Corn's Genome Flexibility Makes It Adaptable to Changing Climate (IMAGE)

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Corn's Genome Flexibility Makes It Adaptable to Changing Climate

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As the Earth's climate warms, growing zones for the staple crops its 7 billion people depend upon will shift. The new reference genome for maize, or corn, shows that it is perhaps uniquely adaptable to changes in growing conditions. The flexibility is due to the way the genes of its 10 chromosomes are regulated, ie, turned on and off at particular times.

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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

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