Fungus 'rewires' maize plants, causing tumor-like growths by hijacking root formation process

When a maize plant is attacked by the fungus Ustilago maydis, tumor-like tissue growths occur at the site of infection. How the pathogen causes this response in its host has long been unknown. But a ...
The New York Times

Tracking the Ancestry of Corn Back 9,000 Years

It is now growing season across the Corn Belt of the United States. Seeds that have just been sown will, with the right mixture of sunshine and rain, be knee-high plants by the Fourth of July and tall ...