Washington, DC
July 28, 2008
By Stacy Kish
Rice is the primary food for more than 3 billion people around
the world. New research, funded by
USDA's Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), may
allow scientists to improve the nutritional value of rice,
affecting the health of more than 70 million of the world's
poorest people in developing countries.
Researcher Zhaohua Peng and colleagues at Mississippi State
University and The Ohio State University determined that
chromatin plays an essential role in the control of endosperm
sizes and grain quality. The results obtained in this study are
applicable not only to rice, but other cereal crops as well in
improving grain yield and nutritional quality.
The endosperm portion of grain is an important component in
determining the nutrient content for most cereal crops as it
provides growing plant nutrition, such as starch, oils and
protein. This makes endosperm an important source of nutrition
in the human diet as well.
Chromatin structures store genetic information and control gene
expression in cells. In chromatin, a piece of DNA wraps around a
group of basic proteins called histones to form a structure
similar to the coil of telephone cord. When proteins interact
with the chromatin, it adjusts the tightness of the DNA and
histone interaction. Genes positioned in loosely packaged
chromatin regions are usually active and genes within the
tightly package chromatin regions are often silenced.
The scientists used a new approach called proteomics, which
examines proteins in a large scale, to gain new insight into the
chromatin structure and function in rice. They identified a
total of 344 unique proteins associated with chromatin and found
a large number of histone variants in rice.
The researchers also determined that chromatin modification
genes control the endosperm sizes and grain quality in rice.
These findings suggest that manipulating chromatin modification
genes may be an effective approach for the improvement of crop
yield and quality. Future studies may also clarify how genes are
expressed and how these genes control plant functions.
The USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service (CSREES) funded this research project through the
National Research Initiative Plant Genome program. Through
federal funding and leadership for research, education and
extension programs, CSREES focuses on investing in science and
solving critical issues impacting people's daily lives and the
nation's future. For more information, visit
www.csrees.usda.gov.
This impact is a service of the USDA Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service. News on other research can be
found on the CSREES newsroom at
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/newsroom/impacts.html. |
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