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Scientists seek to unlock genetic secrets of rice
The information should speed the development of hardier, more productive types of rice, said Leach who is the lead U.S. researcher on the study. “We’re just so excited because this is going to revolutionize rice research, we think,” she said. The research team secured the funding needed to start the project. The research tem secured the funding needed to start the project. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide $715,000 over the next three years, and the International Rice Research Institute will supply $1 million. The Generation Challenge Program, an international funding agency, will give $250,000. Other partners in the project include The Institute for Genomic Research and Perlegen Sciences. Several thousand varieties of rice exist today. Using various molecular biology techniques, the researchers will look for genetic differences between 21 of the strains. Then they'll try to determine how those genetic variations are linked to useful traits. "The information we'll provide is a means to identify useful traits in a crop species very quickly and to target them for breeding programs to improve crops at a faster rate than we've been able to do before," Leach said.
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