February 26, 2008

US researchers to announce completion of corn genome mapping

A group of researchers led by Washington University will announce that it has mapped the genetic sequence of the corn plant.

The announcement is expected to happen later this week at an agricultural conference in Washington D.C.

The US$29.5 million project to map the corn genome has been under way since 2005.

Knowing the genetic map of corn will help agricultural corporations like Monsanto develop new strains of the plant. Expanded ethanol production in recent years has generated massive interest in the crop, amidst high energy prices.

The genome project was funded by the National Science Foundation, the USDA and the US Department of Energy.