The Journey of Corn

Lois Girton is Outreach Coordinator for the Schnable Laboratory at the ISU Center for Plant Genomics Dr. Lois Girton will discuss the development of modern corn (maize) from its Mexican ancestors, the teosintes. This presentation will follow 9000 years of mutation and selection leading to modern popcorn and sweetcorn varieties. There will also be a discussion of how genetic and genomic techniques can fill in gaps in archaeological data to help trace the journey of corn.