Corn Interests Expect Great Things from Gene Breakthroughs

April 18, 2000

The National Corn Growers Association says breakthroughs in rice and human gene sequencing mean similar developments could be in store for corn. Corn is as genetically complex as the human organism, making genomic developments more difficult than with other crops, says NCGA.

NCGA points to Monsanto’s announced breakthrough in decoding the genetic makeup of rice and the Celera Genomics, Rockville, MD, announcement that is has completed the sequencing phase of an individual human genome. Both involve a "shotgun" or shortcut sequencing technique that identifies nearly all genes in rice and human organisms.

"The human genome breakthrough will prove the validity of the shotgun approach to sequencing, particularly the validity as it applies to complex organisms such as humans," said Floyd Schultz, Plainfield, IL, producer and chairman of the NCGA Customer& Business Development Action Team. "Things that we can learn from humans will help us advance significantly in corn."

Developing the same technique for corn would allow for a more nutritious produce with greater yields and varieties more adaptable to seasons, climates and soils. "Rice is certainly not as complicated as corn," said Schultz, "but with the working draft now available, it’s going to jumpstart a major project under the (NCGA) plant genome initiative which involves locating significant characteristics in rice and applying them to locating key corn genes. This comparative genomics will be quite significant."