JAKARTA - Chinese scientists have discovered a new gene in wild corn that can increase the protein content of modern corn. This finding is important because it can help China reduce its dependence on soybean imports for animal feed.
Quoted from a report by Yicai Global, Sunday, June 7, a research team led by Wu Yongrui and Wang Haihai from the Chinese Academy of Sciences found a gene called THP3-T in teosinte, a wild corn that is the ancestor of modern corn.
The findings were published in the scientific journal Nature on June 3. The THP3-T gene produces an enzyme that plays an important role in the formation of amino acids in corn. Amino acids are the basic ingredients for protein formation.
The problem is, genes with high protein like this have been lost during thousands of years of domestication. So far, corn breeding has been pursuing large yields. Protein content is less a priority.
As a result, modern corn kernels on average only contain about 8 percent protein. Whereas, wild corn can have protein content up to 30 percent.
For China, this is not just a laboratory matter. The country produces around 300 million tons of corn per year. However, its low protein content is not enough to meet the needs of the livestock and poultry industries.
Until now, the lack of feed protein has been covered by importing soybean meal. Soybean meal is a soybean residue that is widely used as animal feed.
Wu's team previously discovered another high-protein gene, THP9-T, in 2022. The new gene THP3-T is said to work with THP9-T to raise the level of corn protein even further.
According to a Yicai Global report, after several years of field trials, the two genes were successfully incorporated into the main hybrid corn varieties in China. The results were quite large. Corn seed protein rose from 8.5 percent to 12 to 13 percent. The protein content of the whole plant also rose from 7 percent to more than 9 percent.
The important thing is that the increase in protein is achieved without disturbing the stability of the harvest. This is the key. Because, high-protein corn will not be much use if its production drops sharply.
The research team estimates that if the protein content of Chinese corn rises by 4 percentage points, the additional protein is equivalent to 30 million tons of imported soybeans. This amount is about 30 percent of China's soybean imports in a year.
This finding shows that increasing protein content can be an important strategy in the feed industry.
The research team will work with seed breeding companies to develop high-protein corn varieties. They will also continue to search for new genes, with the goal of increasing the protein content of hybrid corn seeds to 15 percent.
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