PolITiGenomics

Chalk another one up for the corn lobby (damn those Iowa caucuses!), the maize genome has been published. More seriously, this maize genome reference sequence, much like the human genome reference sequence, provides a foundation for truly revolutionary research into the relationship between genotypes and specific traits and, since genetic engineering is slightly more acceptable in corn than humans, developing strains of corn that can thrive in, for example, warmer, drier climates. led the sequencing effort and collaborated with several institutions on the analysis, resulting in 13 companion papers published in Science and PLoS Genetics. The sequencing was quite a challenge because of the highly repetitive nature of corn’s tetraploid (there are four copies of each chromosome as compared to the diploid (two copies) human genome) genome. There is a lot of coverage in the , including Scientific American, , and, of course, Farm and Dairy.

Posted in genomics | 1 Comment »

Tagged with: corn, genomics, health, science, wustl

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