Breeding Corn to Enable Organic Seed Production
Project Director
Paul Scott
Year Funded
2020
Award Number
2020-51300-32180
Funded Institution
USDA ARS Peoria, Illinois
Grant Program
OREI (Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative)
USDA NIFA Report
Project Overview
Plant breeders have developed NOP-compliant Spontaneous Haploid Genome Doubling (SHGD) methods which, in conjunction with genomic selection, can accelerate development of corn inbred lines and three-way hybrids with priority traits for organic producers. These include high methionine grain; cross-incompatibility to exclude GMO pollen; resistance to disease, pests, and abiotic stresses; yield and nutrient efficiency; and production of certified organic hybrid seed.
This project, conducted in breeding nurseries in Illinois, Iowa, and Puerto Rico, aimed to develop high-methionine and nitrogen-efficient corn hybrids for commercial release.
Farmer Takeaways
(1) This project has developed powerful, NOP-compliant methods to accelerate selection and refinement of grain corn hybrids better suited for organic production.
(2) Inbred lines with high grain methionine levels have been developed. Using corn with this trait for poultry feed reduces the need for synthetic methionine supplements.
(3) The project has integrated a pollen exclusion gene into inbred lines designed for production of organic hybrids seed free from GMO contamination.
(4) More research and additional cycles of breeding and selection are needed to translate these advances into improved seed varieties for organic producers.
Project Outputs
Hintch, T., Lauter, A.M., Kinney, S., Lübberstedt, T., Frei, U.K., Duangpapeng, P., Edwards, J.W., Scott, M.P. (2023). Development of maize inbred lines with elevated grain methionine concentration from a high methionine population. Crop Sci. 63: 2417-2425.
Sanchez, D., Santana, A.S., Morais, P., Peterlini, E., De la Fuente, G., Castellano, M., Blanco, M., Lübberstedt, T. (2023). Genome-wide association analysis of doubled haploid exotic introgression maize (Zea mays L.) lines for agronomic traits under depleted nitrogen conditions. Frontiers Plant Sci. 14:1270166.
Boerman N.A., Lauter A.N.M., Edwards J.W., Scott M.P. (2021). Variation in degree of pollen exclusion for ga1-s unilateral cross incompatibility in temperate maize breeding populations, Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp. e20220.
Trampe, B., Batiru, G., Pereira, A.S., G., Frei, U.K., Lübberstedt, T. (2022). QTL mapping of inducibility using genotype by sequencing in maize. Plants 11: 878
Muhammad-Aboobucker, S., Jubery, Z., Frei, U.K., Foster, T., Chen, Y.-R., Ganapathysubramanian, B., Lübberstedt, T. (2022) Protocols for in vivo doubled haploid (DH) technology in maize breeding: From haploid inducer to haploid genome doubling. Methods Molecular Biology, Plant Gametogenesis, Methods and Protocols (C. Lambing ed.) 2484: 213-235
“Scientists ratchet up key amino acid [methionine] in corn.” | ARS News Service