To Maize Netters:
Before, during, and after the 1999 Maize Genetics Meeting in
Wisconsin, and at the Maize Forum 2000 in San Diego, an ad
hoc Maize Committee has requested and received information
about resource deficiencies that are limiting the
productivity of maize genetics research in the public
sector. Our results indicate the following major needs, in
these approximate priority orders:
1. Improved maize transformation capacity in the public
sector [for your information, an action plan is being
undertaken to bear this need to the Interagency Working
Group for Plant Genomics].
2. Better expression profiling tools.
3. Comprehensive arrayed cDNA libraries.
4. Tissue specific and developmentally controllable
promoters.
5. More community building activities, particularly for
attracting new scientists to maize genetics.
6. Less emphasis on megagrants, more on individual
investigator awards.
7. Improvements in the user-friendliness of MaizeDB.
8. Better coordination of tool development for the community.
9. Improved comparative data and bioinformatics, for the
grasses and between maize mapping populations.
10. Fully accessible, appropriately redundant enhancer
traps, promoter traps, and knockouts systems in the public
sector for maize reverse genetics.
11. Improved reverse genetics tools in other grass species
(e.g., rice) to allow comparisons to orthologous maize mutants.
12. More complete and more accessible storage and
distribution of maize EST data and clones.
13. More maize SSRs available inexpensively to all.
14. Large mutagenized (small deletions, EMS, transposon
tagged) populations, in an inbred (B73) background.
15. One or more very large (>2000 progeny) populations
mapped with all of the available RFLP, SSR, etc. markers
that can then be used for fine structure mapping by all
maize researchers.
16. Proteome knowledge and research, expression,
polymorphism, and screening.
17. Tools for comparing across different maize maps for QTL
work involving different markers for different maps, and
across species.
18. Bulk purchasing of reagents needed by the maize genetics community.
How would you rate the priority of these needs, and any
others that you may wish to add? Please reply to the maize
net, maize at net.bio.net, where bulletin-board communications
are appropriate.
Do you have any suggestions as to solutions for these
limitations?
At future Maize Genetics Conferences, floor discussions will
be carried out in greater depth, particularly as to how we
might bring about the improvements that we all feel are
needed. Thank you for your time and assistance.
Sincerely,
Ed Coe and Jeff Bennetzen for the ad hoc Maize Committee.
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