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Daily Press

Rice Crop Research Agreement Is "Major Scientific Milestone"

Scientists at Norwich Research Park have been given a major boost to undestand the genetic make-ip of one of the world's key food crops.

Scientists will be able to make faster progress in understanding the rice crop, which helps to provide almost half the world's food needs.

A world programme, which includes researchers at the John Innes Centre, has been given acess to information known about rice plants from the biotechnology company Monsanto.

It will be possible to map the genome or the complete genetic make-up of rice four or five years earlier than planned.

This information will be made publicly available.

The long-term research programme was started last year by the International Rice genome sequencing Project at laboratories in Japan, China, Korea, taiwan, the United states and at colney.

Prof. Mike Bevan, a member of the IRGSP based at the john Innes, said that the information provided by Monsanto "will give us the opportunity to complete this large task much more quickly and cost-effectively."

It was expected to take at least eight years but should be completed by around 2003 and also save around £125 million in public funding costs.

Rice has been selected for detailed scientific study because it is one of the important food crops in many developing areas of the world with global production of some 560 million tonnes.

It is one of the least complicated cereal crops and contains about one seventh of the total genetic make-up of the complete set of human genes.

If scientists can understand the rice make-up, it will help plant breeders to improve the 120,000 varieties around the world and increase yield, disease and pest resistance.

Norwich North MP Dr. Ian gibson welcomed the agreement as an "important scientific milestone".

"The rapid completition of the rice genome sequence will benefit millions of people throughout the world by the development of rice crops with greater yields and improved nutrition," said Dr. Gibson, who is a member of the science and technology committee of the House of Commons.