Impact Statements -Plant and Animal Genome Mapping Competitive Agricultural Systems in a Global Economy Plant and Animal Genome Mapping Crucial roadmaps to better crops and animals. Now, agricultural scientists are creating maps for economically important plants and animals that pinpoint where every gene lies on a chromosome. With today's technology and a team approach, scientists predict that most, if not all, of these genes will be located by 2005. Scientists at Cornell have completed genetic maps for wheat and oats that identify locations of key genes for resistance to insects and to diseases such as leaf rust and powdery mildew. Fewer bees, more pollination.
Honey bees are the single most important pollinators of flowering plants.
However, Africanized honey bees and parasitic mites have greatly reduced the numbers of honeybee colonies. California scientists have identified three genes, present in some bees, that increase pollen foraging. Pork producers eliminate 30 percent of sows because of small litter sizes. Iowa State researchers identified two pig genes that influence litter size and developed methods to identify pigs carrying the genes. The potato ranks fifth among major food crops and is a food source in almost every country in the world.