United Kingdom
May 20, 2008
At a time when rice prices are
hitting record highs, causing unprecedented tension in parts of
the world, research scientists at the
National Institute of Agricultural
Botany (NIAB) in Cambridge are hoping their cutting edge
projects will lead to the production of a new breed of rice
seeds resilient to climate change.
Rice is the staple food for over two billion people, but lack of
water and disease limits its production across the developing
world. There is an urgent need for new breeds of rice that can
cope with changing climatic conditions and improve food
security.
Media reports are constantly highlighting the critical impact of
rising food prices which recently led to two days of riots in
Haiti when four people were killed. Food prices have risen 40%
on average since the middle of last year, causing further
rioting in other parts of the world too, including Burkina Faso,
Cameroon and Egypt. Governments around the world are placing
this crucial issue high on their agenda, recognising the urgent
need to provide stable and sustainable food crops.
NIAB has forged a strong working partnership with the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the oldest and
largest international agricultural research institute in Asia.
Chief Executive Prof Wayne Powell hopes their innovative
collaborative project will contribute to a reduction in poverty
and hunger in developing countries, and help ensure
environmentally sustainable rice production. Their scientists
are also working on a major collaborative pan-European research
project to help improve rice crops in the Mediterranean where it
forms the national dish in some countries, ie paella in Spain
and risotto in Italy.
NIAB’s pioneering scientists were recently awarded a £733,000
grant by the government funded Biotechnology and Biological
Sciences Research Council to work on a rice genetics research
project with IRRI and help create climate resistant strains of
rice for Africa and Asia.
This project will look at the genetic make up of rice, as well
as its genetic expression, to identify genes which may be
crucial in developing new types of rice resilient to drought and
diseases. Researchers will use new techniques previously used
only in human and animal studies to look at gene expression in
rice in response to different conditions. By doing this, they
hope to identify genes which are naturally tolerant to climate
extremes and diseases and go on to use this knowledge to develop
rice breeding programmes in Africa and Asia.
NIAB is further establishing its leading role in rice research
by sending three scientists to the Philippines after being
offered highly coveted places on a three-week IRRI training
course, “Rice: Research to Production”. They will meet local
farmers and learn first hand about the challenges they face in
the cultivation of rice crops. The course is being sponsored by
the National Science Foundation and the UK based Gatsby
Charitable Foundation to provide major support for young
scientists from advanced laboratories in the West who wanted to
work or do research in poor, developing nations.
This is the second of three years that the course has been held
and is taking place run from 14 May - 1 June. The scientists
attending are plant genetics breeder Dr Nick Gosman, Phd
students Ed Wilhelm, and Natalia Stawniak.
They are keen to learn about rice breeding, to network with the
international community and understand the importance of
innovative plant science in addressing global problems.
Nick said,“What particularly excites me about attending the
course is the opportunity to learn rice breeding strategy and
husbandry from international experts. I am also looking forward
to some productive networking meetings with IRRI scientists to
discuss possible future collaborations.”
Ed added, “It will be an exciting opportunity to see first-hand
how rice is produced and meet local farmers. I will also learn
about the genetic resources available in rice at a top research
institute, and this trip gives me the chance to meet scientist
from around the world studying this important topic.”
Three scientists from NIAB attended the rice training course
last year, Dr Konstantina Stamati and PhD students Sabine
Mameaux and Zoe Rutterford. Dr Stamati said one of the valuable
highlights was meeting local farmers and learning from them
about their difficulties with rice production.
Dr Stamati said, “Rice is a major staple food crop that is
critical for global food security. Diseases and water stress are
two key constraints limiting rice production in developing
countries such as Africa and south Asia. This course is valuable
because it provides an understanding of rice as a crop, the
different ways that it grows, its uses and constraints limiting
its potential yield. This course enables scientists to work
closely with scientist from developing countries, to raise
awareness on the effects of climate change, the dangers of using
excess of fertiliser and the importance of harvesting a good
quality crop.
“We are trying to show farmers the advantages of using
alternative rice varieties, such as hybrids that have better
yields, and also educate them on the importance of
diversification so they can grow more than one rice crop a year
and increase their productivity. This is vital for developing
countries as shortages in rice has led to increases in its
price.”
NIAB’s pan-European collaborative research project will be
looking at European rice genetic resources and enhancing
competitiveness in rice production. The project, known as
“EURIGEN”, includes scientists from Prof Powell’s Diversity
Genomics Group, with partners from Italy, France, Greece and
Portugal. The three year project is financed by the European
Commission’s Agriculture Genetic Research Programme.
One of the genes which NIAB scientists are interested in
studying is called Rc, which is found in red rice and regulates
pigment production in the rice seed (the colour is visible when
the grains are dehulled). Although most of the rice bought by
consumers is white, red rice is available in some health shops
for its reputed health benefits for cardiovascular disease and
as an anti-oxidant.
The Cambridge scientists have already made an interesting
discovery about the genetics of red rice. In collaboration with
Dr Elisabetta Lupotto, (Unità di Ricerca per la Risicoltura,
Vercelli, Italy) they identified the molecular mechanism
responsible for a single change on the genetic make up of a
white rice cultivar to the red pericarp wild phenotype. |
|
