Mapped Genome Shows Corn's Adaptability

December 4, 2009 -- After four years of collaboration, researchers have nearly completed sequencing the B73 corn genome, cataloging over 32,000 genes (more genes than are in human DNA) and 2.3 billion base nucleotides. Corn is one of the most widely grown grains in the world, and the B73 strain -- one of the most common -- has the largest genetic blueprint discovered for any plant species mapped to date. The completed mapping has implications for developing higher yield, disease resistant, drought resistant, and more nutritious crop strains.

Study of the corn genome revealed interesting gene behavior that has given scientists a broader understanding of genetic behavior in more than just plants. With the discovery of “jumping genes” or transposons, new possibilities in the study of genetic evolutionary mechanisms opened up. Found in both animals and plants, transposons allow corn to adapt quickly from generation to generation, making it capable of living in a wide variety of climates. Likewise, they cause mutations that can help animals adapt.

Funding for this undertaking was provided through the National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI), a multiagency collaborative research program with the goal of understanding the structure and function of genes in plant species that are important to agriculture, environment, energy, and health. NPGI was initiated in 1998, and 10 years after its inception, the Interagency Working Group on Plant Genomes asked the National Research Council to assess NPGI’s achievements and recommend its future direction. The conclusions can be found in the report Achievements of the National Plant Genome Initiative and New Horizons in Plant Biology.

• Arizona Genomics Institute