Scientists Discover Yield-Boosting Rice Gene
3 December 2013 
Dr. Tsutomu Ishimaru, IRRI and JIRCAS breeder, inspects rice plant with Spike gene.
Photo credit: Flickr user IRRI
Creative Commons license
Scientists have discovered a rice gene that in preliminary testing boosted production by 13% to 36% in modern long-grain indica rice varieties — the world’s most widely grown types of rice.
Dr. Nobuya Kobayashi of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization-Institute of Crop Science in Japan said the gene, dubbed “Spike,” was discovered in an Indonesian tropical japonica rice variety, which is mainly grown in East Asia and accounts for only about 10% of global rice production.
Incorporating Spike into indica varieties that are very popular and widely used across 70% of global rice-growing areas could significantly contribute to food security, said the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
The discovery of Spike, which is published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America, means that breeders can now start incorporating the gene into popular indica rice varieties. The gene can improve plant architecture without altering grain quality or growth periods, IRRI said.
“Using a new approach of combining molecular identification of the Spike gene and conventional breeding, we have developed rice, with the Spike gene, that has higher yield when compared with an equivalent rice without the gene,” Dr. Kobayashi said.
Breeders at IRRI are now using Spike to boost the yield potential of leading local rice varieties.
“Testing of new rice varieties that have the Spike gene is underway in multi-location trials across several developing countries in Asia, including Indonesia. We believe that these will contribute to food security in these areas once the new varieties are released,” said Dr. Tsutomu Ishimaru, an IRRI and JIRCAS rice breeder who is now leading the work to develop new varieties with the Spike gene.
Get The Newsletter Today!
