The 21st century -- often called the century of biology -- has begun early. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is providing a boost to plant biology research through 23 Plant Genome Research Program: Collaborative Research and Infrastructure Projects awards totalling $85 million over the next five years.
The new research will contribute to a better understanding at the genome level of the inner workings of all plants, including economically important crops like maize (corn), soybean, tomato and cotton.
"These awards from the first year of the NSF plant genome research program represent a wide spectrum of activities ranging from pilot technique development projects to comprehensive, interdisciplinary, multi-institutional virtual centers," says Mary Clutter, assistant director of NSF for biological sciences. "Future results from these awards are expected to provide the fundamental knowledge and new technologies essential for the advancement of plant biology as well as crop improvement. Novel, value-added, plant-based products will be the likely result.
Outcomes of these grants will be exploited by the agricultural sector and other plant-based industries in developing improved plants of economic value."
Research funded at the University of Missouri at Columbia for example, will involve enhancing the content and effectiveness of a maize genome database. Researchers will look at gene selection in maize, and link new information to this database. These resources will provide for much greater efficiency in mapping and identifying the 50,000 to 80,000 genes of maize, say scientists.
Once the resources, knowledge, and database are complete, the possibilities are
endless, according to University of Missouri researcher Edward Coe. Benefits of
this research include better crop yields, reduced fertilizer requirements, and
better quality food, adds Coe. "The end result is a better quality of life, not
only for us, bu
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Contact: Cheryl Dybas
cdybas@nsf.gov
(703) 306-1070
National Science Foundation
28-Sep-1998