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NCGA
Leadership in Genome Research Recognized at Conference (11-05-01)
The
leadership role the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has played
in gaining funding for genomics research was recognized recently.
"I
was told repeatedly how happy The Institute of Genomic Research (TIGR)
was with the role NCGA leadership played in getting the plant genome
initiative funded," said Dee Vaughan, NCGA Corn Board member and
Dumas, Tex., corn grower. He and NCGA consultant Kellye Eversole attended
the 13th Annual Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conference in San Diego.
The conference, sponsored by TIGR, ran from Oct. 25 to 28.
Over
the course of the four-day conference, Vaughan met with key representatives
in the genomics and pharmaceutical industry and gained a better understanding
of the ongoing efforts in genomic research that can provide more profit
opportunities for corn growers.
"This
was a great opportunity for NCGA to get involved and help facilitate
the development of corn genomics research," said Vaughan.
"One
of the exciting things I found out while I was there," Vaughan
continued, "was how they are rapidly lowering the cost of genomic
research. They are continuing to find new ways of doing it quicker and
more efficiently, as well as lowering the cost significantly. Before,
it might have taken two or three years to do a draft sequence of the
corn genome, they have reduced that time to about nine months."
A major
topic of discussion was the potential for corn to be used to produce
pharmaceutical products. NCGA has long supported checkoff-funded research
such as the plant genome project, not only because of the new markets
it would provide for the nation's corn growers, but for the benefits
it could provide in the area of pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
"It
costs around $800,000 to produce a 1000 grams of certain antibodies
in a lab," Vaughan said. "In some cases, we can produce that
much antibody in an acre of corn. Using corn as the production system
would reduce substantially the cost of production for the antibody and
would increase significantly the income to growers. Opportunities like
this would present corn growers with a tremendous new market.
"We
will have to work with the biomedical and pharmaceutical industry to
illustrate to them how corn can be the perfect system for the production
of antibodies and other pharmaceuticals," he concluded. "As
a result of NCGA's investment in research, new markets for corn are
opening up. NCGA is also continuing to work with government agencies
and companies to ensure that these new hybrids will be developed ways
that maintain the integrity of the U.S. corn crop."
For
more information on plant genome research, visit the NCGA website at
http://www.ncga.com/research/main/plantGenomics.html.
Last
reviewed November 5, 2001
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