Genetics are also used in protecting the intellectual property in the new variety itself – in Europe through breeders’ rights, and patents in the United States.
“If a company makes a new orchid, then [it] would like the sole right to commercialize this orchid,” Arens says.
“Otherwise, somebody else can just buy it in the shop, multiply it and sell it himself.
“But the breeders’ rights researcher has to make sure that a new variety is distinct from anything that’s already in the market… it has to be distinct, it has to be stable, and it has to be uniform.”
Breeders’ rights and patents are granted based on physical descriptions, not DNA analysis, but it’s essential to compare the new plants with similar products in order to establish if they qualify for protection.
DNA analysis is a powerful tool in determining which plants the new variety should be compared with.
“It’s just like what we do in forensic science. You run markers that are at different positions in the DNA and that gives you a pattern and then you have a chance to match it or not,” Arens says.
There is still an element of gambling to breeding orchids says Stefan Kuiper.
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