Restoring in major crops the nutritional compounds eliminated while making agriculture more suited for massive production and consumption requires a better understanding of the underlying metabolic…

The Michigan State University was awarded a $648,000 Project Grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program. The three-year project aims to enhance the nutritional value of maize seeds and performance of maize plants by building upon current knowledge of how maize flavones are synthesized and regulated. Specifically, the university will research restoring anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer flavones eliminated in mass-produced maize lines through a better understanding of the underlying metabolic pathways and their regulation. As the sole awardee, Michigan State University will deliver the research services from January 2022 through January 2025 at its East Lansing, Michigan location.

Restoring in major crops the nutritional compounds eliminated while making agriculture more suited for massive production and consumption requires a better understanding of the underlying metabolic pathways and their regulation. Maize lines used for production and/or breeding lack the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer flavones apigenin and luteolin. However, most maize lines accumulate significant quantities of these compounds as c-glycosyl conjugates that, in silks, provide powerful protection against the corn earworm, but which are unavailable as nutrients. The main objective of this project is to build on our current knowledge of how maize flavones are synthesized and regulated to enhance the nutritional value of maize seeds and the performance of maize plants.