St. Louis, Missouri
February 27, 2008
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) applauds the
research of the scientific community for its work in completing
a draft sequence of the corn genome, the first mapping of the
corn genome in the world. The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Plant Genome program dedicated three years and $30 million to
achieve this contribution to plant science.
Valuable data provided by Ceres,
Inc., Monsanto Company
and DuPont business Pioneer
Hi-Bred over the last several years was made available to
researchers through NCGA’s MaizeSeq program. This database of
pooled knowledge provided a comprehensive resource to
researchers while the NSF program was under way, according to
Joachim Messing, director of the Waksman Institute and a
professor of molecular biology at Rutgers University. This
latest breakthrough, combined with information already
available, will further contribute to researchers’ understanding
of plant genetics.
Completion of the maize genome sequence will increase breeding
efficiency, streamline the delivery of new traits as well as
further the recognition and understanding of traits that will
enhance corn's position as the ideal crop for food, feed, fuel
and industrial uses.
This sequencing information has the ability to benefit existing
and future research for the U.S. corn industry.
“Successfully sequencing the maize genome will have a phenomenal
impact on agriculture and agricultural productivity,” said
William S. Niebur, DuPont vice president, Crop Genetics Research
and Development. “An enhanced understanding of the corn genome
structure and function will allow us to more effectively explore
the exclusive Pioneer germplasm galaxy and create a step-change
in our corn research program to produce better hybrids more
quickly and reliably.”
The contribution of the three companies helped maintain and
accelerate momentum in the scientific community, as geneticists
worked to continue their research and utilize the private data
as a comparison point with the public releases by the NSF. The
data will remain valuable as a comparative sequence to further
understand the intricacies of the maize genome and represents a
key resource for understanding the functionality of all the
genes in corn.
“This sequencing sharing agreement builds on the center's
leadership role in the NSF-sponsored Maize Genomics Consortium
currently evaluating and validating a gene-enrichment strategy,”
said Robert Rose, director of public relations and government
affairs at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. “We are
proud of our role in housing the MaizeSeq database at the
Danforth Center, which is administered and maintained by Center
Principal Investigator Dr. Brad Barbazuk.”
As genomic research technology and techniques continue to
advance over the years, NCGA thanks all segments of the corn
industry for their support of the sequencing project. The next
milestones are to finish putting the draft sequence together
into a contiguous data set, then work to better understand the
functionality of all the genes in corn to enable new discoveries
and extract the plant’s full potential.
"The completion of a maize draft sequence is the first step in
determining the function of all the genes in corn, which in
turn, will allow corn growers to plant corn hybrids that are
better able to withstand drought and other stresses and are
better suited to market and environmental needs," said NCGA
President Ron Litterer. "Consumers will benefit from a more
nutritious, abundant and sustainable food supply."
“This is a significant accomplishment in the advancement of corn
technology research and development,” said Robert Fraley, Ph.D.,
chief technology officer and executive vice president for
Monsanto. “As our population grows, and we look to help farmers
meet the growing demands for food, feed and fuel, this important
milestone will facilitate development of higher yielding hybrids
and the successful addition of increasingly complex technology
like drought tolerance and nitrogen utilization to get more out
of each acre of corn.”
This project underscores NCGA's continued commitment to
advancements through research, Litterer added. NCGA took a
leading role in getting the Plant Genome Initiative signed into
law in 1997 and continues to support this important effort.
Today's announcement emphasizes that commitment.
“This project represents the best in public-private
partnerships, and we’re pleased to know that the extensive corn
sequence data we provided will not only be extraordinarily
useful in helping to interpret the genome sequence, but will
also be made broadly available to academic and public
institutions in the United States. and beyond,” said Richard
Hamilton, chief executive of energy crop company Ceres, Inc.
“Genomics-based technologies are playing a critical role in
improving agricultural crops for food, feed, fiber, and now
fuels, and this type of project helps ensure that farmers will
continue to see improvements in productivity, yield stability
and reduced inputs.”
The National Corn Growers Association’s mission is to create
and increase opportunities for corn growers. NCGA represents
more than 33,000 members and 48 affiliated state organizations
and hundreds of thousands of growers who contribute to state
checkoff programs.
Ceres, Inc. is a leading developer of high-yielding energy crops
that can be planted as feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol
production. Its development efforts cover switchgrass, sorghum,
miscanthus, energycane and woody crops. The privately held
company also licenses its technology and traits to other
organizations.
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a
not-for-profit research institute with a global vision to
improve the human condition. Research at the Danforth Center
will enhance the nutritional content of plants to improve human
health, increase agricultural production to create a sustainable
food supply, and build scientific capacity to generate economic
growth in the St. Louis region and throughout Missouri.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality.
Other news
from Ceres, Inc.
/ from Monsanto
Company /
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