Developing New Technologies and Traits in Corn
The ICPB invests in developing corn traits to improve corn production and value-added processing. ICPB is also focused on opportunities to improve methods of transformation and expression of key traits in corn plants. Some of ICPB’s current biotech research projects are shown below.
| Project Title: | Project Traits | |
| Institution/Department: | Strathkirn Inc | |
| Progress: | Year 3 | |
| Description: |
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| Project Title: | Biotechnology Research Cooperation | |
| Institution/Department: | Athenix Corporation |
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| Progress: | Year 1 | |
| Description: |
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| Project Title: | Biotechnology Research Cooperation | |
| Institution/Department: | University of Nottingham |
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| Progress: | Year 1 | |
| Description: |
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| Project Title: | National Plant Genome Initiative |
| Institution/Department: | National Science Foundation www.nsf.gov |
| Partner(s): | National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) www.ncga.com |
| Progress: | Ongoing |
| Description: | ICPB and the NCGA are working with the National Science Foundation to sequence the corn genome. This effort promises countless benefits, including nutrition and health, feed utilization, improved crop yields, insect and disease resistance, environmental stress tolerance, industrial uses and others that will enhance U.S. competitiveness in the global marketplace. NCGA believes that research is crucial to the future of corn. The corn genome initiative is a key component of this research. NCGA believes the future of corn is written in corn’s genetic code. This belief has led the NCGA to vigorously support and make the corn genome one of its most important priorities. Because of this support, understanding the maize genome is one of the top priorities of the Plant Genome Project funded by the National Science Foundation. NCGA feels it is of key importance to provide ongoing support of the Maize Genome Project due to significant benefits that this research will provide to corn growers, their communities and to the national economy. Potential benefits include: agronomic value (physical, yield, resistance, stress tolerance), and improved outputs (feed, chemical/industrial, pharmaceutical, human food). These advances should have the larger effect of: increase production efficiency by 20% over the next ten years; adding at least $4 billion in increase farm value per year; move our nation towards a self-reliant bio-based economy, decreasing our need for foreign oil; increase sustainability of agriculture. One of the outcomes of these successes is involvement of Monsanto, Ceres and Pioneer companies and their commitment to make genomic data available to public researchers. |