The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded a $175,000 Project Grant under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to Nutramaize LLC, a for-profit agricultural biotechnology company. The grant supports the development of commercial orange sweet corn hybrids with high levels of health-benefitting antioxidant carotenoids. The project aims to leverage an innovative carotenoid biosynthetic pathway guided selection strategy to pyramid favorable genetic traits for enhanced carotenoid content. The goal is to develop early-generation proof-of-concept germplasm and molecular markers for key carotenoid biosynthetic genes, with the potential to subsequently advance to finished orange sweet corn inbred lines and commercial hybrids. Once developed and adopted, these nutritionally-enhanced sweet corn varieties have the potential to significantly increase the consumption of health-protecting antioxidant carotenoids among Americans, addressing USDA's strategic goal of providing all Americans access to a safe, nutritious, and secure food supply.
Generated 3/4/25, 6:56 AM