种田农民

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
Researchers have sequenced the gene map of corn, also known as
maize, a key crop across much of the world and a source of food,
oil and products ranging from shoe polish to ethanol.

They said their sequence, to be
released at a meeting in Washington on Thursday, would help plant
scientists improve varieties of corn and other cereal crops,
including rice, wheat and barley.

“Scientists now will be able to
accurately and efficiently probe the corn genome to find ways to
improve breeding and subsequently increase crop yields and
resistance to drought and disease,” Richard Wilson of Washington
University in St. Louis, whose team led the effort, said in a
statement.

The effort to sequence the
entire gene map of corn has cost $29.5 million, funded by the
National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Corn is one of the most
economically important crops for our nation,” National Science
Foundation director Arden Bement said in a statement.

“Completing this draft sequence
of the corn genome constitutes a significant scientific advance and
will foster growth of the agricultural community and the economy as
a whole.”

The sequence information is in
GenBank, a freely available online public DNA database, and
at maizesequence.org.

“The genome will help unravel
the basic biology of corn. That information can be used to look for
genes that make corn more nutritious or more efficient for ethanol
production, for example,” said Ralph Quatrano, chairman of
Washington University’s Department of Biology.

The only other crop plant to
have its genome sequenced is rice.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Eric Beech)