Crop Biotech Update

Improving Rice Eating and Cooking Quality Through Gene Editing

August 10, 2022

Researchers from Yangzhou University in China improved the eating and cooking quality of rice using gene editing and targeting grain storage protein glutelin. Their findings are published in the Journal of Integrative Plant Biology.

Rice eating and cooking quality is one of the priorities of breeders to sure competitiveness in the market globally. Studies have shown that rice grain protein content is negatively related to eating and cooking quality, giving scientists a hint that eating and cooking quality could be enhanced by manipulating grain protein content. However, grain protein content is genetically complex and sensitive to environmental conditions, thus, traditional breeding methods cannot achieve such objective. The research team used CRISPR-Cas9 to knockout the genes coding for glutelin. This led to rapidly produced lines with down-regulated grain protein content and enhanced eating and cooking quality.

Find more information in the Journal of Integrative Plant Biology.


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