Wilmington, Delaware
December 10, 2002
In a move that will significantly
boost industrywide research and enhance nutritional applications
of wheat and other major cereal crops,
DuPont announced today it is
making proprietary wheat genome data available to public and
private researchers without restriction.
The DuPont contribution,
consisting of more than 200,000 lines of expressed sequence tags
(ESTs), portions of a gene which can be used to locate an entire
gene, more than doubles the amount of wheat genome information
currently available to researchers through
GenBank, a
public database of DNA information held by the National
Institutes of Health.
An important piece in overall
crop science research, DuPont's contribution will considerably
increase the amount of wheat genetic information widely
available to scientists across the globe. A greater knowledge
about the wheat genome will help advance the research of all
cereal crops that feed a bulk of the people in the developing
world.
"Making this data available to
the public is consistent with the long tradition of DuPont of
advancing science and crop genetics research worldwide," said
Jim Miller, vice president, DuPont Crop Genetics Research &
Development. "We are confident this data will strengthen the
collaborative efforts among crop scientists and lead to the
development of new and improved wheat varieties." According to
Miller, sharing this data with researchers worldwide will
enhance the overall understanding of one of agriculture's most
complex genomes.
"The wheat genome is
significantly larger and more complex than most crops," said
Miller. "Making this data available, without restrictions, will
bolster many ongoing research efforts and provide a foundation
for the development of advanced varieties that benefit growers,
breeders and consumers."
DuPont and its subsidiary,
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., will continue to
aggressively research and develop improved wheat varieties.
Pioneer is a leading provider of wheat varieties in the United
States and Europe.
As the most widely consumed crop
in the world, wheat holds the key to vast and innovative
nutritional applications in feeding a growing world population.
Enhanced by this new research, wheat's unique traits also will
help produce better end-use characteristics for new generations
of wheat products.
"People across the globe, especially in developing countries,
rely on wheat as an essential part of their diet more than any
other cereal crop," according to Olin Anderson, research leader
with the U. S. Department of Agriculture and coordinator of
wheat and barley ESTs for the International Triticeae Mapping
Initiative. "Better understanding of the wheat genome will
greatly benefit ongoing research efforts and, ultimately,
improve the nutritional value of such a vital component of the
world's food supply. The DuPont EST donation is a valuable
addition to GenBank because these specific ESTs were not
previously represented."
During 2002, DuPont (NYSE: DD)
is celebrating its 200th year of scientific achievement and
innovation -- providing products and services that improve the
lives of people everywhere. Based in Wilmington, Del., DuPont
delivers science-based solutions for markets that make a
difference in people's lives
in food and nutrition, health care, apparel, home and
construction, electronics, and transportation.
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