Multileaf spinach

Abstract

The invention relates to a spinach plant which carries a genetic determinant that leads to the multileaf trait and which plant has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable by introgression from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. The invention further relates to progeny of the plant as well as propagation material, in particular seeds, for the production of plants that carry the multileaf trait.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A spinach plant which carries a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait which leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable by introgression from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. 
     
     
         2 . The spinach plant as claimed in  claim 1 , which carries a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait which leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is introgressed from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. 
     
     
         3 . The spinach plant as claimed in  claim 1 , which plant has at least 1.5 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait. 
     
     
         4 . The spinach plant as claimed in  claim 1 , which plant has at least 2 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait. 
     
     
         5 . The spinach plant as claimed in  claim 1 , which plant has at least 2 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait. 
     
     
         6 . A spinach plant comprising a genetic determinant that when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait as claimed in  claim 1 , obtainable by crossing a first spinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plant that has the multileaf trait as found in plants of which representative seed was deposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 to obtain an F1, subsequently selfing plants of the F1 to obtain an F2 and selecting plants from the F2 that have the multileaf trait as plants of the invention. 
     
     
         7 . A progeny plant of a spinach plant as claimed in  claim 1  carrying the multileaf trait and having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait. 
     
     
         8 . A propagation material suitable for producing a spinach plant as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the propagation material is selected from seeds, parts of the plant that are suitable for sexual reproduction, in particular microspores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and egg cells, parts of the plant that are suitable for vegetative reproduction, in particular cuttings, roots, stems, cells and protoplasts, tissue cultures of regenerable cells, parts of the plant that are suitable for preparing tissue cultures, in particular leaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems, wherein the plant produced from the propagation material carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait. 
     
     
         9 . A spinach plant produced from the propagation material as claimed in  claim 8  which carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait. 
     
     
         10 . The spinach plant as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein cells of the plant contain genetic material encoding the multileaf trait. 
     
     
         11 . A cell of a spinach plant as claimed in  claim 1 , which cell comprises genetic information encoding the multileaf trait which genetic information when homozygously present leads to the spinach plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait, in particular genetic information which is substantially identical, preferably completely identical to the genetic information encoding the multileaf trait of spinach plants that have all of the morphological and physiological characteristics of multileaf spinach plants, representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41619. 
     
     
         12 . The cell as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the cell is part of a spinach plant. 
     
     
         13 . A container comprising one or more spinach plants as claimed in  claim 1  in a growth substrate for harvest of leaves from the spinach plant in a domestic environment.