Monsanto-BASF team discovers drought-tolerent gene in corn plants

11 June 2009

A joint team of scientists from Monsanto Company and BASF has announced the discovery of a naturally-occurring gene that can help corn plants combat drought conditions and offer yield stability during periods of inadequate water supplies.

The product will be the first biotechnology-derived drought-tolerant crop in the world, the companies said in a release, adding that they plan to use the gene in their first-generation drought-tolerant corn product, which is designed to provide yield stability to farmers.

"BASF and Monsanto's drought-tolerant corn is the first result of our plant biotechnology collaboration of which I am very proud," said Jurgen Schweden, senior vice president R&D, BASF Plant Science. "With our complementing technologies, we are able to bring more and better products to farmers faster," he added.

''The drought-tolerant corn contains the cspB gene, from Bacillus subtilis. CspB codes for an RNA chaperone, which are commonly occurring protein molecules that bind to RNAs and facilitate their function,'' the companies said in a release.

''The gene was first identified in bacteria subjected to cold stress conditions and further research has demonstrated that cspB helps plants cope with drought stress,'' the release added.

Monsanto scientists have published those findings in a peer-reviewed paper in the journal, `Plant Physiology'.