Source: CropBiotech Update

A major international scientific effort has been launched to develop a new approach to boost rice production and avoid rice shortages or famine. Scientists are looking at enhancing the rice plant’s photosynthetic efficiency as alternative strategies are needed to increase rice production under global realities of less land, labor, and water.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines reports that new knowledge generated by the sequencing of the rice genome now allows more collaborative work to completely reconfigure the rice plant’s photosynthetic system, the engine of rice production.

IRRI crop ecologist John Sheehy, convener at a workshop on “C4 Rice – Supercharging the Rice Engine” held at IRRI, explains that, “The photosynthetic process is the engine of growth for the rice plant, so, if we can improve that, then the whole plant benefits.” This involves converting rice from a C3 plant to a C4 plant, where the “C” refers to the carbon captured by photosynthesis for growth. To do this, C4 plants—such as maize—use solar energy more effectively for growth.

For more information, email Duncan Macintosh of IRRI at d.macintosh@cgiar.org.