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The spirit of maize cooperation
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What is a Maize Cooperator?
Maize Cooperators are people who share an interest in maize genetics, genomics, and breeding research, and who embrace collaboration and cooperation through sharing published and unpublished materials, data, and ideas. The maize research community has a rich history of cooperation. This spirit began in the 1920s when researchers would hold "cornfabs" to share ideas. In 1929 Rollins A. Emerson, his student George Beadle, and Professor Allan C. Fraser, sent a letter sharing both published and unpublished maize linkage data. This single example of data sharing has led to a world-wide community of thousands of maize cooperators and several free public resources and leadership committees to help organize the collaborative efforts and promote maize research.
How is the Maize Community Organized?
The Maize Genetics Cooperation (MGC):
In 2019, the Maize Genetic Executive Committee (MGEC, established 2020) incorporated into a new formal 501(c)3 non-profit legal entity, called the Maize Genetic Cooperation (MGC). The specific purpose of the corporation is to advance the interests of a community of people who conduct research in maize genetics, genomics, and breeding, and train and develop the next generation of scientists. The overall goal is to facilitate progress in maize research through collaboration and cooperation by sharing published and unpublished materials, data, and ideas.
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MGC Board of Directors:
The elected Board of Directors (BoD) manages the MGC by coordination of committees, policies and membership including fiduciary, financial and legal responsibilities.
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Become a MGC Member!
MGC Committees:
Maize Genetics Meeting Steering Committee (MGMSC):
The Maize Genetics Conference Steering Committee is responsible for the organization, content, and execution of the Annual Maize Genetics Conference (MGC). The MGMSC works with the MGC Board of Directors to facilitate communication of community-based issues through the MGC.
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Maize Genetics Advocacy Committee (MGAC):
The mission of the MGAC is to advance the interests of the international Maize Genetics community and to support advocacy-related activities such as communications with national funding agencies and stakeholders. The MGAC’s role is to identify both the needs and the opportunities for maize genetics, and to communicate this information to the broadest possible life science community.
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Maize Genetics Cooperation Awards and Nominations Committee (ANC):
The ANC is responsible for two main activities: (1) coordinating nominations for the elected Board of Director positions and (2) conducting the nomination and selection process for awards (Early Career, Mid-Career, Lifetime, Cooperator, Leadership, and McClintock).
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Committee on Outreach, Diversity, Inclusion, and Education (CODIE):
CODIE is charged with increasing the equitable representation of people based on race, gender, physical ability, sexual orientation, and other attributes, within the Maize Genetics Cooperation and it's leadership; within the area of maize genetics; and within the broader field of STEM education, research, and industry.
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MGC Membership Committee:
The mission of this committee is to provide recommendations on matters of membership recruitment, retention, enrollment, and engagement. The membership committee is dedicated to providing services to expand membership, develop benefit services, and encourage communication and participation. The committee is made up of a MGC BoD representative and other community members that broadly represent the composition of the Maize Genetics Cooperation.
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What are the privileges of being an MGC Member?
MGC Members receive specific benefits, including: Reduced registration rates at the Annual Maize Genetics Meeting (from 2022), the ability to nominate people for MGC elected leadership positions and maize genetics community awards (membership is not required for the McClintock Prize), the ability to be nominated for and serve in MGC elected positions, the ability to vote on elected positions and policies, and the ability to engage with an established community of scientists with a love for corn! MGC Members also get access to community surveys and newsletter.
What are the expectations of being an MGC Member?
MGC Members are encouraged to share ideas, data, and materials with each other and publicly through public resources using community nomenclature and standards. MGC Members promote an open scientific environment that provides equal opportunities, treatment, and respect for all participants, and is free of harassment and discrimination. MGC Members are expected to abide by the Code of Conduct
Become a MGC Member!
Other Community Resources:
Maize Nomenclature Committee:
This committee establishes nomenclature guidelines for the consistent naming of data types (e.g. genes, genomes, gene models, etc.) within the maize community. These nomenclature guidelines are used at MaizeGDB and are strongly encouraged when publishing maize data sets.
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Maize Genetics Meeting:
The annual Maize GeneticsMeeting was started in 1959 to share ideas and data. The conference is organized by the Maize Genetics Meeting Steering Committee (MGMSC), and is held annually in March. Most conferences are in the United States, but over the last 20 years we have also met in Mexico, Italy, China, and France.
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Maize News Letter:
Emerson's transmittal of data from Cooperators, assembled in tables and maps by Fraser and Beadle, is recognized as the first Maize Genetics Cooperation News Letter (MNL). The MNL has been published since 1929 as a collection of notes and information on working research intended to be shared throughout the maize research community.
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Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center:
The USDA-ARS funds a national public resource that serves the maize research community by collecting, maintaining, and distributing seeds of maize genetic stocks. Stocks can be searched and ordered through MaizeGDB, although the Stock center is a separate entity.
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Maize Genetics and Genomics Database (MaizeGDB):
The first Maize Genome database was established in 1991 to facilitate communication and data access. The current USDA-ARS database, MaizeGDB, is a community-driven informatics service to maize researchers. It hosts the community database allowing researchers to submit, query, integrate, and visualize data sets for over 15 different data types. MaizeGDB also serves as the community hub for Maize Cooperators. Two groups that provide service to MaizeGDB are the MaizeGDB Working Group and the MaizeGDB Editorial Board. The Working group is comprised of a wide variety of maize cooperators and data scientists who provide overall guidance and oversight to the MaizeGDB project. The Editorial Board recommends noteworthy maize primary literature on a monthly basis. Data found in the literature are manually curated into the MaizeGDB database.
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