Corn is everywhere! Whether it’s in your breakfast cereal, your pet’s food, or even your car’s fuel, maize is a staple of American life. As one of the nation's major crops, the demand for corn keeps skyrocketing, posing a challenge for farmers facing unpredictable environmental conditions.

For centuries, humans have selectively bred crops to meet our ever-evolving needs. Today, thanks to scientific advancements, we can bioengineer these crops by modifying their genetic makeup, creating versions that are drought-resistant, higher-yielding, and more nutritious.

However, maize is notoriously tricky to bioengineer, often requiring sophisticated resources that many research institutions lack. Recently, a collaboration between scientists from the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI), Iowa State University (ISU), and Corteva Agriscience revealed a groundbreaking approach to streamline maize bioengineering, making it more accessible.

Traditionally, bioengineering maize involved using tiny, immature embryos harvested from mature corn kernels. These embryos go through a transformation process, inserting a specially designed DNA sequence into the plant’s genome to add desired traits, such as disease resistance. But this method has a low success rate; high-quality embryos are essential, and growing them demands advanced facilities that many researchers simply don’t have.

Dr. Joyce Van Eck of BTI, leading the charge in this research, explained that few academic institutions possess the necessary infrastructure for generating high-quality maize embryos, effectively bottlenecking progress in maize research.

To break through these barriers, federal funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) has supported the development of the Plant Bioengineering Hub, part of an initiative called CROPPS, aimed at revolutionizing agricultural research.

The researchers adopted a novel transformation technique leveraging the leaf whorls of young seedlings rather than mature embryos. This means plants only need to grow for about two weeks, drastically cutting down the time required and lessening the need for specialized facilities.

Originally utilizing a proprietary helper plasmid from Corteva Agriscience, the team tested this new method with a publicly available plasmid developed by Dr. Kan Wang at ISU. The results were promising, achieving high success rates even with the notoriously tough B73 genotype, proving that this new method could work effectively across different maize strains.

Dr. Van Eck stated, "This is a pivotal first step toward making maize transformation feasible for labs without industry-standard facilities. It reduces barriers and will significantly advance maize research."

The federal backing from the NSF was crucial, with Dr. Van Eck asserting that such funding not only supports research but also helps train the next generation of scientists, like Dr. Ritesh Kumar, who noted the growing demand for skilled plant bioengineering researchers.

Looking ahead, the research team, led by Kumar, is eager to test this novel method across other maize genotypes, particularly those with beneficial traits for resilience against environmental stresses. While there will be challenges, this innovation stands to unlock new avenues in maize genetic research and crop improvement, creating benefits for farmers and society as a whole.