Corn DNA Reveals Secrets to Vital Crop Traits

An international team, including scientists from Rutgers University-New Brunswick, has unlocked some of the secrets of corn's DNA, revealing how specific sections of genetic material control vital traits such as plant architecture and pest resistance.

In a report in the journal Nature Plants, the researchers described finding transcription factors attached to the DNA in corn plants and how they affect genes to turn on or off in a particular tissue. They examined two lines of corn and discovered significant differences in the DNA sequence at these specific spots, which they suggested could help explain why the plants appear and behave differently.

Andrea Gallavotti, a professor at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology and an author of the study, said that they discovered where transcription factors are binding in the genome and therefore influencing the expression of corn genes. The team created a map of the binding sites of transcription factors in the corn genome. The transcription factors affix themselves to special parts of the maize plant's DNA called cis-regulatory regions.

With this information, the researchers were able to compare these binding sites across different maize lines to understand variations. The team contrasted two different types of maize plants, B73 and Mo17, in the study. Using CRISPR-Cas9, they edited some of these DNA regions and studied the effects of the changes on the plant, including on a gene regulating resistance to earworms. The discovery could enable scientists to use new technologies to improve corn, making it more resilient and productive, the scientists said.

For more details, read the news article in Rutgers Today.