sampling station for extracting a sample of seed material from the seed where the seed coat has been removed. A sample collection and transport subsystem captures the extracted sample in a collection tube mounted on a collection tube placement device of the sample collection and transport subsystem. Additionally, a sample deposit subsystem conveys the sample from the sample collection and transport subsystem to a selected well in a sample tray.

In yet other various embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method of extracting sample material from a seed for testing. The method includes loading a seed in a seed holder of an automated seed sampler system and removing at least a portion of seed coat material from the seed at a milling station of the seed sampler system. A sample of seed material is then extracted from the seed where the seed coat has been removed at a sampling station of the seed sampler system. The sampled seed is then conveyed to a selected well in a seed tray using a seed deposit subsystem of the seed sampler system. The extracted sample is coincidentally conveyed to a selected well in a sample tray using a sample deposit subsystem of the seed sampler system. The deposited sample can then be tested for at least one desired seed characteristic.

In still other embodiments, the present disclosure provides an automated system for sequentially removing sample material from a plurality of seeds while leaving the viability of the seeds intact. The system includes a milling station for sequentially removing at least a portion of seed coat material from each seed and a sampling station for sequentially extracting a sample of seed material from each seed where the seed coat has been removed from the respective seed. A seed transport subsystem conveys the seeds between the milling station and the sampling station and a seed deposit subsystem sequentially conveys each seed from the seed transport subsystem to a selected one of a plurality of wells in a selected one of a plurality of seed trays. The system additionally includes a sample collection and transport subsystem for sequentially capturing the extracted sample of each seed in a corresponding collection tube mounted on one of a plurality of collection tube placement devices. The system further includes a sample deposit subsystem for sequentially conveying each sample from the sample collection and transport subsystem to a selected one of a plurality of wells in a selected one of a plurality of sample trays.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for removing tissue samples from seeds generally includes orienting seeds in a desired orientation, transporting the oriented seeds to a sampling station, and removing tissue samples from the oriented seeds at the sampling station.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, an automated method for removing a tissue sample from a seed generally includes isolating an individual seed from a plurality of seeds, orienting the isolated seed using an actuator, and removing a tissue sample from the oriented seed. Here, the actuator is configured to position the seed in a desired orientation.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for removing tissue samples from seeds generally includes orienting multiple seeds together in a seed transport and removing tissue samples from the oriented seeds while the oriented seeds are in the seed transport.

The systems and methods of this disclosure facilitate the automated, non-destructive sampling of seeds in a substantially contamination-free manner. They permit the testing and sorting of large volumes of seeds, thereby facilitating the bulking up of seed populations with desirable traits. These and other features and advantages will be in part apparent, and in part pointed out hereinafter.

Further areas of applicability of the present teachings will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings.

