NT RECOVERY

The United States Department of Agriculture maintains a seed bank with over 20,000 strains of corn.  Collected from all over the world, these strains are a natural source of genes (traits) to enhance yield and make corn more tolerant of environmental stress (e.g., drought, temperature extremes, weeds, diseases, insects). What has been lacking is an efficient method to screen the seed bank strains. Now, through the application of NT RECOVERY^TM technology, Indian corn and other ancestral strains can be used to address the challenge of feeding a growing population in an era of climate change and supply chain disruption.

Yield and stress tolerance are complex traits governed by multiple genes. It is critical to measure the effect of these traits in a field, rather than a laboratory environment. In practice, NT RECOVERY^TM involves the use of a proprietary algorithm to survey many hundreds of individual plants growing in a practical field environment. Once a trait is identified, molecular markers (DNA fingerprints) are used to track the presence of the trait as it is transferred to a commercial line. Genetic transfer is by natural means and does not involve genetic engineering (GMO) technology.