Friday, July 25, 2025
LBNN
  • Business
  • Markets
  • Politics
  • Crypto
  • Finance
  • Energy
  • Technology
  • Taxes
  • Creator Economy
  • Wealth Management
  • Documentaries
No Result
View All Result
LBNN

Research shows gene editing improves grain quality and reduces heat stress in rice

Simon Osuji by Simon Osuji
July 28, 2023
in Technology
0
Research shows gene editing improves grain quality and reduces heat stress in rice
0
SHARES
2
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Gene editing improves grain quality and reduces heat stress in rice
Using CRISPR, Arkansas researchers were able to reduce grain “chalkiness” in rice by suppressing a gene that plays an outsized role in development of lower quality rice. Credit: University of Arkansas

As global temperatures continue to rise, maintaining the quality and yield of crops adapted to lower temperatures will increasingly become a challenge.

Related posts

How Growing Internet Infrastructure Is Helping Access to Entertainment | IT News Africa

How Growing Internet Infrastructure Is Helping Access to Entertainment | IT News Africa

July 25, 2025
Trace turns up the volume for conservation with ‘Music for Wildlife’ concerts, performances from top African stars – EnviroNews

Trace turns up the volume for conservation with ‘Music for Wildlife’ concerts, performances from top African stars – EnviroNews

July 25, 2025

One crop known to be affected by higher nighttime temperatures during the ripening phase is rice, which can exhibit a condition known as “chalkiness” due to heat stress.

Chalkiness is when the rice granule is less compact due to the decreased concentration of starch. This can result in lower milling yields, cooking quality and overall market value.

A paper published in Plant Journal by researchers at the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, or UADA, may offer a remedy to both heat-induced and genetic chalkiness. The paper, “Targeted mutagenesis of the vacuolar H+ translocating pyrophosphatase gene reduces grain chalkiness in rice,” details how the team was able to gene edit a strain of japonica rice to reduce chalkiness.

The researchers specifically targeted a gene that encodes the vacuolar H+ translocating pyrophosphatase (V-PPase), an enzyme known to play a role in increasing grain chalkiness. Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology, the team was able to reduce the expression of V-PPase by editing a promoter element, which controls how much it is expressed.

The mutated rice lines resulted in a seven- to 15-fold decrease in chalkiness, depending on the strain of rice, with a consequent increase in grain weight. The results held up even under increased nighttime temperatures. Overall, the mutated lines were characterized by more compact packing of starch granules and formation of translucent (as opposed to chalky) rice grain, showing a clear improvement in rice quality.

The process was novel enough that the paper’s first author, Peter James Icalia Gann, a Fulbright Scholar in the Cell and Molecular Biology Program, and co-author, Vibha Srivastava, a professor in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences who has a joint appointment with the U of A and the UADA, filed for a provisional patent.

“If we want to sustain life on our planet, it is really important to identify solutions to problems in our food systems that are coming with increasing average temperatures,” Gann said. “We were really excited to share our findings that utilized gene-editing in rice to improve grain quality that remains consistent—even under heat stress.”

More information:
Peter James Icalia Gann et al, Targeted mutagenesis of the vacuolar H+ translocating pyrophosphatase gene reduces grain chalkiness in rice, The Plant Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16317

Provided by
University of Arkansas

Citation:
Research shows gene editing improves grain quality and reduces heat stress in rice (2023, July 28)
retrieved 28 July 2023
from https://phys.org/news/2023-07-gene-grain-quality-stress-rice.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Source link

Previous Post

A Zimbabwean entrepreneur’s journey into the waste management industry

Next Post

Court of Appeal overturns order suspending Finance Act 2023

Next Post
Court of Appeal overturns order suspending Finance Act 2023

Court of Appeal overturns order suspending Finance Act 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED NEWS

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) bilateral meeting with Minister for Food and Agriculture of Ghana Honourable Eric Opoku

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) bilateral meeting with Minister for Food and Agriculture of Ghana Honourable Eric Opoku

1 month ago
Global Trading Platform Moomoo CA Rings the Opening Bell at Toronto Stock Exchange

Global Trading Platform Moomoo CA Rings the Opening Bell at Toronto Stock Exchange

1 year ago
Impact on ETFs in Healthcare, Clean Energy, Defense

Impact on ETFs in Healthcare, Clean Energy, Defense

2 months ago
Denmark, Sweden to Donate More CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine

Denmark, Sweden to Donate More CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine

2 years ago

POPULAR NEWS

  • Ghana to build three oil refineries, five petrochemical plants in energy sector overhaul

    Ghana to build three oil refineries, five petrochemical plants in energy sector overhaul

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • When Will SHIB Reach $1? Here’s What ChatGPT Says

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The world’s top 10 most valuable car brands in 2025

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 10 African countries with the highest GDP per capita in 2025

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Tanzania’s natural gas sector goes global with Dubai deal

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 LBNN - All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Crypto
  • Economics
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate
    • Infrastructure
  • Finance
  • Energy
  • Creator Economy
  • Wealth Management
  • Taxes
  • Telecoms
  • Military & Defense
  • Careers
  • Technology
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Investigative journalism
  • Art & Culture
  • Documentaries
  • Quizzes
    • Enneagram quiz
  • Newsletters
    • LBNN Newsletter
    • Divergent Capitalist

© 2023 LBNN - All rights reserved.