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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
Mimi Ricketts, NCGA, 636-733-9004
Maize Genome
Database Earning Acclaim from Researchers, NCGA Says
ST. LOUIS (March 14, 2005)
-- The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) today said the effort
to map the maize genome is gaining critical momentum, as more than 120
researchers from 35 academic institutions have now accessed maizeseq.org,
a web-enabled database that features previously unavailable corn genome
sequencing information.
Scientists say the web site,
which features data donated by an industry consortium of Monsanto Company,
DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. and Ceres Inc.,
offers a wealth of formerly inaccessible information that will expedite
completion of the corn genome sequence. NCGA launched the database,
which is hosted by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, in July
2004.
“There are only little
pieces of gene sequences available in the public domain, and in the
past it’s been very difficult to find completed gene sequences,”
said Dr. Jo Messing, director of the Waksman Institute and professor
of molecular biology at Rutgers University. “The private collection
(maizeseq.org) offers a lot of those missing pieces.
“There are about 1.8
million sequence reads available on maizeseq, compared to about 400,000
available publicly, so we now have access to more than four times what
was previously available,” he said.
Completion of the
genome will facilitate important new research into crop genetics, Messing
added. Current plant genome research is conducted on rice or Arabidopsis
(a member of the mustard family), the only two species with completed
sequences.
“A complete maize genome
will enable a lot of valuable research that couldn’t have been
done before,” he said. “Right now there is new exploration
being done on rice and Arabidopsis because their sequences are widely
available. Finishing the maize genome will allow us to do similar research
on corn.”
Finishing the genome map
will not only revolutionize plant research, but it also will offer untold
benefits to corn growers and consumers, according to Gary Davis, a member
of NCGA’s Research and Business Development Action Team.
“A complete understanding
of the genome will allow the industry to develop new traits that help
us to produce corn with enhanced value and utility,” said Davis,
a corn grower from Delaware, Ohio. “We’ll be able to grow
corn that better suits the specific needs of our customers.”
Davis said a broad range
of academic institutions from around the world have utilized the database.
Land grant universities such as the University of Illinois, Oregon State
University, Kansas State University and the University of Minnesota
have accessed the site, as well as international institutions such as
Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, the
Danish Institute of Agriculture Sciences and the University of Hamburg
(Germany).
Genome data are
being made available to the general scientific community for use in
not-for-profit research, subject to the terms and conditions of a user
agreement obtained through NCGA. Potential users must first complete
a licensing agreement with NCGA before accessing the information at
www.maizeseq.org.
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The National Corn Growers Association mission is to create and increase
opportunities for corn growers. NCGA represents nearly 33,000 members,
26 affiliated state corn grower organizations and hundreds of thousands
of growers who contribute to state checkoff programs. |