GM Rice Project Begins Second Phase

The international project on GM rice led by the University of Sheffield is on its way to the second phase. The project aims to alter the genes of rice so that it would use a more efficient method of photosynthesis. Rice is using the C3 type of photosynthesis, unlike maize and sorghum which have naturally evolved to another type of photosynthesis called C4. Crops using the C4 method are anatomically diverse than those using the C3 pathway and are better at concentrating carbon dioxide around an enzyme vital in photosynthesis. If the researchers of the project would be successful in converting the rice photosynthesis pathway from C3 to C4, then there would be a 50 percent harvest increase with the use of less water and fertilizer. In addition, C4 plants produce efficiently in warm temperatures, thus can thrive amidst climate change.

"As temperatures rise, C4 plants will photosynthesize better than C3s," said Richard Leegood, a plant biologist from the UK-based University of Sheffield. This Sheffield project is in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute and other researchers from different countries. 

Read more at http://beta.irri.org/news/index.php/rice-news/ambitious-gm-rice-project-enters-next-phase.html.