University of California researchers create disease-resistant rice by genome editing
A rice variety that produces large yields and is resistant to some of the worst crop-destroying diseases could soon become a reality for farmers across the globe. According to a new study published in the journal Nature on June 14, an international team of researchers used the genome-editing tool CRISPR-Cas to create disease resistant rice plants.
Small-scale field trials in China showed that the newly created rice variety exhibited resistance to the fungus that causes rice blast and high yields. This discovery is very significant since rice is a staple crop that feeds half of the world’s population, a note published by UC Davis said.
Rice blast is one of the most serious diseases of plants in the world as it affects virtually all growing regions of rice.
The international collaboration, led by researchers at China’s Huazhong Agricultural University and University of California, Davis, first identified a rice variety that already had strong resistance to fungal and bacterial diseases but had poor grain yields. A newly discovered gene of this rice variety, RB1, was chosen for modification to improve the performance of the crop.
The researchers then used cutting-edge genome-editing technology to generate 57 gene variants from this type of rice. The immunity of these variants was tested against several strains of rice blast and bacterial blight. One variant of RBL1 was found to have both broad-spectrum disease resistance and large yields.
Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer, who is a researcher at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Research Institute, has explained the whole scientific process behind the discovery.
“Using existing genome-editing technology, the team generated 57 gene variants from this type of rice and tested their immunity against several strains of rice blast and bacterial blight. We found that one variant of RBL1 had broad-spectrum disease resistance, but unlike other varieties, it was still able to produce large yields in small-scale field trials,” she explained.
Researchers will have to recreate this mutation in commonly grown rice varieties as they have optimised this gene in a model variety that is not grown widely.
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