One Corn to rule them all

[nekporchsitter]

Dark pigments. Blue, purple, red, orange, "black". All these are possible corn pigmentations and indicate high levels of beneficial phytochemicals for humans and animals.

As I think I understand it, the pericarp can be many colors or clear, and the aleurone is mainly clear, white or yellow. The endosperm is white or yellow/orange.

So I'm thinking about hypothetical corn variety very high in all pigments, everything together cranked up to 11, probably resulting in a black outer coat with dark orange endosperm.

One corn to rule them all and in the darkness bind them.

Does such a beast already exist? I've researched Dave Christensen's Montana Morado Maize that just became available for the first time (got my little bag of seeds few days ago - the 4th of all orders filled as far as I can tell) and while it is indeed very dark colored, the inside is white and not a very dark yellow like I had in mind.

I also have an ear of an unknown variety of very dark red colored flint corn, almost black.

Over the next few years I plan on making crosses of these very dark pigmented purple and red corns with high beta carotene varieties like Catento Sulino, Floriani, Atomic Orange, Nalo Orange, etc.

We'll see how successful I can be at forging the one darkest, richest, most precious variety.

Any valuable input would be greatly appreciated.

[blueadzuki]

There IS such a thing as purple endospermed corn. It's a rare trait though, and I have NO idea how to go about getting it (I've bumped into it twice). But if you could it might be worth adding as well (I guess that would make the endosperm brown).


Basically, your probably on the right track for the pericarp with the Morado. I'm not sure there is a pericarp darker than that shade of purple.

The aleurone is where the blues, pinks, etc. hide out. That's only a few cells thick, so I'm not sure how much nutritional value that will contribute IN TOTO. But the darkest you can probably get with that is blue or purple.

I THINK there is such a thing as double aleuroned corn, but am not sure.

The germ can be purple as well, so you might want that.

[DarJones]

Maiz Morado (meaning the south american corn) has the hp gene (High Pigment) which has negative effects on productivity. You can ramp up the anthocyanins to 11, but not without paying a price.

[nkline]

Dec 1, 2021 18:17:55 GMT -5 blueadzuki said:

There IS such a thing as purple endospermed corn. It's a rare trait though, and I have NO idea how to go about getting it (I've bumped into it twice). But if you could it might be worth adding as well (I guess that would make the endosperm brown).


Basically, your probably on the right track for the pericarp with the Morado. I'm not sure there is a pericarp darker than that shade of purple.

The aleurone is where the blues, pinks, etc. hide out. That's only a few cells thick, so I'm not sure how much nutritional value that will contribute IN TOTO. But the darkest you can probably get with that is blue or purple.

I THINK there is such a thing as double aleuroned corn, but am not sure.

The germ can be purple as well, so you might want that.

You can get purple germ with R-nj, darkness will very along with cap darkness and size.

[seedweneed]

This is Dave Christensen, Big Timber, Montana 

My Montana Morado Maize is largely homozygous for two different genes on the pericarps (hulls). Homozygous for dark cherry x2=black. Also homozygous on the hulls for orange x 2=brick red. So there is no need to breed to corn with orange hulls; it's already at a very high incidence in my Morado population. I worked hard to get these genes stacked up to get very high antioxidant capacity in just the hulls alone.

The orange and brick red color comes mostly from phlobaphenes, not anthocyanins.  Phlobaphenes are slightly more like tannic acid.  They repel insects and mold to some degree.  When phlobaphens are combined with anthocyanins they give a boost to the antioxidant effect. 

The line of Atomic Orange corn was taken from my Painted Mountain.  It has a mixture of orange color genes.  The lighter of the two oranges, a golden-orange is a rare gene and I think is the most beautiful.  The golden-orange hulls tested to actually be carotenes, which I think was formerly unheard of.  So the Atomic Orange likely does not have any more carotene in the starch than other Painted Mountain yellows.  The boost in carotene comes from the hulls.  I do not know what happens when this gene interacts with the dark cherry/black pericarp genes in my Morado.  I don't have the money to test that.  I am clarifying this because someone suggested breeding to Atomic Orange to increase the carotene in the starch.  I suggest breeding to a corn known for it's strong orange starch if you want more carotene.

ALEURONE LAYER
The gene I got for black hulls from Navajo Indians is the only "Morado" gene in the world that automatically comes with a colored aleurone layer. The aleurone layer is navy blue-black. The other Morados of the world have white or very pale aleurones. Yes the aleurone layer is only 1 cell thick. But there is a significant amount of pigment in the aleurone layer, and it is highly nutritious! So now you have three genes for pigment!  Plus I added an array of pigment intensifier genes.

There are genes for 3-4 aleurone layers in Piricinco corn from Peru. I have been working with that for several years. But it is close to impossible to get the trait to inherit when you start crossing, and it will take even more years to get corn with Andean ancestry to perform well in N. America. My younger partners will finish this after I die.

BLUE GERMS

I do have the very rare gene for colored germ in my Painted Mountain Corn. But it is not possible to have both a Morado hull and a blue germ because both genes compete for the same allele (place) on the chromosome. These things that I say are "impossible" can be seen on some kernels in crossbreds, so you might think it can be achieved. But you cannot get both traits in the same kernel to breed true.

ORANGE STARCH
You are correct that my Morado does not have orange starch (endosperm). I could not do everything. The starch is ordinary yellow or white. It has plenty of carotene for human nutrition. Carotene in the starch is not very visible in flour starch. It is only strongly visible in flint starch. You could breed my Morado to a corn with strong orange starch for extra nutrients. But if you cross my Morado it might take you 20 years to recover all the additive and modifier genes I put into my Morado. It took me 35 years and testing for anthocyanins every year to get it to the level that I achieved.

Go to this link and see a photo of cornbread made from my Morado. It has so many antioxidants it is almost black. It is a superfood surpassing blue and black berries.

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To learn more about Montana Morado Maize, or to buy seed, go to www.northfrontierfarms.com

Your new friend,  Dave Christensen  [phone]