A University of Wyoming faculty member is an advisory board member of a major project that has mapped the corn plant's massive genome sequence.
Anne Sylvester, an associate professor in the UW College of Agriculture's Department
of Molecular Biology, is one of the speakers at the 50th annual Maize Genetics Conference
Feb. 27-March 2 in Washington, D.C.
The full sequence of the maize genome will be publicly announced Feb. 28.
The gene sequencing project leader, Richard Wilson, director of Washington University's
Genome Sequencing Center, in St. Louis, Mo., said the sequence map is the holy grail
for scientists trying to improve a crop that is traded globally for food, animal feed
and fuel, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Beyond the global implications, Sylvester said, "The research is relevant to the
University of Wyoming because of the impact of the sequence on the genomics research,
which is already available online (www.maizegdb.org/sequencing_project.php), and there
are many genomics researchers on campus including several in molecular biology."
The approximate 50,000 genes identified by the sequencing project will become available
for researchers, including Sylvester and her team, to develop better corn varieties
and improve the plant's productivity. Improved varieties could better withstand environmental
stresses such as drought and pests.
Sylvester said researchers developing a particular trait can select and breed for
the trait readily by choosing the pollen from one plant of interest and crossing it
with the developing ear of another plant.
Wilson said a key field of research, according to the AP, will be discovering which
genes in the sequence lead to which specific traits in a stalk of corn.
"That's what we still have to learn," he said.
The approximate $30 million corn genome project was funded by the National Science
Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Energy.
Involved in the project are researchers from Washington University's Genome Sequencing
Center, University of Arizona in Tucson, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York
and Iowa State University.
Sylvester is one of the many researchers worldwide whose work is benefiting from
the sequencing project.
Sylvester, who is conducting her research in the UW greenhouse complex and in Colorado
and Hawaii, has already discovered a gene family that normally functions to help cells
in leaves grow normally.
The research is centered on understanding the molecular mechanisms of growth, development
and function of organisms, including how corn leaves grow. Leaves are the most important
source of carbohydrates in corn, and past genetics research has led to optimal shapes
for maximum production.
The title of her Feb. 29 program at the Maize Genetics Conference is "Vesicle trafficking
during cell wall expansion: Identifying cellular compartments by live cell imaging
of tagged RAB2A1 in maize leaf cells."
Sylvester will also present a short talk on a research paper, be involved in an outreach
program titled "Reaching students through faculty training," and present a poster
titled "Fluorescent protein tagged maize lines for cell biology and functional genomics."
A story detailing Sylvester's research is in the fall 2007 issue of Ag News, available
at www.uwyo.edu/AgCollege/AGNEWS/AGNEWS_main.htm.
