Scientists at Academia Sinica have made a breakthrough in decoding the genetic information in rice, adding to Taiwan's contributions in the race to understand the genetic blueprint of life.
Botanists Wu Hung-pan (鄔宏潘), Chen Ching-san (陳慶三), Chou Te-yuan (周德源) and Hsing Yu-yi (邢禹依) announced in Japan on Tuesday that they had sequenced a section of one chromosome in the world's primary food source.
The scientists announced the results of their year-long research at a meeting of the International Rice Genome Conference, a consortium devoted to studying the crop. Members of the international group include the US, Japan, South Korea, Britain, Canada, India and China, among other nations.
The conference is dividing the decoding of rice's 12 pairs of chromosomes -- which contain about one-eigth of the genetic information the human body does -- among its 11 member countries.
Japan and the US have already made important contributions to the international effort, making Taiwan, a relative latecomer to the project, the third to register the results of its efforts.
Taiwanese researchers are in charge of the fifth chromosome, which contains 36 million genes. The chromosome holds the genetic information which controls the ability of rice to resist white leaf blight (白葉枯病), one of Taiwan's most devastating crop diseases. Fertilizers and pesticides cannot prevent the disease, but understanding rice genetically could be an important step toward protecting crops, Wu told a Chinese-language newspaper in Taiwan.
The four botanists are currently in the process of finishing the sequencing of one section of the chromosome which carries 153,000 genes, Chou said.
The group had originally planned to complete sequencing of the fifth chromosome by 2006, but it now seems possible that the work may be finished as early as 2003.
Just last month, a group of scientists at the International Rice Research Institute told Science magazine that they had genetically engineered a new strain of rice rich in beta carotene, an important source of vitamin A.
Deficiency of the nutrient is the world's leading cause of blindness and affects an estimated 125 million worldwide.
Stronger, more nutritious crops have provided a controversial twist in the debate concerning genetically modified (GM) foods.
Environmentalists and consumers, largely based in Europe, have argued that GM crops pose a threat to the environment by creating "superweeds" and changing competitive relationships among organisms.
Pressure from these groups resulted in a UN-sponsored agreement last month which mandates that all international shipments of GM foods be marked.
Others argue hardy, high-yield engineered crops hold the key to world food shortages and hunger in the underdeveloped world.
The conference hopes to complete sequencing and analysis of the entire rice genome by 2007.
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