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Scientists
at universities and corporations are about to get a major
leg up in their tireless —and profitable—effort to
reinvent the corn plant. A group of researchers led by
Washington
University in St. Louis, have mapped out the corn plant’s
massive genome, and is posting the research on the
Internet.
The
project’s leader said the sequence map is the “holy grail”
for scientists trying to improve a crop that is traded
globally for food, animal feed and fuel.
There is
still some c lean-up work left to be done to the corn
genome sequence, though it is essentially completed, said
Richard Wilson, director of Washington University’s Genome
Sequencing Center.
The genome
was announced at the recent 50th Annual Maize Genetics
Conference in Washington, D.C.
Corn
production underpins much of the US and global food
supply, providing feed for livestock and ingredients for
processed foods that run the gamut from wheat bread to
soft drinks. A burgeoning demand for corn-based ethanol
fuel has driven the price up, and put greater pressure on
farmers to grow more corn per acre.
Agribusiness corporations like Monsanto Co. are tweaking
the corn genome to increase the plant’s productivity.
Monsanto’s chief technology officer Robert Fraley said
having access to the corn genome will push research
forward by helping university researchers discover new
corn traits. Companies like Monsanto will then be able to
license those discoveries for new products, he said.
The
sequence “is going to ultimately be one of the
breakthroughs that contributes to drive corn yield in the
future,” Fraley said.
Corn is
only one of a handful of plants to have its genome
sequenced, Wilson said, including rice and a flowering
plant popular for genetic research called Arabidopsis.
The
$29.5-million corn-genome project was funded by the
National Science Foundation, the US Department of
Agriculture and the US Department of Energy. Fraley said
Monsanto contributed gene-mapping technology and some of
its own gene maps to the effort.
The
benefit for farmers will come from new lines of corn that
withstand environmental stress and produce more yield,
said Nathan Fields, director of technology and business
development with the National Corn Growers’ Association.
Wilson
said a key field of research will be discovering which
genes in the sequence lead to which specific traits in a
stalk of corn.
“That’s
what we still have to learn,” he said.
In the
Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) web site, Rod Williamson,
director of Research and Business Development for the ICPB,
was quoted as saying “I believe we are witnessing history
in the making.”
“There is
still research that needs to be done to understand what
each gene does in the corn plant. Industry officials are
predicting 300 bushels per acre potential when the new
genetic improvements are adopted in corn. Along with
increased yields, this research improves our ability to
work with changing weather, reduce the environmental
impact and truly utilize our biotechnology to more
efficiently produce corn to meet the demand for both food
and fuel,” he said.
The ICPB
joined in funding sequencing efforts to enhance
biotechnology and increase profitability, the group said.
(With L. Resurreccion) | 
