Better tortillas and whiskey start with corn

A University of Missouri student’s corn research could revolutionize your favorite foods.

Danny Davis is looking to crossbreed the most nutritious and tastiest corn possible. The senior plant sciences major from Shakopee, Minnesota, came to the University of Missouri wanting to combine her interest in DNA with research that improves the lives of both farmers and consumers.

Davis’ involvement in Mizzou’s Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) and Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) programs helped her discover a corn genetics lab on campus run by Sherry Flint-Garcia, a research geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. USDA).

Davis said the research skills she acquired under Flint-Garcia’s mentorship have been the highlight of her Mizzou experience.

“I learned so much from Sherry. One of the main goals of our research laboratory is to cross two varieties of very good corn to make the resulting offspring even better,” Davis said in a recent MARC news release. “By analyzing the DNA of different types of corn, we can learn what the genotypes say about how it will grow, how much water to use, what it will smell, look, taste like and what it can be used for. Our ultimate goal is to help small farmers by offering them a tastier and more nutritious product to sell to businesses and consumers so they can increase their profits without expanding their land or having to compete with large corporations.”

Davis’ efforts in Flint-Garcia’s lab will ultimately help small businesses in the Midwest, including Yoli Tortilleria, a corn tortilla factory in Kansas City, Missouri, and Wood Hat Spirits, a distillery in New Florence, Missouri.

“As far as corn tortillas go, many of the existing products on the market are made from commercial yellow dent corn and are not very tasty, so there is a lot of room for improvement,” Davis said. “And on the whiskey side, there’s only so much you can do to adjust the barrel aging process. At some point you have to go back to basics and change what you make the whiskey from. Increasing the quality of the corn can mean the difference between whiskey that drinks down harder and has more burn, compared to whiskey that drinks down more smoothly with a more complex melody.”

Davis and her lab mates recently hosted a corn tortilla taste-testing event at Mizzou to get people’s feedback on which types of corn make the tastiest tortillas. The feedback could ultimately help Missouri farmers plant new varieties of tastier corn that can withstand Missouri’s weather and climate.

Flint-Garcia calls Davis the lab’s “social butterfly,” citing her persistence, assertiveness and ability to work well with others as qualities that will help her succeed as her career progresses.

“Danny is never afraid to introduce herself, ask questions, show her personality and convey her goals and vision,” said Flint-Garcia. “Sometimes scientists are more introverted, and her ability to learn new things and work well with others makes her a valuable team member wherever she ends up.”

During her time in Flint-Garcia’s laboratory, Davis was involved in analyzing and cross-breeding heirloom corn, primarily from South America and southern Missouri. While Davis will graduate from Mizzou’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources this spring, Flint-Garcia’s lab recently received a grant from the USDA that will allow the lab to access and study 1,000 heirloom corn varieties from across the United States.

“Now that the lab has corn from all over the United States to work with, the sky is the limit,” Davis said. “It warms my heart to know that our research has been meaningful, and that it is a rewarding experience to have a positive impact on the people our data impacts.”

Davis, who will soon enter graduate school and pursue a doctorate in plant sciences, appreciates the support and mentorship she has received at Mizzou for all the opportunities she has been able to take advantage of.

“Being part of MARC and IMSD allowed me to find paid research opportunities, support and mentorship, and hands-on laboratory work aimed at helping everyday people in the community,” Davis said. “All the people in the Office of Undergraduate Research, especially Brian Booton, Sarah Humfeld, and Linda Blockus, and my lab mentor, Sherry Flint-Garcia, have been so welcoming and encouraging to me throughout my collegiate journey. Mizzou has supported me, and I feel fortunate to support farmers in return.”