Scientists now have a map to find nuggets of genetic insight for
breeding improved seeds worth billions of dollars
With a draft sequence of the corn genome recently revealed, scientists
now have a map to find nuggets of genetic insight for breeding improved
seeds worth billions of dollars.

As they strike gold, they will file claims ? patents on their
discoveries, say, that gene X adds to a corn seed's ability to grow with
sparse water, or that gene Y adds a nutrient important in cattle feed.

Public and private interests are likely to collide along the
double-helix as they mine for valuable information. In the end, industry
experts say, companies are likely to rush for the most easily accessed and
commercial data ? which is appropriate, since they have the resources
necessary to take discoveries to market.

Academics, meanwhile, will use the genome to understand more complex
plant functions that, in the end, could be key to the most significant
agricultural advances.

Indeed, agribusinesses including Creve Coeur-based Monsanto Co., the
world leader in developing genetically modified crops, began mining corn's
genetic code several years ago.

The six leading biotech crop companies collectively hold nearly 6,000
plant biotech patents ? some of these in corn, though they were not parsed
by type of crop ? according to data provided by Monsanto.

The number increased by 55 percent over the past two years, an
indication of rapid growth in the understanding of plant genetics.

Yet discoveries to date are based on knowledge of a limited number of
genes, each one selected for scrutiny because it was found in various
strains of corn that in the field displayed a beneficial trait, such as
improved yield or hardiness. Companies may sequence ? or map out ? many
genes, but they can seek a patent only when they have shown a limited
segment of genetic information is of direct use in producing a particular
trait.

Monsanto, for example, said it has sequenced approximately 44,000 corn
genes over the past five years. And it has donated much of that data for
public use, a move matched by DuPont's Des Moines, Iowa-based Pioneer
Hi-Bred International Inc. unit and Ceres Inc. of Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The corn genome has an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 genes that are
scattered among 2.5 billion bases, or molecules that form DNA. By
comparison, the human genome contains about 2.9 billion bases and 26,000
genes, according to the National

Science Foundation
The NSF, along with the Departments of Energy and Agriculture, funded
the $29.5 million corn genome project that was led by researchers at
Washington University. On Feb. 28, they made public a draft sequence of the
entire genetic code that can be freely used by researchers in industry and
academia.

"If you want to study the biology of corn, it's the blueprint. It lets
you start to get in and understand the nuts and bolts" of how the plant
functions, said Richard K. Wilson, director of the Genome Sequencing Center
at Washington University and head of the project.

The genome will allow scientists to study the function of particular
genes in the laboratory, then verify their findings by growing plants in the
field. This approach, which reverses what has been done so far, is faster
and more precise.

It also should shed light on complex plant functions that involve
multiple genes, such as how they flower, intercept light and use it in
photosynthesis, said James McLaren, a biofuel and plant-science consultant
with Chesterfield-based StrathKirn Inc.

"Companies have had a huge success in what they've done. But ... it's
just a tiny fraction of what's available to be done," he said. "There's so
much opportunity."

Industrial and public researchers alike want to make corn do more for
the global economy, without putting unplowed acres into production. They
want to boost yield to feed more people, animals and ethanol plants.
Scientists also hope to turn corn stalks and leaves into fodder for biofuel
facilities; and are genetically modifying kernels to grow pharmaceutical
proteins.

"Biotechnology is not finished. It's just barely beginning" to
contribute to agriculture, McLaren said.

Balancing interests
Developing the technology will be a balancing act between public and
private interests, said Ed Coe, professor emeritus of plant science at the
University of Missouri?Columbia, who has long studied corn genes.

University researchers are using the corn genome to understand how the
plant works, the ways in which diverse strains are related, and how that
information can be applied to other types of plants.

They are likely to stumble over genes that are patented by companies,
and will need to obtain permission to use them for research, Coe said.

Or academics may make discoveries with huge money-making potential ?
but lack the manpower, expertise, funding and seed banks to take them to
market. In such cases, they are likely to patent and then license those
nuggets to companies in exchange for royalties.

"Companies will claim that they have already encompassed what is
important (in patents), but that assumes that all inventiveness has been
applied and that is not the case," Coe said. "While some of them, like
Monsanto and DuPont in particular, have some very sharp scientists ... they
don't have all the brain-power in the world."

Robb Fraley, Monsanto's chief technology officer, said his company has
mined the genome and patented areas that are of commercial interest.

But the availability of the genome "is going to create innovations
(and) additional insights in plant breeding," he said. When that happens,
"we're probably one of the best positioned companies in the world to utilize
and take advantage of the information."

Pioneer Hi-Bred similarly has high hopes for products that will come
from the genome map. Its scientists are scrutinizing the data, and also look
forward to partnering with academics, said Geoff Graham, senior research
director in charge of North American corn breeding.

"We're all trying to see the best way to use it. It's like having a
hammer ? you don't want to just go out and start hammering all over the
place," he said. But as discoveries are made, Pioneer is able to focus money
and resources and quickly translate them into products.

"There's going to be some interesting issues going forward as to who
owns that knowledge around certain genes," he said. "This will speed up
discovery, and the (intellectual property) strategy will have to be
developed along with it."
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