Sierra Mixe corn is a traditional variety of maize grown in the Sierra Mixe region of Mexico, especially the town of Totontepec Villa de Morelos. It is known locally as olotón and has been grown by indigenous farmers for thousands of years.[1]
This variety grows unusually tall—up to sixteen feet—and has aerial roots that secrete a mucus that drips around the plant. This secretion supports the growth of symbiotic bacteria that fix nitrogen and so fertilize the plant.[1]
There is commercial and scientific interest in this variety, and its genetics are being researched to develop other self-fertilizing varieties that would reduce or eliminate need for other fertilizers. A team at University of California, Davis is working on this under the auspices of the Nagoya Protocol, which aims to encourage equitable sharing of the benefits of such biodiversity.[1]
Further reading
edit- Pankievicz VCS; Delaux, P. M.; Infante, V.; Hirsch, H. H.; Rajasekar, S.; Zamora, P.; Jayaraman, D.; Calderon, C. I.; Bennett, A.; Ané, J. M. (2022). "Nitrogen fixation and mucilage production on maize aerial roots is controlled by aerial root development and border cell functions". Frontiers in Plant Science. 13. doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.977056. PMC 9583020. PMID 36275546.
- Daley, Jason (10 August 2018). "The Corn of the Future Is Hundreds of Years Old and Makes Its Own Mucus". Smithsonian Magazine.
- Van Deynze, Allen; Zamora, Pablo; Delaux, Pierre-Marc; Heitmann, Cristobal; Jayaraman, Dhileepkumar; et al. (2018). "Nitrogen fixation in a landrace of maize is supported by a mucilage-associated diazotrophic microbiota". PLOS Biology. 16 (8): e2006352. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2006352. PMC 6080747. PMID 30086128.
References
edit- ^ a b c Yong, Ed (9 August 2018). "The Wonder Plant That Could Slash Fertilizer Use". The Atlantic.
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