Recently, scientists have completely deciphered the genetic map of rice, the most important crop in the world! Because of the vast scale of the project, the rice genetic map is called “Genetic Bibleâ€. In order to decipher the “Tianshuâ€, 32 scientific research institutes in 10 countries conducted the research. For 6 years of effort, Chinese scientists have contributed.
They have completed the most accurate and complete sequence of rice genomes so far and are seen by many as an important step in solving the world's food problems. Proponents of this breakthrough said that understanding the genetic code of rice will allow scientists to develop new rice varieties with higher yields and maintain the lives of more and more people on Earth.
Comparing with deciphering the human genome
The results announced on August 10 were considered to be a major problem in breaking the human diet. Because of the full sequence analysis of the rice genome, humans can obtain a large amount of rice genetic information and functional genes to lay the foundation for breeding high-yield, high-quality, delicious rice varieties, and to help understand the genomes of other gramineous crops such as wheat and corn. This will lead to the basic and applied research of whole food crops. Its significance in agricultural production can be completely comparable to the significance of the human genome project for human health.
The scientists of the "International Rice Genome Sequence Project" came from 32 institutions in 10 countries. According to the schedule, the project has been completed three years ahead of schedule. The resulting gene sequence results have been used to identify genes that control the basic processes of plant growth, such as genes that control flowering. The similarity between rice and barley has led scientists to determine which genes can protect barley from two major diseases, such as barley-fly disease and stem rust.
Project Coordinator and Japanese scientist Sakaki Ozawa said with excitement: "This is another important sequencing project that scientists completed after the Human Genome Project! It is completed three years ahead of schedule!" The newly drawn "fine map" coverage reached 95.3% and the error rate did not exceed one ten-thousandth. The sequencing of the centromere was completed for the first time in higher animals and plants.
Most people in the earth rely on rice to feed
Rice has a dominant position in the human diet and accounts for 80% of the dietary structure of more than half of the world's people. However, its output must grow by one-third in the next 20 years to meet the needs of the fast-growing developing countries. The genetic maps of rice that the scientists have deciphered show that there are 37,544 genes in rice, 7500 more than the human genome, and they are arranged on 12 chromosomes. The rice genetic map was published in the latest issue of Nature.
Dr. Robin Boyle, a botanist at the Institute of Genome Research in Rockville, Maryland, said: "Rice is a very important crop. The completion of rice gene sequencing is a milestone in the history of science." Rice genome sequence plan.
Dr. Boyle said: “We know that the scientific community can use this data to develop new varieties that not only produce high yields, but also can grow under harsh environmental conditions. The rice genetic map will greatly accelerate the search for high yields and prevent diseases and pests. The pace of the genes, or speeding up the search for enhanced genes for drought resistance in rice and other cereal crops," said Dr. Joachim Messing of New Jersey, USA, said that the characteristics of rice are also very close to all the major cereals in the world. All come from a common grass ancestor, such as barley, corn, wheat, sorghum and so on. Knowing the details of the rice genome will help scientists understand more about other crops.
Dr. Messing said: “The significance of this breakthrough is difficult to estimate. It not only has scientific and agricultural production value, but it is also a human evangelism. Among all the giant grassy plant genomes, the rice genome is the most complex. â€
Scientists from different countries work together to solve difficult problems
Claire Frazier, director of the Institute of Genome Research in Rockville, Maryland, said: "As the breakthrough in the human genome has revolutionized the biological field, the identification of the rice genome will promote the study of new grains. A major step forward in achieving progress in agriculture."
The study, published in Nature, included two major strains of rice: the Japanese strain and the Indian strain. Samples of these two strains were provided by two biotechnology companies Swiss Syngenta and Monsanto USA. They also conducted research on the basis of the initial work of the two companies.
In 2002, 20 well-known scientists criticized the plans of transnational corporations to use their rice genetic data as a conservative business secret. They emphasized the significance of publicizing the rice genome. Since then, the two companies have begun to provide their data to the rice genome sequence free of charge, making the project completed on time.
The study's lead author, Professor Richard McCabe of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, said: "The study revealed thousands of genetic markers or signposts of rice genomes that can be used by crop growers and others to increase rice yield. The workers will use it directly. This is the first type of crop to complete the genome sequencing. Therefore, rice will become an advanced "model" that will use the genome sequence information to improve agricultural multi-disciplinary research."
Chinese researchers have contributed
In fact, as early as April 2002, the United States "Science" magazine has reported the extraordinary achievements made by Chinese scientists in rice genome research. The cover of the "Science" magazine of that period was a typical picture of a terraced field in China: distant mountains and rivers, and golden rice fields in the vicinity. A brown box is highlighted on the bottom left of the cover. Two words of rice are written on two rice ears: the rice gene map.
Turning to the magazine, a 14-page essay is particularly eye-catching -- "The Sequence Diagram of the Working Frame of the Rice (Japonica) Genome." This is an outstanding achievement that was co-created by 12 institutions including Beijing, Hangzhou Huada Genetic Research Center and Chinese Academy of Sciences Genomic Informatics Center, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Hybrid Rice R&D Center, and Washington University. "Science" magazine editorial commented that the rice genome framework paper is "the most important milestone work" in this field, "always changed our research on botany," and it has a global presence in the new century of human health and survival. The impact of sex."
At that time, the achievements made by Chinese researchers had caused a sensation in the world. Now that the deciphering of rice genes has been completed, the project team headed by the National Institute of Biological Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences is responsible for No. 4 in this international division of labor. The exact sequencing task for chromosomes, the Institute of Botany at the Central Research Institute in Taiwan, China, included Article 5. With the joint efforts of scientists in Shanghai and Taiwan, China’s contribution rate to the International Rice Genome Project reached 20%, which was hailed as “a gorgeous Chinese volumeâ€.