Corn

Target SHU range

100 – 10K

Across 3 named cultivars in the Storm Series, calibrated to realistic heterologous expression yields in corn.

Market Opportunity

World's most-produced grain (1.2 billion metric tons/year). Spicy elote, spicy cornbread, spicy popcorn, and spicy tortilla chips without seasoning powder are all massive markets. Tortilla chip market alone is $15.6B.

Engineering Strategy

Monocot transformation (biolistic gene gun or Agrobacterium with specialized protocols); 1-5% efficiency. Capsaicinoid accumulation in starch endosperm uncharacterized. Phenylpropanoid flux in Poaceae is directed primarily toward lignin.