Mutant Corn Gene Boosts Sugar in Seeds, Leaves, May Lead to Breeding Better Crop

martyb writes:

Mutant corn gene boosts sugar in seeds, leaves, may lead to breeding better crop:

An abnormal build up of carbohydrates - sugars and starches - in the kernels and leaves of a mutant line of corn can be traced to one misregulated gene, and that discovery offers clues about how the plant deals with stress.

That is the conclusion of Penn State researchers whose previous study discovered the Maize ufo1 gene responsible for creating the mutant corn line. They now are assessing its effects and potential for inclusion in breeding new lines of corn better able to thrive in a warming world. The finding of higher sugar levels in plant tissues in their latest study is just another aspect for plant geneticists to consider.

"This discovery has implications for food security and breeding new crop lines that can better deal with a changing climate - with corn, there is still a lot to be done," said Surinder Chopra, professor of maize genetics in the College of Agricultural Sciences. "In fact, there is a great deal of genetic and phenotypic diversity in corn, and we can use that diversity and ask the question, 'How is the ufo1 gene distributed in the existing 10,000 germplasm lines?'"

Can plant geneticists select for some of that diversity and incorporate the ufo1 gene to improve corn? That is the question Chopra is trying to answer, starting with this new study that found elevated sugar levels in seeds and leaves of the mutant corn line.

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