By Lauren Quinn
When most growers plant corn, they expect perfect, uniform rows and plump and pearly yellow kernels lining the cob. But a group of USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists intentionally plant the misfits — some gnarled and speckled, others sprouting tassels where ears should be — to perpetuate the wide array of genetic variation in the Midwest’s most economically important crop.
The Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center, located on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, contains 100,000 corn stocks representing genetic mutants. Why preserve the weirdos? Because mutant genes confer some of the most important traits in modern corn hybrids.
“Compared to the maize collection at the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS) in Ames, Iowa, which focuses on natural and breeding-derived diversity, the mutant collection is a functional genomics engine,” said Martin Bohn, professor in the Department of Crop Sciences, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois. “These lines allow us to dissect gene function directly — something not possible with conventional panels. It’s the difference between observing variation and understanding its genetic basis.”
Source : illinois.edu