The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) today said the effort to map the maize genome is gaining critical momentum, as more than 120 researchers from 35 academic institutions have now accessed maizeseq.org, a web-enabled database that features previously unavailable corn genome sequencing information.

Scientists say the web site, which features data donated by an industry consortium of Monsanto Company, DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. and Ceres Inc., offers a wealth of formerly inaccessible information that will expedite completion of the corn genome sequence. NCGA launched the database, which is hosted by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, in July 2004.

“There are only little pieces of gene sequences available in the public domain, and in the past it’s been very difficult to find completed gene sequences,” said Dr. Jo Messing, director of the Waksman Institute and professor of molecular biology at Rutgers University. “The private collection (www.maizeseq.org) offers a lot of those missing pieces.

“There are about 1.8 million sequence reads available on maizeseq, compared to about 400,000 available publicly, so we now have access to more than four times what was previously available,” he said.

Completion of the genome will facilitate important new research into crop genetics, Messing added. Current plant genome research is conducted on rice or Arabidopsis (a member of the mustard family), the only two species with completed sequences.

“A complete maize genome will enable a lot of valuable research that couldn’t have been done before,” he said. “Right now there is new exploration being done on rice and Arabidopsis because their sequences are widely available. Finishing the maize genome will allow us to do similar research on corn.”

Finishing the genome map will not only revolutionize plant research, but it also will offer untold benefits to corn growers and consumers, according to Gary Davis, a member of NCGA’s Research and Business Development Action Team.

“A complete understanding of the genome will allow the industry to develop new traits that help us to produce corn with enhanced value and utility,” said Davis, a corn grower from Delaware, Ohio. “We’ll be able to grow corn that better suits the specific needs of our customers.”

Davis said a broad range of academic institutions from around the world have utilized the database. Land grant universities such as the University of Illinois, Oregon State University, Kansas State University and the University of Minnesota have accessed the site, as well as international institutions such as Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, the Danish Institute of Agriculture Sciences and the University of Hamburg (Germany).

Genome data are being made available to the general scientific community for use in not-for-profit research, subject to the terms and conditions of a user agreement obtained through NCGA. Potential users must first complete a licensing agreement with NCGA before accessing the information at www.maizeseq.org.