William S Niebur: “Successfully sequencing the maize genome will have a phenomenal impact on agriculture and agricultural productivity.” Photo: DuPont

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has praised the development of a draft sequence of the maize genome, the first mapping of the crop’s genome in the world.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Plant Genome programme took part in a $30 million, three- year project to achieve the results.

The completion of the maize genome sequence holds important potential for breeding efficiency, as well as delivery and understanding of traits to enhance maize. Data for the research was also provided by US genomics company Ceres,  Monsanto and DuPont seed subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International for researchers at the NCGA’s MaizeSeq programme.

William S Niebur, DuPont vice- president, crop genetics research and development, spoke of the benefits of the research. “Successfully sequencing the maize genome will have a phenomenal impact on agriculture and agricultural productivity,” he says, highlighting the potential for the production of ”better hybrids more quickly and reliably”.

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The next step of the research involves putting the draft sequence into a contiguous data set to better understand the functionality of the genes in maize, with the aim of utilising the crop’s full potential.

NCGA president Ron Litterer commented upon the future of the research. “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,” he notes.

Dr Robert Fraley, chief technology officer and executive vice- president for Monsanto, echoed the optimism regarding the benefits of the research. “This is a significant accomplishment in the advancement of corn technology,” he notes.  ”This important milestone will facilitate development of higher yielding hybrids and the successful addition of increasingly complex technology like drought tolerance and nitrogen utilisation to get more out of each acre of corn.”

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