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Decoding the genes that feed the world
WebPosted Fri Jan 26 17:45:57 2001

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA-- Two private companies say they've mapped the genome of one of the most important of all food crops - rice.

Syngenta and Myriad Genetics Inc. say having this intimate knowledge of rice will help the development of new strains with greater yields, better tolerance of harsh conditions, and better nutritional content.

The completed DNA sequence, of the variety NIPPON barre, won't be published in a scientific journal or on the Internet but will be made freely available to scientists who want to use it.

The researchers say they expect the information to have an impact on new varieties of rice within the next five years.

Chromosome by chromosome, gene by gene

Rice has 12 chromosomes containing 50,000 genes. Researcher Dr. Steve Briggs, of the Torrey Mesa Research Institute in California, says they still don't know what 20 per cent of the rice genes do, leaving plenty of room for further research.

Briggs says the biggest surprise with this discovery was the overall gene architecture and sequence of the rice is nearly identical to that of cereals - essentially creating a plant genetic blueprint.

Dr. David Evans, head of Syngenta's research and technology division, says this similarity between cereal crops will enable the study of rice to contribute to studies of other important cereals like wheat and corn.

The first plant to be decoded was a small weed, Arabidopsis thaliana. Its genome contains 26,000 genes.

ARCHIVED STORY: First plant genome sequencing completed

Syngenta was formed last year when Novartis and AstraZeneca merged. The new company is now the world's largest crop protection operation and ranks third in the market for developing important commercial seeds.

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