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LOUIS (AP) Scientists at universities and corporations are about to get a major leg up in their tireless and profitable effort to reinvent the corn plant. A group of researchers led by Washington University in St. Louis have mapped out the corn plant's massive genome, and is posting the research on the Internet. There is still some clean-up work left to be done to the corn genome sequence, though it is essentially completed, said Richard Wilson, director of Washington University's Genome Sequencing Center. Monsanto's Chief Technology Officer Robert Fraley said having access to the corn genome will push research forward by helping university researchers discover new corn traits. The benefit for farmers will come from new lines of corn that withstand environmental stress and produce more yield, said Nathan Fields, director of technology and business development with the National Corn Growers' Association.

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Posted Under: Agriculture