In an effort to improve the efficiency and economics of corn ethanol production, Syngenta AG, a company in the United States, has a project to produce a biotechnologically enhanced corn which expresses high levels of amylase. Amylase is the enzyme responsible for the break down of starch into sugars needed for ethanol fermentation. Dubbed as “amylase corn”, these genetically modified corn seeds are designed to cut the cost of ethanol production by eliminating the need for addition expensive liquid enzymes to saccharify (the starch to sugar conversion step) the corn mash prior to ethanol fermentation..