July 11, 2007

Mexican scientists map corn genome; higher corn yields seen

Scientists in Mexico have mapped the corn genome which could lead to the country's bumper crops of the grain, Secretary of Agriculture Alberto Cardenas announced Monday (July 9).

Cardenas said Mexican farmers could develop varieties that will better absorb fertilisers, require less water and be more resistant to climate change and pest attacks.

The genome could increase corn production throughout Mexico, he added.

The corn trait was sequenced by scientists working at the National Genomics for Biodiversity Laboratory, for an overall investment of US$54.5 million.

Laboratory director Luis Herrera said determining the sequence of corn's genes "was the biggest project in the world after mapping the human genome."

He said the corn genome has more than two billion protein-coding genes, compared to 350 million in rice and 100 million in an Italian grass called arabidopsis italiana.

The promise of bumper corn crops in Mexico corresponds with the grain's price increase since May due to the increasing demand for ethanol.

But it also upped Mexico's staple of corn-based tortillas.

The government is caught between trying to contain the food's escalating cost and increasing corn production to lower the country's vulnerability to market fluctuations and dependency on imported corn.