Genetic engineering of Indica rice in support of sustained production of affordable and high quality food in developing countries

Abstract

Indica-type rice provides the staple food for two billion people in Third World countries. Several problems involved in the stable and sustained production of high quality food cannot be solved by traditional breeding. Methods have been established for gene transfer to Indica rice breeding lines to study possible contributions from genetic engineering. Experiments are in progress on the development of transgenic resistance towards Yellow Stem Borer, resistance towards Rice Tungro Virus, accumulation of provitamin A in the endosperm, increase of essential amino acids in the endosperm such as lysine, cysteine and methionine and resistance towards fungal pests such as Rice Blast and Sheath Blight. Transgenic clones from Indica rice breeding lines have been recovered from several of the approaches mentioned, some of which have been regenerated to plants.